Georgia’s Colonial Period Trustee Colony To Royal Colony

Time Period Trustee Colony Royal Colony From 1733 to 1752 under control of the trustees 1752 to 1776 as a royal colony under control of the crown

Governance Trustee Colony Royal Colony Ruled by the 21 trustees Oglethorpe was resident trustee Rule by the Crown of England Directly ruled through royal governors after 1754 John Reynolds; Henry Ellis; Sir James Wright

Georgia’s “bicameral” Royal Government Royal Governor Sir James Wright Georgia’s appointed Upper House Georgia’s elected lower house - Commons House of Assembly Royal voting restrictions: only men could vote and they had to have at least 50 acres of land Royal qualifications to serve: to serve in either of the houses you had to own at least 500 acres of land In 1758 the Royal Assembly named the Anglican Church Georgia’s official church The colony was then divided into 8 parishes

Leaders Trustee Colony Royal Colony James Oglethorpe – helped and governed early settlers, worked with natives & planned Savannah John Reynolds – Georgia’s 1st royal governor; he was unpopular and removed Henry Ellis – Georgia’s 2nd royal governor; he was good with issues concerning natives Sir James Wright – Georgia’s 3rd and most popular governor; Georgia did well under his leadership; he was the longest in position

Boundaries Trustee Colony Royal Colony Northern boundary Savannah River Southern boundary Altamaha River Border stretched (on paper) to Pacific Ocean French and Indian War led to new borders Savannah River southward to the St. Mary’s River and westward to Mississippi R.

Specialized Groups Trustee Colony Royal Colony Jewish settlers enter the colony in first year with Dr. Nunes Salzburgers—German Protestants set up Ebenezer and then New Ebenezer Highland Scotts—set up the town of Darien and helped Oglethorpe defeat the Spanish at the Battle of the Bloody Marsh Plantation Owners from South Carolina begin to enter the colony Planters (Plantation owners) became Georgia’s elite social class and controlled local and state politics for a long time Africans begin to be imported to Georgia by 1750

Slavery Trustee Colony Royal Colony Forbidden by the Trustee’s Ban lifted in 1750 Between 1750 and 1775 number of slaves increases from 500 to 18,000 The Malcontents and Georgia planters argue they cannot compete with South Carolina planters because they have no slaves and cannot produce as much or work as much land Brought to work on rice plantations

Restrictions Trustee Colony Royal Colony Trustee’s restrictions included: No hard liquor No Catholics No slavery No one could have more than 500 acres total Only males could own land The Crown’s restrictions only included:

Land Distribution/Ownership Trustee Colony Royal Colony Each settler got 50 acres If they paid their own way, the Headright system was used (50 acres per male in the family up to 500) Only men could own land Restrictions on land ownership lifted, large plantations developed NO MORE LAND HOLDING RESTRICTIONS WHICH LED TO LARGE PLANTATIONS & SLAVES Women could inherit/own land