The Southern Colonies Chapter 3 Section 4

Geography of the Southern Colonies The Mason-Dixon line marked the line between two colonies, Pennsylvania and Maryland, but it was much more than that. After the American Revolution, it was the dividing line between northern states where slavery was abolished and the southern states where slavery persisted. Hot summers provide a long growing season that colonial farmers used to raise crops such as tobacco and rice. Both crops required many workers in the field and thus were partly responsible for the early development of slavery.

Virginia Grows Virginia’s population grew gradually during the 1600s. New settlers arriving from Europe made up for the fact that disease and difficult living conditions kept the death rate high. By 1650, the death rate fell, and the population increased more quickly. The makeup of Virginia’s population also changed. By 1670, there were more children because fewer dying at a young age. The percentage of women in the population grew as well.

Conflicts With Native Americans As Virginia’s white population grew, the Native American population shrank. Disease and violence took their toll. In 1607, there had been about 8,000 Native Americans in Virginia. By 1675, only about 2,000 were left. Farmers took over more land to plant tobacco. This led to trouble with the Native Americans. There were two violent confrontations with the two groups, and the Native Americans were defeated both times. Near the coast, they were forced to accept English rule.

Bacon’s Rebellion Wealthy Virginia tobacco planters bought most of the good farmland near the coast. That left no land for poorer colonists who wanted to farm. That meant these men had to work for the wealthier farmers. These men were angry because without property, they could not vote. Many poor colonist moved inland to find good farmland. Fighting broke out with the Native Americans, and people were killed on both sides.

Bacon’s Rebellion Farmers on the frontier demanded that the governor take strong measure against the Native Americans. However the governor did nothing because he wanted to avoid an all-out war with the Native Americans, and he was trading furs with them as well. Nathanial Bacon became the leader of the frontier settlers. He organized a force of 1,000 settlers and began attacking and killing Native Americans.

Bacon’s Rebellion The Governor reacted to Bacon’s violence by declaring him and his men rebels. Bacon responded by attacking Jamestown, burning it to the ground, and forcing the governor to run away. The revolt, know as Bacon’s Rebellion, collapsed when Bacon became sick and died. The governor hanged 23 of Bacon’s followers, but he could not stop the English settlers from moving onto Native American lands.

Religious Toleration in Maryland In 1632, a charter was granted for a new colony, known as Maryland, to George Calvert, and English Catholic. Catholics suffered great discrimination in England, and Calvert aimed to set up a colony where Catholics could live safely. The first settlers included both Catholics and Protestants. They grew tobacco and harvested the seas life of Chesapeake Bay.

Religious Toleration in Maryland When George Calvert dies, his son, Cecil Calvert, also known as Lord Baltimore, became the proprietor. Soon there was tension between Protestants and Catholics. Fearing that Catholics would lose their rights, Lord Baltimore got the assembly to pass the Act of Toleration. It welcomed all Christians and gave adult males the right to vote and hold office.

Colonies in the Carolinas By the 1660s, settlers from Virginia had moved south beyond the colonies borders. A charter was granted and the colony of Carolina was established. The northern part of Carolina developed slowly. It lacked harbors and rivers which ships could travel easily. Settlers lived on small farms, raising and exporting tobacco. Some produced lumber for shipbuilding.

Colonies in the Carolinas The southern part of Carolina grew more quickly. Sugar grew well in swampy lowlands. They brought enslaved people to grow sugar Soon colonists were using slave labor to grow another crop, rice. It became the area’s most important crop. As rice production spread, Carolina’s main city, Charles Town (Charleston today), eventually became the biggest city in the southern colonies. By then Carolina had become two colonies: North and South Carolina.

Georgia The last of England’s 13 colonies was founded for two reasons. First, the English feared that Spain was about to expand its Florida colony northward. Second, a group of wealthy Englishmen led by James Oglethorpe wanted a colony where there would be protection for English debtors, people who owe money. Under English laws, the government could imprison debtors until they paid what they owed.

Georgia Georgia’s founders wanted Georgia to be a colony of small farms, not large plantations. Therefore, slavery was banned. However, this restriction was unpopular with settlers and did not last. By the 1750s, slavery was legal in Georgia.

The Tidewater Region The most important feature of life along the coast in the Southern Colonies was the plantation, a large farm. This led to an economy dominated by plantations in the Tidewater region. The plantation system began when settlers started growing tobacco. It spread further south when planters found other crops they could export for a profit to Europe.

The Tidewater Region The Tidewater region in South Carolina and Georgia was perfect for rice. Growing rice required large numbers of workers. The conditions were hot, humid, and unhealthy. This was one reason rice-farming helped promote the spread of slavery. In time, the enslaved population outnumbered the free population of South Carolina.

The Tidewater Region The Plantation system did not just create a society of slaveholders and enslaved people in the Tidewater. It also divided the white community into a small group of wealthy people and a much larger group with little or no property, most of whom were poor and lived in the backcountry south.

The Backcountry The backcountry was cut off from the coast by poor roads and long distances. Families usually lived on isolated farms. They often did not legally own the land they farmed. Many lived in simple one-room shacks. Few families had servants or enslaved people to help them with their work. Women and girls worked in the fields with men and boys.

The Backcountry In the backcountry, people cared less about rank. Life there provided a sharp contrast to life near the coast. As a result, backcountry people believed that the colonial governments on the coast did not care about them. They thought that colonial government only cared about protecting the wealth of the Tidewater plantation owners.