“…they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people” Psalm 105:13
As our country is growing, our land mass is being colonized and the last area (before the Revolution) is established far to the south. This colony was given the name of Georgia in honor of George II. It was governed by a General James Oglethorpe.
Georgia was established as a utopian colony. The General envisioned this colony as a haven for English subjects who had been imprisoned for debt they could not pay. He thought of them as the “worthy poor.”
As he set up the colony, though, it came with many laws that the colonist did not agree with. One such law was the banning of alcoholic beverages.
The General disagreed with slavery and set up the land with smaller holdings as opposed to large plantations. However, the colonists did not like that they had smaller portions of land.
Another reason for the founding of Georgia was to act as a “buffer state” between the northern colonies and the Spanish in Florida. It was a garrison state opened to protecting the British colonists and their properties.
Although, it is said that the General wanted this colony for the poor of England, it was primarily known as a state that opposed slavery. He wanted it to be filled with sturdy farmers who could guard the land which is why he banned slavery. This ban, sadly, was lifted in 1751.
How did he find his colonists?
A committee was set up to visit the jails of England and find those poor prisoners who were deemed worthy. They were very careful to choose only those with character and circumstances suited for a trip to the New World.
The committee found thirty-five families, numbering one hundred and twenty persons in all. The families left on the 16th of November, 1732, on the ship Anne. They arrived in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina on January 13, 1733. The next day they left to sail to Port Royal some eighty miles southward. From here they took smaller vessels down the river Savannah and arrived in their new home.
Another colony formed and our fledgling country expanding!