Establishing the Colony of Georgia

1. There were many plans for the new land below South Carolina presented to King George II. Explain why the King chose Oglethorpe’s plan.

2. Since Oglethorpe was called “Father” by most of the colonists, why was there discontent among them?

3. Describe what caused nearly a third of the colonists to die the first year of settlement.

4. Explain the main reasons why Georgia was a successful colony.

5. Other than what was talked about in the video, what changes in the settlers’ lives had to be made because of the differences in the two countries? (Remember Europe, and England in particular, had very different weather and living conditions from the colony of Georgia.)

1. Find other students in your school who are from other countries or other states. Have them relate to you what was so different about coming to Georgia. What did they find so different about this state/country? Either record or write what they say.

2. Write a play about the new settlers coming to Georgia. You might expand on the characters from the video.

3. It is fun to go back in time and pretend present-day technology existed as this television newscast did. Were the issues investigated by the reporter some of the ones you knew existed in the colony? Suggest other stories a news reporter could explore and present your own newscast.

philanthropist: one who makes the effort or is inclined to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations

utopian: excellent or ideal but impracticable; visionary

Oglethorpe’s Folly: what the colony of Georgia was called, as he had proposed it

Tomochichi: chief of the Yamacraw (Creek clan) Indians of Georgia who befriended Oglethorpe and provided the land upon which the first settlers of Georgia built their first city, Savannah

1. There were many plans for the new land below South Carolina presented to King George II. Explain why the King chose Oglethorpe’s plan.

The King liked Oglethorpe’s plan because he saw the potential for producing silk, indigos, and dyes for use by the English.

2. Since Oglethorpe was called “Father” by most of the colonists, why was there discontent among them?

The trustees, including Oglethorpe, had imposed certain rules on the colonists. Two of these restrictions – no rum and no slaves – were particularly distasteful to the new settlers. It was thought that rum and slaves would promote laziness among these new settlers. The settlers, however, thought they should be able to have whatever the other colonies had. They were secretly renting slaves from South Carolina plantations.

3. Describe what caused nearly a third of the colonists to die the first year of settlement.

Sickness because of bad water, malaria (caused by mosquitoes), as well as the extreme heat caused many deaths among the colonists. (The colony grew to at least 500 by the second year. There were new colonists coming to Georgia either from England or from other colonies.)

4. Explain the main reasons why Georgia was a successful colony.

Georgia’s vast riches of timber and other natural resources proved to be very profitable for the colony and for England. It was also a natural buffer zone between South Carolina and Florida, defending the other colonies from the French and Spanish.

5. Other than what was talked about in the video, what changes in the settlers’ lives had to be made because of the differences in the two countries? (Remember Europe, and England in particular, had very different weather and living conditions from the colony of Georgia.)

Clothing: England was cooler than Georgia. Rather than wear the wool clothes on top of the many petticoats and layers of clothing they were used to, the colonists had to learn to wear only cotton and short-sleeved garments – and not as many of them.

Housing: Rather than living in a cool, rainy climate, in the middle of a crowded city, colonists were needing to build small but simple dwellings with lots of windows (to catch cool breezes) using wood and tabby (a mixture of sand and seashells) and palm tree branches for the roof.

Food: Some colonists had to learn to grow their own food, which was a new experience for them, in addition to learning to eat a different variety of food. The Indians were a great source of knowledge of gardening techniques and what and when to plant. Also, their knowledge of medicinal plants helped with the sicknesses and injuries they encountered. You and your students may think of other life changes they had to make. Research these.