The Southern Colonies

1
The Southern Colonies
2
Geography

• Southern Colonies
• Maryland
• Virginia
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Georgia
• Located at the extreme southern end of the
  eastern coast
• How is this location going to affect the weather
  in the southern colonies?

3
Geography

• What sort of geographical features are present in
  the Southern Colonies?
• Appalachian Mountains to the far west
• Coastal Plain has lots of open fertile land
• A number of major rivers for transportation
• How will geography affect the economy of the
  south?

4
Economy

• The south was dependent on the export of cash
  crops
• Tobacco
• Rice
• Indigo
• What do these crops have in common?
• Valuable
• Primarily not edible
• Very labor intensive crops

5
Labor

• Cash crops cultivated by southerners required a
  large number of workers to plant, grow and
  harvest
• African slaves provided a much needed source of
  labor

6
Virginia

• As Jamestown grew, the settlers needed more land
  to support their growing population
• This expansion led the Virginians into violent
  confrontations with the natives along the coast
• Eventually, the natives were pushed further
  inland.

7
Bacons Rebellion

• Despite growing population, most of the fertile
  land near the coast was controlled by a few
  wealthy tobacco growers
• Poorer farmers were pushed inland to find enough
  farmland
• What group is inland already?
• These poorer farmers came into conflict with the
  natives!

8
Bacons Rebellion

• Nathaniel Bacon organized poor colonists to
  defend themselves
• Governor wanted to keep peace and outlawed Bacon
  and his troops
• Bacons forces marched on Jamestown and burned
  the capitol
• Rebellion failed, but shows
• Southern Colonies were dominated by wealthy
  planter class (Economically/Politically)
• Settlers want to continue to expand into the
  frontier and native territory
• Americans are willing to take up arms against the
  British government if needed

9
Maryland

• What religious dissidents have we already
  discussed who have established colonies in
  America?
• Separatists/Pilgrims
• Puritans
• Quakers
• Another group that was persecuted in Anglican
  controlled England was the Catholics.
• Lord Baltimore was given permission to establish
  Maryland as a safe haven for Catholics.
• Calvert (Lord Baltimore) issued the Toleration
  Act of 1649
• All Christians welcome to settle in Maryland
• Didnt protect Non-Christians
• No state religion in Maryland

10
The Carolinas

• What sort of colony is it when the King grants
  control to an individual or a group?
• Proprietary Colony!
• The King granted control of Carolina to a group
  of his friends
• They desired to export cash crops
• Pirates raided ships off the coast of Carolina
  and attacked the city of Charlestown
• They were not concerned with freedom of religion
• Since the Carolinas relied so heavily on the
  export of cash crops, what will these areas have
  a large population of?
• Slaves!
• Difficult to travel over such a large area
• Region was divided into North and South Carolina

North Carolina
Carolina
South Carolina
11
Georgia

• King George gave James Oglethorpe a charter to
  found a new colony south of the Carolinas with
  two goals in mind
• The colony should block Spanish expansion
• Be open to settlement for English debtors
• Many people were in prison for debt
• Oglethorpe wanted a place where they could get a
  fresh start

12
Ways of Life

• Tidewater
• Closer to the coast
• More fertile, better soil
• Easy to export cash crops
• More Valuable
• Dominated by plantations and the wealthy planter
  class
• Included approximately 3 of the population, but
  controlled the majority of economic and political
  power
• The majority of slaves will be located in this
  area

TIDEWATER
13
Ways of Life
Piedmont stretched from the fall line westward
to the edge of the Appalachian Mountains. This
area differed from the low-lying Coastal Plain.
Its limestone and clay soils supported forests
and grasslands.

• The swift-flowing, shallow streams and narrow
  rivers were not good for boat traffic, but they
  offered excellent sites for mills and farms
• Settlers raised livestock and drove them in large
  numbers to northern and eastern markets. They
  built stores, gristmills, sawmills, and
  tanneries. Blacksmiths, carpenters, coopers,
  potters, rope makers, wagon makers, and
  wheelwrights established many local industries.

14

• Backcountry
• Inland
• Appalachian Mountains rockier, hillier soil
• Not as fertile
• Not as valuable
• Poorer farms
• Individual family farms
• Little/No slaves
• Cut off from coast by lack of navigable rivers
  and poor roads
• Extremely Isolated
• Scotch-Irish
• Major group that immigrated from England and
  settled in the hills on the Appalachian frontier
• Hillbillies

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