SOUTHERN COLONIESChapter 1 Lesson 4

Bell Ringer:

The south heavily relied on growing tobacco, rice, and other crops. Growing these crops at demanding rates required a lot of hard labor.

How do you think the south met the need for the demands of labor in their crop fields and

plantations?

Notes:

Using your Chapter 3 Notes Paper- Only write was is in RED.

Virginia began to grow so it took a lot of difficult labor to plant, tend,

and harvest tobacco crops on which the colony depended. Landowners met this need

through the use of African Slaves. The first group of 20 African

Slaves arrived in 1619 on a Dutch vessel. Virginia’s first Africans

show that not all people came to the colonies of their free will.

Farming in the Southern Colonies (and Middle Colonies) was a

success.

New England wasn’t as successful because of the

long winters made farming difficult.

SOUTHERN COLONIES- VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND

England also shipped criminals and prisoners of war to the

colonies. They would then earn their release by working for a

period of time (about 7 years).

Many people came to America working without pay for a certain length of time in

exchange for their passage to America. These people were

called indentured servants. They worked as servants to pay

off their debt.

Sir George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) wanted a safe place for his fellow

Catholics who faced persecution in England. Soon after receiving his land grant from King Charles I, he

died.

His son, Cecilius, inherited the colony and named it Maryland.

Cecilius then sent two of his brothers to start the colony in 1634.

He gave large estates to English aristocrats (upper-class people) and granted smaller land to settlers. As

the plantations grew, so did the need for workers. The colony

imported slaves and indentured workers.

For years the Calvert and Penn families argued over the boundary

between Maryland and Pennsylvania. In the 1760’s they hired Charles

Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to map the boundaries and named it the

Mason-Dixon Line.

The Calvert's welcomed Protestants as well as Catholics. Protestants outnumbered the Catholics so to protect the Catholics the colony

started the Act of Toleration in 1649 to ensure Protestants and Catholics the right to worship freely. By 1692 Maryland became a royal colony-

established in the Protestant church- so as a result Catholics faced similar restrictions as they did in England.

MARYLAND

As the colony grew, settlers ,moved West and onto Native American lands. In the

1640’s, in order to prevent war, governor William Berkley

made a pledge to Native Americans that in exchange for some land, he would agree to

stop settlers from pushing farther into their territory.

Many westerners were unhappy with this and some settled in forbidden areas.

They then blamed the government for not clearing

the colony of Native Americans.

VIRGINIA

Nathaniel Bacon was a young planter in western Virginia. He opposed the colonial government because it was dominated by

easterners. In 1676 he let attacks on Native American villages, led a march to

Jamestown to drive out Berkeley and burned the town to the ground. Bacon

seemed on the verge of taking over the colony, but he became ill and died.

With his death, the rebellion faded. England sent troops to restore order in

Berkeley. Bacon’s rebellion was IMPORTANT because it showed that the government can not ignore the people.

SOUTHERN COLONIES-CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA

In 1663 King Charles II created a proprietary colony south of Virginia called Carolina ,Latin for “Charles

Land”. The king gave the colony to eight nobles who set up estates and

sold or rented land to settlers brought from England.

John Locke, English philosopher, wrote a constitution that outlined the jobs

and powers of the colony’s government. It covered land divisions

and social rank, “Every man has a property in his own person…The

labour of his body, and the work of his hands…are properly his.”

Both Carolinas (North and South) grew rice abundantly in the 1680’s. Growing rice requires a lot of labor-

so they need for slaves rose. Another important crop was Indigo.

Eliza Lucas introduced Indigo into the Carolina

plantation system. Indigo is a blue flowering plant used to dye

cloth.

By the early 1700’s Carolina’s settlers were growing tired of the proprietor rule. In 1719 settlers in

southern Carolina took control from proprietors. In 1729 Carolina

became two royal colonies- North and South Carolina.

CAROLINIAS

Carolina did not develop as planned. It split into northern

and southern Carolina. Farmers from inland Virginia settled in Northern Carolina. They grew tobacco and sold

timber and tar. Northern Carolina lacked a good harbor,

so farmers used Virginia’s ports.

Southern Carolina settlers took advantage of fertile land and the harbor at Charles Town

(later Charleston). Settlements spread there, and they traded deerskin, lumber, and beef.

Britain hoped Georgia would blockade Spanish attacks from Florida. Oglethorpe built forts

and towns in Savannah to discourage attacks.

(Charter-holder) James Oglethorpe set strict rules on landholding,

slave labor, and rum in Georgia.

This upset the colonists, so he gave in to their demands.

Georgia had a slowly growing economy, so Oglethorpe

returned Georgia to the king in 1751.

GEORGIA

1733 Georgia was the last of the 13 British ColoniesJames Oglethorpe

received a charter from George II for colony

where debtors and poor people could make a fresh start. In Britain,

debtors-those who had debts- would be

imprisoned if they didn’t pay what they

owed.

SALEM WITCH TRIAL

We learn through the Salem Witch Trials that

Society tends to create scapegoats for its problems.

A Scapegoat is a person who is unfairly blamed for something that others have done

Hundreds of girls were put on trial accused of being “Witches”. Instead of looking at the similarities between the girls (physical reactions,

geography, time, weather), and looking for a solution to the problem, the colonists took the easy way out and jumped on the Witch Wagon.

Salem Witch Trial

ASSIGNMENT: SOUTHERN COLONIES

Page

80

Page

83

Page

81

Page

83