Subject: The Colony of Georgia From: Mmeadpond Date: March 27, 1999 In a message dated 3/27/99 12:48:32 AM, [email protected] writes: Actually, when the Colony of Georgia was founded circa 1733 all of Georgia >was within the boundaries of the Province of Carolina. Greetings! Your last e-mail reminded me of an interesting history of the formation and settlement of the colony of Georgia. There is an entire section relating to this colony in "THE AMERICANS: The Colonial Experience", by Daniel Boorstin (New York: Random House, 1958). The Section is called "VICTIMS OF PHILANTHROPY, The Settlers of Georgia." Basically, it describes how the colony of Georgia was began as a "charity project", meant to serve a few objectives: One was to get the homeless and unemployed off the streets, and far, far away from London...along with some idealistic minded folks wanting to give the poor some meaning and purpose to their lives, while providing profit and market supplies for the Kingdom of Britain. Here are a few snippets, for flavor: p. 77 "The promises and the weaknesses of the Georgia venture were symbolized in its two leaders: Lord Percival, the wealthy aristocrat, interested in doing good for his fellow Englishman and in strengthening his nation, insofar as could be accomplished from an upholstered chair in a town-house, on the floor of Parliment or in a coffee-house, or from the lordly ease of his Irish estates; and General Oglethorpe, the man of action, clear and specific in his purposes, arbitrary and impatient and unbending with the doctrinaire rigidity of the completly 'practical' man." . . . . . .snip . . . . ... "Of the twenty-one trustees named in the Georgia Charter of 1732, all had been active earlier in purely charitable ventures. Ten of them had been members of the House of Commons committee oon the state of the jails (1729); some were interested in the Parliamentary committee to relieve imprisoned debtors; all had been associates of Dr. Thomas Bray in his enterprise to convert Negroes in the British Plantations, and some were active supporters of the protestant missionary societies of the day. But as the project for the new colony moved From dream into reality, its prudential aspect became more and more important. A strong colony of English families on the Savannah (which marked the Southern boundary of Carolina) would protect the borderlands from Indian, Spanish, and French invasions; and improvement of these lands would enrich Great Britain. How was this to be accomplished was agreed upon in advance by Oglethorpe and other respectible associates of Lord Percival: It is proposed the families there settled shall plant hemp and flax to be sent unmanufactured to England, whereby in time much ready money will be saved in this Kingdom, which now goes to other countries for the purchase of these goods; and they will also be able to supply us with a great deal of good timber. "Tis possible too they may raise white mulberry trees and send us good raw silk. But at the worst, they will be able ot live there, and defend this country from the insults of their neighbor, and London will be eased of maintaining a number of families which being let out of gaol have at present no visible way to subsist." The chapters go one to describe how the settlement was organized--how the mulberry trees were the wrong ones, hence, no prosperous silk colony as they had hoped...and on and on. This book is an interesting window into the history of colonial America. It was described by Hans Kohn of THE NEW LEADER as "provocative and controversial", but Kohn also says....". . .THE AMERICANS is a major work, an original contribution in a field which in the last 60 years has abounded in great research and scholarship, a book equally stimulating for the historian and for the general reader." There are extensive bibliographic references to further articles and papers in the back of the book. (Each chapter has its own references and author's comments.) I found this book several years ago at a large San Francisco bookstore. I'm sure it's still widely available at public libraries and in local bookstores. Maureen Mead Pond [email protected] ==== SCROOTS Mailing List ==== Go To: #, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, Main |