South Carolina and Georgia.
IN January of 1670 the proprietors of Carolina sent out a colony under command of Joseph West and William Sayle. On the first high land upon the southern bank of the Ashley River were laid the foundations of Old Charleston, named in honor of Charles II. Sayle had been commissioned as governor of the colony, and he at once assumed control.
Introduction of Slaves.
2. In 1671 he died, and West entered upon the duties of the vacant office. In a few months Sir John Yeamans, who had been governor of the northern province, was commissioned as chief magistrate of the southern colony. He brought with him to Ashley River a cargo of African slaves. Thus the labor of the black man was substituted for the labor of the white man, and in less than two years slavery was firmly established. The importation of negroes went on so rapidly that soon the negroes were twice as numerous as the white men.
3. During the year 1671 the country was rapidly filled with people. Fertile lands were abundant. Wars and pestilence had almost destroyed the native tribes. The proprietors of Carolina sent several ships to New York, loaded them with the discontented people of that province, and brought them to Charleston. Charles II. collected a company of Protestant refugees in Europe, and sent them to Carolina to introduce the silk-worm and to cultivate the grape.
4. In 1680 the present city of Charleston was founded. Thirty dwellings were erected during the first summer. The village immediately became the capital of the colony. The unhealthy climate retarded the progress of the new town, but the people were full of life and enterprise.
French Huguenots.
5. England, France, Scotland, and Ireland sent colonies to South Carolina. Especially did the French Huguenots come in great numbers, for they were now persecuted in their own country. They were met by the proprietors with a promise of citizenship; but the promise was not well kept, for the general assembly claimed the right of fixing the conditions of naturalization. Not until 1697 were all discriminations against the French immigrants removed.
6. In April of 1693 the proprietors of Carolina annulled the Grand Model, and Thomas Smith was appointed governor. He was soon superseded by John Archdale, a distinguished Quaker, under whose administration the colony entered upon a new career of prosperity. The quit-rents on lands were remitted for four years. The Indians were conciliated with kindness, and the Huguenots protected in their rights. It was a real misfortune when, in 1698, the good governor was recalled to England.
7. James Moore was next commissioned as chief magistrate. In December of 1705 he led an expedition against the Indians. On the 14th of the month the invaders reached a fortified town near St. Mark's. The place was carried by assault, and more than two hundred prisoners were taken. On the next day Moore's forces defeated a large body of Indians and Spaniards. Five towns were carried in succession, and the English flag was borne to the Gulf of Mexico.
8. In the first year of Governor Johnson's administration, an act was passed disfranchising all dissenters from the English Church, but Parliament voted that the act was contrary to the laws of England. In November of the same year the colonial legislature revoked the law; but Episcopalianism continued to be the established faith of the province.
The Yamassee War.
9. In the spring of 1715 the Yamassees rose upon the frontier settlements and committed an atrocious massacre. The desperate savages came within a short distance of the capital, and the whole colony was threatened with destruction. But Governor Craven rallied the militia, and the savages were pursued to the banks of the Salkehatchie. Here a decisive battle was fought, and the Indians were completely routed. The Yamassees collected their tribe and retired into Florida.
10. At the close of the war the assembly petitioned the proprietors to bear a portion of the expense. But they refused, and would take no measures for the protection of the colony. The people, greatly burdened with rents and taxes, grew dissatisfied with the proprietary government. In the new election every delegate was chosen by the popular party. When James Moore, the new chief magistrate elected by the people, was to be inaugurated, Governor Johnson tried to prevent the ceremony. But the militia collected in the public square, and before nightfall the government of Carolina was overthrown. Governor Moore, the people's choice, was duly inaugurated in the name of King George I.
Becomes a Royal Province.
11. Still another change in colonial affairs was now at hand. In 1729 seven of the proprietors of Carolina sold their claims in the province to the king. The sum paid by George II. for the two colonies was twenty-two thousand five hundred pounds. Royal governors were appointed, and the affairs of the province were settled on a permanent basis.
12. The people who colonized South Carolina were brave and chivalrous. The Huguenot, the Scotch Presbyterian, the English dissenter, the Irish adventurer, and the Dutch mechanic, composed the material of the Palmetto State. Equally with the Puritans of the North, the South Carolinians were lovers of liberty. The people became the leaders in politeness and honor between man and man.
Georgia Chartered.
13. Georgia, the thirteenth American colony, was founded by James Oglethorpe, an English philanthropist. The laws of England permitted imprisonment for debt. Thousands of English laborers were annually arrested and thrown into jail. In order to provide a refuge for the poor and the distressed, Oglethorpe appealed to George II. for the privilege of planting a colony in America. The petition was favorably heard, and on the 9th of June, 1732, a charter was issued by which the territory between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers, and westward to the Pacific, was granted to a corporation, to be held in trust for the poor. In honor of the king, the new province was named Georgia.
Savannah Founded.
14. Oglethorpe, who was a brave soldier and a member of Parliament, was the principal member of the corporation. To him was entrusted the leadership of the first colony to be planted on the Savannah. By the middle of November a hundred and twenty emigrants were ready to sail for the New World. In January of 1733 the company was welcomed at Charleston. Further south the colonists entered the river, and on the 1st of February laid the foundations of Savannah.
James Oglethorpe.
15. The chief of the Yamacraws came from his cabin to see the new-comers. "Here is a present for you," said he to Oglethorpe. The present was a buffalo robe painted with the head and feathers of an eagle. "The feathers are soft, and signify love; the buffalo skin is the emblem of protection. Therefore love us and protect us," said the old chieftain. Seeing the advantages of peace, Oglethorpe invited a council at his capital. The conference was held on the 29th of May. Long King, the sachem, spoke for all the tribes. The English were welcomed to the country. Gifts were made, and the governor responded with words of friendship.
Oglethorpe and the Yamacraw Chief.
16. The councilors in England encouraged emigration. Swiss peasants, Scotch Highlanders, and German Protestants all found a home on the Savannah. In April of 1734, Oglethorpe made a visit to England. It was said in London that no colony was ever before founded so wisely as Georgia. The councilors prohibited the importation of rum. Traffic with the Indians was regulated by a license. Slavery was positively forbidden. While the governor was still abroad, a company of Moravians arrived at Savannah.
Coming of the Missionaries.
17. In February of 1736 Oglethorpe came back with a colony of three hundred. These were also Moravians, people of deep piety and fervent spirit. First among them was John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He came to Georgia to spread the gospel and convert the Indians. But he was doomed to much disappointment in his work; and after a residence of less than two years he left the colony. His brother, Charles Wesley, came also as a secretary to Governor Oglethorpe. In 1738 the famous George Whitefield came, and preached with fiery eloquence through all the colonies.
18. Meanwhile, Oglethorpe, anticipating war with Florida, began to fortify. All of Georgia was embraced in the Spanish claim. But Oglethorpe had a charter for the territory as far south as the Altamaha. In 1736 he ascended the Savannah and built a fort at Augusta. On the north bank of the Altamaha, he built Fort Darien. On St. Simon's Island a fortress was erected and named Frederica. The St. John's was claimed from this time forth as the southern boundary of Georgia. The governor again visited England, and returned with a regiment of troops.
War with Spanish Florida.
19. In October, 1739, England published a declaration of war against Spain. In the first week of the following January, Oglethorpe invaded Florida, and captured two fortified towns. Soon, with a force of more than a thousand men, he marched against St. Augustine, but after a siege of five weeks was compelled to withdraw.
20. The Spaniards now determined to carry the war into Georgia. In June of 1742 a fleet of thirty-six vessels, carrying more than three thousand troops, sailed from St. Augustine for the reduction of Fort William on Cumberland Island. But Oglethorpe reinforced the garrison, and then fell back to Frederica. The Spanish vessels followed. From the southern point of the island to Frederica, Oglethorpe had cut a road which lay between a morass and a forest. The Spaniards must pass along this path to attack the town.
21. The English general posted his men between the swamp and the forest. On the 7th of July the enemy reached the pass, were fired on from the thicket, and driven back in confusion. The main body of the Spanish forces pressed on into the same position, stood firm for a while, but were presently routed with the loss of two hundred men. The name of Bloody Marsh was given to this battlefield. Within a week the whole Spanish force reembarked and sailed for Florida.
22. The colony of Georgia was now firmly established. In 1743 Oglethorpe departed for England, after having devoted ten years to the colony. He had never owned a house nor possessed an acre of ground in the province.
Georgia a Royal Province.
23. The regulations which the councilors for Georgia had adopted were poorly suited to the wants of the colony. The settlers had no titles to their lands. Estates could descend only to the oldest sons of families. The colonists charged their poverty to the fact that slave-labor was forbidden in the province. The proprietary laws became unpopular. The statute excluding slavery was not enforced. Slaves began to be hired, first for short terms of service, then for longer periods, then for one hundred years. Finally, slaves were brought directly from Africa and sold to the planters below the Savannah.
24. The new order of things was acknowledged by the councilors; and in June of 1752 they surrendered their patent to the king. A royal government was established over the country, and the people were granted the freedom of Englishmen. For some time the progress of the colony was not equal to the expectations of its founder, but before the Revolution Georgia had become a growing province.