Colonial America Southern Colonies
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Maryland was founded in 1634 by a group of English Catholics who could not practice their religion in England. Their leader was Lord Baltimore. Baltimore sent about 300 settlers to the colony. Their settlement was called St. Mary's. Later the name was changed to Baltimore for their leader.
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In 1663 King Charles of England gave a grant of land "South of Virginia" to a group of his friends. They wanted to use the colony for their businesses. They named the colony Carolina in honor of Charles. The first settlement was Charleston. When these men came, they found that many settlers from Virginia were already living in the area. This caused arguments between the two groups. In 1680 the argument was solved by dividing Carolina into two separate colonies: North Carolina and South Carolina.
The last of the original 13 colonies was Georgia. In 1733, the king gave land to a man named James Oglethorpe. The king planned this colony as a place to get rid of people in England he did not want. The colony was to protect the other colonies from the French and Spanish to the south and west. Oglethorpe brought many people to Georgia who had been in jail or who owed money they could not pay. The first settlement was Savannah. Georgia was named in honor of King George of England. The southern colonies were Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. Large plantations were built there. They were worked by cheap labor. These plantations turned out turpentine, indigo, and tobacco. |
See the chart of the Southern Colonies.