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TheSouthern Colonies withinBritish America consisted of theProvince of Maryland,[1] theColony of Virginia, theProvince of Carolina (in 1712 split intoNorth andSouth Carolina), and theProvince of Georgia. In 1763, the newly created colonies ofEast Florida andWest Florida were added to the Southern Colonies by Great Britain until theSpanish Empire took backFlorida. These colonies were the historical core of what became theSouthern United States, or "Dixie". They were located south of theMiddle Colonies, although Virginia and Maryland (located on the expansiveChesapeake Bay in the Upper South) were also called theChesapeake Colonies.
The Southern Colonies were overwhelmingly rural, with large agricultural operations, which made extensive use of slavery and indentured servitude. During a period of civil unrest,Bacon's Rebellion shaped the way that servitude and slavery worked in the South. After a series of attacks on theSusquehannock, attacks that ensued after the group of natives burnt one ofBacon's farms, Bacon's arrest, along with other arrest warrants, were issued byGovernor Berkely, for attacking the natives without his permission. Bacon avoided detainment, though, and then burntJamestown, in response to the governor previously denying him land in fear of native attacks. Bacon hadn't believed his policies were entirely conventional, saying that they didn't ensure protection to theEnglish settlers, as well as the exclusion of Bacon from Berkeley's social clubs and friend groups. The rebellion dissolved some time in 1676, followingCharles II's initial sending of troops to restore order in the colony. This rebellion influenced the view of the Africans, helping create a completely African servitude and workforce in the Chesapeake Colonies, alleviating primarily White servitude, a working class that could be repugnant at times through disobedience and mischief. This also helped racial superiority in white regions, helping the poor and wealthy white people feel almost equal. It diminished alliances between white and black people, as had happened inBacon's Rebellion.[2]
The colonies developed prosperous economies based on the cultivation ofcash crops, such astobacco,[3]indigo,[4] andrice.[5] An effect of the cultivation of these crops was the presence ofslavery in significantly higher proportions than in other parts of British America.
TheProvince of Carolina, originally chartered in 1608, was anEnglish and laterBritish colony ofNorth America. Because the original charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, theLords Proprietors, on March 24, 1663.[6] Led byAnthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, the Province of Carolina was controlled from 1663 to 1729 by these lords and their heirs.
Shaftesbury and his secretary, the philosopherJohn Locke, devised an intricate plan to govern the many people arriving in the colony. TheFundamental Constitutions of Carolina sought to ensure the colony's stability by allotting political status by a settler's wealth upon arrival - making asemi-manorial system with a Council of Nobles and a plan to have small landholders defer to these nobles. However, the settlers did not find it necessary to take orders from the Council.
By 1680, the colony had a large export industry of tobacco,lumber, andpitch.
In 1691, dissent over the governance of the province led to the appointment of a deputy governor to administer the northern half of Carolina. After nearly a decade in which the British government sought to locate and buy out the proprietors, both Carolinas becameroyal colonies.
The British colony of Georgia was founded byJames Oglethorpe on February 12, 1733.[7] The colony was administered by theGeorgia Trustees under a charter issued by and named forKing George II. The Trustees implemented an elaborate plan for the settlement of the colony, known as theOglethorpe Plan, which envisioned an agrarian society of Yeoman farmers and prohibited slavery. In 1742 the colony wasinvaded by the Spanish during theWar of Jenkins' Ear. In 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to theCrown, and Georgia became aCrown colony, with a governor appointed by the king.[8] The warm climate and swampy lands make it perfect for growing crops such as tobacco, rice, sugarcane, and indigo.
George Calvert received a charter fromKing Charles I to found the colony ofMaryland in 1632. When George Calvert died, Cecilius Calvert, later known as Lord Baltimore, became the proprietor. Calvert came from a wealthyCatholic family and was the first individual (rather than a joint-stock company) to receive a grant from the Crown. He received a grant for a large tract of land north of thePotomac river and on either side ofChesapeake Bay.[9] Calvert planned on creating a haven for English Roman Catholics, many of whom were well-to-do nobles such as himself who could not worship in public.[10] He planned on creating anagrarianmanorial society where each noble would have a large manor and tenants would work in the fields and on other tasks. However, with extremely cheap land prices, manyProtestants moved to Maryland and bought land for themselves. They soon became a majority of the population, and in 1642 religious tension began to erupt. Calvert was forced to take control and pass theMaryland Toleration Act in 1649, making Maryland the second colony to have freedom of worship, afterRhode Island. However, the Act did little to help religious peace. In 1654, Protestants barred Catholics from voting, ousted apro-tolerance Governor, and repealed the Toleration Act.[11] Maryland stayed Protestant until Calvert again took control of the colony in 1658.
TheColony ofVirginia (also known frequently as theVirginia Colony or theProvince of Virginia, and occasionally as theDominion and Colony of Virginia) was anEnglish colony inNorth America which existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until theAmerican Revolution (as aBritish colony after 1707[12]). The name Virginia was first applied bySir Walter Raleigh andQueen Elizabeth I in 1584.Jamestown was the first town created by the Virginia colony. After theEnglish Civil War in the mid 17th century, the Virginia Colony was nicknamed "The Old Dominion" byKing Charles II for its perceived loyalty to the English monarchy during the era of theCommonwealth of England.
While other colonies were being founded, Virginia continued to grow. Tobacco planters held the best land near the coast, so new settlers pushed inland. Sir William Berkeley, the colony's governor, sent explorers over the Blue Ridge Mountains to open up the back country of Virginia to settlement.
After independence from Great Britain in 1776 the Virginia Colony became theCommonwealth of Virginia, one of the originalthirteen states of the United States, adopting as its official slogan "The Old Dominion". The states ofWest Virginia,Kentucky,Indiana,Illinois, and portions ofOhio, were all later created from the territory encompassed earlier by the Colony of Virginia.
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