The Southern Colonies

Southern Colonies Geography• Maryland, Virginia, North

Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia

• The colonies share a coastal area called Tidewater and rolling hills called the Piedmont to the west

• Climate is warm and humid, perfect for farming

• Long growing seasons lead to growth of slavery

Virginia Grows

• By the 1670s, Virginia’s population has increased significantly

• More land is available to grow tobacco due to Indian deaths

• Wealthy farmers own most of the fertile land, while poor farmers struggle

Slaves Grow and Harvest Tobacco

Bacon’s Rebellion

• Poor farmers move inland to find better land• Fighting broke out between the poor farmers and the

Native Americans• The farmers demand that the governor of Virginia take

action: he did nothing due to a profitable trade with NA for fur

• Nathaniel Bacon organizes the farmers and attacks the NA; governor declares them rebels and they eventually burn down Jamestown

• Bacon became sick and died; his rebellion showed that the gov. could not stop people from moving west

Bacon’s Rebellion

Nathaniel Bacon Confronts Virginia’s Governor

Religious Toleration in Maryland

• King Charles I grants a charter for a colony that acts as a safe haven for Catholics

• Lord Baltimore founds Maryland and establishes the Act of Toleration in 1649

• All Christians were welcome and all Christian males could vote Lord Baltimore

The Carolinas

• In 1663, Charles II granted a charter for Carolina to be created

• The north developed slowly and settlers lived on small farms with no waterways

• The south developed quickly where slaves worked to grow sugar and rice

• These two reasons eventually lead to Carolina splitting into two: North Carolina and South Carolina

Georgia

• Georgia is founded for two reasons: the English did not want Spain to spread north and James Oglethorpe wanted a colony that was a safe haven for debtors

• Originally Georgia banned slavery but by the 1750s it was legal

James Oglethorpe

The Tidewater

• The Tidewater regions in the southern colonies develop plantations and slavery

• Tobacco becomes a huge cash crop• Society is split between slaveholders and

slaves; small groups of wealthy and large groups of poor farmers

The Backcountry

• The backcountry was cut off from the coast• Most people lived on small farms• People in the backcountry cared less about

rank• Many felt like the colonial government only

cared about protecting the wealth of large plantation owners