.• Virginia planters feast as their slavesharvest tobacco.

Persons of the Worst Character"These overseers are indeed for the most partpersons of the worst character .... They pay noregard to ... the lodging of the field negroes. Theirhuts, which ought to be well covered, and theplace dry where they take their little repose, areoften open sheds, built in damp places; so that,when the poor creatures return tired from the toilsof the field, they contract many disorders."

-Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrativeof the Life of Olaudah Equiano

The Southern ColoniesObjectives• Describe the geography and climate of the

Southern Colonies.

• Describe the early history of Virginia.

• Explain how Maryland, the Carolinas, andGeorgia were founded.

• Identify the factors that produced the Tide-water and backcountry ways of life.

@ Reading SkillCompare and Contrast As you read aboutthe Southern Colonies in this section, think abouthow they are the same and different from oneanother. What physical features do they share?What human features? In what ways are thecommunities and places different? Comparing andcontrasting will help you better understand thecolonies.

Key Terms and PeopleNathaniel Bacon debtorLord Baltimore plantationJames Oglethorpe

Why It Matters The New England and Middle Colonieshad much in common. But the two regions also differedbecause of local geographic conditions and other factors.@ Section Focus Question: What factors influenced thedevelopment of the Southern Colonies?

Geography of the Southern ColoniesDuring the 1760s,Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were

hired to settle a boundary dispute between Maryland andPennsylvania. They conducted a survey-a careful measuringof an area with scientificinstruments using the techniques ofmathematics-that took four years to complete. The boundarythey drew is known as the Mason-Dixon line. This line on amap marked much more than the boundary between two colo-nies. After the American Revolution, it was the dividing linebetween the northern states where slavery was abolished andthe southern states where slavery persisted.

Five colonies were located south of the Mason-Dixonline: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,and Georgia. They shared a coastal area called the Tide-water, a flat lowland that includes many swampy areas. Onits west, the Tidewater blends into a region of rolling hillscalled the Piedmont.

The climate of these states is warm and humid. Hotsummers provide a long growing season that colonial farmersused to raise crops such as tobacco and rice. Both cropsrequired many workers in the fields and thus were partlyresponsiblefor helping to spur the early development ofslavery.

t'l'Checkpoint What conditions favored the development ofa plantation economy?

Virginia GrowsVirginia's population grew gradually during the 1600s. New

settlers arriving from Europe made up for the fact that disease anddifficult living conditions kept the death rate high. After 1650, thedeath rate fell, and the population increased more quickly. In 1640,about 10,000settlers lived in Virginia. By 1670, the number hadreached 40,000.

The makeup of Virginia's population also changed. By the 1670s,there were more children because fewer were dying at a young age.The percentage of women in the population rose as well.

Conflicts With Native Americans As Virginia's whitepopulation grew, the Native American population shrank. Diseaseand violence took their toll. In 1607, there had been about 8,000Native Americans in Virginia. By 1675, only about 2,000NativeAmericans were left.

Farmers took over more land to plant tobacco. This led to troublewith the Native Americans. There were two violent confrontations-one in 1622 and the other in 1644.Although the Native Americanskilled hundreds of colonists, they were defeated both times. After1644, the Native Americans living near the coast had to acceptEnglish rule.

Bacon'sRebellion There was more trouble to come. Beginningin the 1660s,wealthy Virginia tobacco planters bought most of thegood farmland near the coast. That left no land for poorer colonistswho wanted to start their own farms. Most of these colonists wereyoung men who were forced to work the land forwealthier farmers. The young men also were angrybecause without property, they could not vote.

Many poor colonists moved inland to find good farm-land. Fighting broke out with Native Americans, andpeople were killed on both sides. Farmers on the frontierdemanded that the governor take strong measures againstthe Native Americans. However, the governor hesitated.He hoped to avoid an all-out war with the Native Ameri-cans, partly because he benefited from his fur trade withthem.

Nathaniel Bacon became the leader of the frontiersettlers. In 1675,he organized a force of 1,000westernersand began attacking and killing Native Americans. Thegovernor declared that Bacon and his men were rebels.Bacon reacted by attacking Jamestown, burning it to theground, and forcing the governor to run away.

The revolt, known as Bacon's Rebellion, collapsedwhen Bacon became sick and died. The governor hanged23 of Bacon's followers. Still, he could not stop Englishsettlers from moving onto Native American lands.

~Checkpoint What was the main cause of Bacon'sRebellion?

Bacon's RebellionNathaniel Bacon (center) is shownhere taking part in the burningof Jamestown during his 1675rebellion. Critical Thinking:Explain Problems How did theinterests of frontier settlers differfrom those of colonists in townsand on plantations?

• Lumber

-£. Rice

<J Rum

.•• Indigo ~ Tobacco

11 Iron

Vocabulary Builderproprietor (proh PRIah tor) n.owner of a business or a colony

_~ Compare and Contrast\\!( Compare and contrast

'''g5'''' the population growth,agriculture, and political tensionsof Maryland with those ofVirginia.

ATLANTICOCEAN

o km 100:nmr---c Io miles 100 ~Albers Conic Equal-Area Projection ~

The long growing seasonsand warm climate of theSouthern Colonies providedgood conditions for raisingcrops.

(a) Understand a Map KeyIn what regions wastobacco an importantcrop?

(b) Identify Benefits Whatadvantages did thelocation of Norfolk andSavannah offermerchants?

MapMaster nline

For: Interactive mapVisit: PHSchool.comWeb Code: mvp-1034

Religious Toleration in MarylandIn 1632, King Charles I granted a charter for a new colony to

George Calvert, an English Catholic. Catholics suffered greatdiscrimination in England. Calvert aimed to set up a colony whereCatholics could live safely. His colony, Maryland, lay across Chesa-peake Bay from Virginia.

The first settlers included both Catholics and Protestants. Theygrew tobacco and harvested the sea life of Chesapeake Bay. WhenGeorge Calvert died, his son, Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, becameproprietor. As the charter required, there was a representativeassembly similar to the House of Burgesses in Virginia.

Soon there was tension between Protestants and Catholics. Fearingthat Catholics might lose their rights, Lord Baltimore got the assemblyto pass the Act of Toleration in 1649.It welcomed all Christians and gaveadult male Christians the right to vote and hold office. Although theToleration Act did not protect people who were not Christian, it was stillan important step toward religious toleration in North America.

~Checkpoint Who benefited from Maryland's toleration?

Colonies in the Carolinas and GeorgiaBy the 1660s, a few settlers from Virginia had moved south beyond

the colony's borders. In 1663,King Charles II granted a charter for a newcolony to be established there, in the area called Carolina.

The northern part of Carolina developedslowly. It lacked harbors and rivers on which shipscould travel easily. Settlers lived on small farms,raising and exporting tobacco. Some producedlumber for shipbuilding.

The southern part of Carolina grew morequickly. Sugar grew well in the swampy lowlands.Many planters came from Barbados in the WestIndies. They brought enslaved people to growsugar. Soon the colonists were using slave labor togrow another crop, rice. It became the area's mostimportant crop.

As rice production spread, Carolina's main city,Charles Town (today's Charleston), eventuallybecame the biggest city in the Southern Colonies.By then, Carolina had become two colonies: NorthCarolina and South Carolina.

James Oglethorpe was a fighter. Asoldier since the age of 16, he fought inmany winning battles. Later, as a memberof England's Parliament, he foughtagainst slavery and other injustices.

In 1728, a friend of Oglethorpe's diedof smallpox while in jail for debt.Oglethorpe organized a committee toinvestigate conditions in debtors'prisons. Four years later, he foundedGeorgia as a place where debtors couldstart a new life.

Biography Quest

Georgia The last of England's 13 colonies, Georgiawas founded for two reasons. First, the Englishfeared that Spain was about to expand its Floridacolony northward. An English colony south ofCarolina would keep the Spanish bottled up inFlorida. Second, a group of wealthy Englishmenled by James Oglethorpe wanted a colony wherethere would be protection for English debtors-people who owe money. Under English laws, thegovernment could imprison debtors until they paidwhat they owed.

Georgia's founders wanted Georgia to. be acolony of small farms, not large plantations. Therefore, slavery wasbanned. However, this restriction was unpopular with settlers anddid not last. By the 1750s, slavery was legal in Georgia.

Why did Georgia colonists later rebelagainst Oglethorpe?For: The answer to the question aboutOglethorpeVisit: PHSchool.comWeb Code: mvd-1034

L'i'Checkpoint Why did Oglethorpe and the other foundersestablish the colony of Georgia?

Change in the Southern ColoniesDuring the 1700s, the Southern Colonies developed two distinct

ways of life. People along the coast lived very differently from peoplewho settled inland on the frontier.

The Tidewater Region The most important feature of life alongthe coast in the Southern Colonies was the plantation, a large farmespecially in a hot country where crops such as cotton, sugar, andrice are grown. This led to an economy dominated by plantations inthe Tidewater region. The plantation system began in Virginia andMaryland when settlers started growing tobacco. It spreadsouthward when planters found other crops they could exportprofitably to Europe.

• MassachusettsPlymouth / 1620Massachusetts Bay / 1630

• New Hampshire / 1622

William BradfordJohn Winthrop

Ferdinando GorgesJohn MasonThomas Hooker

Roger Williams• Connecticut / 1636

• Rhode Island / 1636

• New York / 1624• Delaware / 1638• New Jersey / 1664

Peter MinuitSwedish settlersJohn BerkeleyGeorge Carteret

William Penn

Religious freedomReligious freedom

Profit from trade and fishing

Expand trade; religious and political freedom

Religious freedom

Expand tradeExpand tradeExpand trade; religious and political freedom

Profit from land sales; religious and politicalfreedom

• Virginia /1607 John Smith Trade and farming

Maryland / 1634 Lord Baltimore Profit from land sales; religious and politicalfreedom

• The Carolinas /1663 Group of eight Trade and farmingNorth Carolina /1712 proprietorsSouth Carolina /1719

• Georgia / 1733 James Oglethorpe Profit; home for debtors; buffer againstSpanish Florida

, Skills Activity /By 1733, England had established13 colonies on the Atlantic coast ofNorth America. These colonies werefounded for a variety of reasons.

(a) Interpret a Chart Identify one MiddleColony and one Southern Colonyfounded for religious reasons.

(b) Understand Sequence How manyEnglish colonies were there by 17007

The Tidewater region in South Carolina and Georgia was wellsuited for rice. However, rice-growing required large numbers ofworkers laboring in hot, humid, unhealthy conditions. This was onereason rice-farming helped promote the spread of slavery. In time,the enslaved population outnumbered the free population of SouthCarolina.

The plantation system did not just create asociety of slaveholders and enslaved people in theTidewater. It also divided the white communityinto a small group of wealthy people and a muchlarger group with little or no property, most ofwhom were poor and lived in the backcountrySouth.

The Backcountry The backcountry was cut offfrom the coast by poor roads and long distances.Families usually lived on isolated farms. They oftendid not legally own the land they farmed. Manyfamilies lived in simple one-room shacks. Fewfamilies had servants or enslaved people to help them with theirwork. Women and girls worked in the fields with the men and boys.

In the backcountry, people cared less about rank. Life in the back-country provided a sharp contrast to life near the coast. As a result,backcountry people believed that the colonial governments on thecoast did not care about them. They thought that colonial govern-ment cared only about protecting the wealth of the Tidewater planta-tion owners.

~Checkpoint How did people live in the backcountry?

,~ Leoking Back and Ahead As you have seen, the Englishcolonies developed along distinct regional lines. But Spain, too, wascompeting for influence in North America. It had started its owncolonieslong before the English arrived.

\!) Reading Skill3. Compare and Contrast

Compare and contrast the Tide-water and the backcountryregions of the Southern Colonies.

Comprehensionand Critical Thinking1. (a) Summarize How did the

geography of the Southern Colo-nies affect the kinds of crops thatwere grown there?(b) Draw Conclusions Why didthe struggle for rich farmlandaffect the colonists in Virginia?

2. (a) Recall Why did Lord Balti-more want Maryland's Actof Toleration?(b) Compare How would youcompare the motives of Lord Bal-timore in founding the colony ofMaryland with those of JamesOglethorpe in founding Georgia?

Key TermsRead each sentence. If the sentenceis true, write YES.If the sentence isnot true, write NO and explain why.4. Debtors could not be imprisoned

under English law.5. There were many plantations

where crops suchaswheat, fruits,and vegetables were grown.

Vocabulary Buildercontrast (KAHN trast) n. differenceshown between things whencompared

Progress Monitoring _ nlineFor: Self-test with instant helpVisit: PHSchool.comWeb Code: mva-1034

Writing6. List the different groups of peo-

ple living in the Southern Colo-nies between 1620and the 1700s.Write two or three sentencesabout each group.