Georgia Colony: Tragedy Or Prosperity

Words: 601
Pages: 3

Georgia Colony: Tragedy or Prosperity

Thomas Fuller, an English churchman or historian, once said, “ All things are difficult before they are easy.” Georgia was created as a buffer colony between the English colonies and outside threats, such as the Spanish, a home or fresh start for debtors/prisoners, a source of profit with a system of mercantilism. Based on the reasons for the Georgia settlement, as stated in the Charter of 1732, the Georgia colony was both a success and a failure. A charter is a grant for a piece of land. As a success, Georgia was able to defend other English colonies, establish mercantilism to profit Great Britain, and created relations/partnerships with the Native Americans. As a failure, Georgia experienced crop failures, mainly in silk production, slavery and the selling of rum increased, and the purpose of charity was omitted. With all the struggles and achievements Georgia acquired, the colony was both a tragedy and a source of prosperity.
The idea of charity towards suffering debtors was one of the major reasons for the founding of Georgia.
…show more content…
Georgia, according to document C, was “to provide the mother country with raw goods.” The trustees were able to establish a system of mercantilism where more items were exported than imported and benefit the overall economy of Britain and make trade relations and friendships with the Native Americans. As stated from document F, Georgia was described to be “very fit for raising silk, wine and cotton.” In the end, Georgia had many crop failures. The trustees paid for the more valuable people based on the information provided by document A, such as surgeons or carpenters, so that they could benefit or help the colony. In order to make sure the colony was on task and focused, the trustees restricted the colonists from slavery and selling rum. Along with this, there were many complaints and the trustees soon allowed harsh slave labor and