Southern+Colonies

 Southern Colonies

The Southern Colonies- made up of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Georgia. It started with the first permanent settlement by English colonists in America- Jamestown. Jamestown was esablished in 1607, by the Virginia Company. After Virginia started growing tobbacco, English settlers started to come to the colonies to create farms. In about 1634, the first settlement was established in Maryland In about 1650, people from Virginia established a settlement in northern Carolina, and then in 1712, the colony was split into North and South Carolina. People started to have slaves, African-Americans, work on their farms in order to produce more of the cheif crops, such as indigo. Eventually, this idea grew into plantations. A plantation was run by a rich person with a lot of land, and slaves would work on the plantations to grow more crops. A plantation was self-sufficient, meaning everything you needed was found on the plantation. In about 1733, Georgia was founded, and plantations were also succesful there. The Southern Colonies ﻿had rich soil and a year round growing season, so they made most of their money by growing cash crops- things they grew an abundance of, and sold for money. The Southern Colonies, overall, were very successful because of the geography in the area. Slave Quarters at Mount Vernon George Washington with his Slaves Slavery and Plantations: Mount Vernon

By Emma

The geography and climate of the Southern Colonies greatly influenced their life. As you can gather from their name, the Southern Colonies were in the South- meaning they had almost year-round warm weather. This resulted in a long growing season with rich soil and a bountiful harvest. Their chief crops were mainly tobacco  and indigo , and the also grew a lot of rice. Although selling these crops produced a lot of money, it was hard work to grow large quantities of these crops. After the settlers bought land from the Native Americans, they began to set up plantations , or large farms. Some of the wealthy settlers started to have slaves, people brought over from Africa, to do their farm work. Slaves did all of the work in the field, and some slaves also worked inside the house, cooking and cleaning for the master of the plantation. Plantations soon grew self-sufficient, meaning you could find everything you needed on the plantation. One example of a famous plantation was Mount Vernon, the plantation where George Washington lived.

George Washington grew up on Mount Vernon, a plantation in Virginia. When his half-brother died in 1752, George Washington inherited the plantation as a young man. He started with owning 10 slaves, but by the time he died, 316 slaves lived and worked on Mount Vernon. George Washington grew up during a time where slavery was everywhere, so as a young person, he didn’t think too much of it. However, when he got older, George Washington believed that slavery was wrong, and that everyone deserved freedom. He arranged for all of his slaves to be freed after his wife’s death, and for some of the slaves to continue education and get jobs. Even though George Washington still kept slaves and had them work for him, his slaves had a better life than on some other plantations. The slaves received clothing once a year, and food rations once a week. Slaves could also keep a garden, and sell the produce. The work day was from sunrise to sunset, with 2 hours off for meals. Every Sunday, the slaves did not work, and if it was absolutely necessary for the slaves to work on a Sunday, Washington would allow them to skip working another day. They got 3-4 days off for Christmas, and sometimes a couple of days off for Easter. Although they had to work crazy amounts of hours, these slaves had many privledges that they might not have if they weren’t George Washington’s slaves.

A huge part of life in the South during the colonial times revolved around plantations, and plantations depended on slavery to run smoothly. At Mount Vernon, for example, most of the skills and labor that were needed to run the plantation was provided by slaves. Slaves on Mount Vernon were taught different skills and occupations such as blacksmithing and carpentry, or sewing and cooking. This made it possible for the slaves to provide almost everything on the plantation. If it weren’t for the slaves, Mount Vernon would not be a successful plantation. In truth, nothing would be successful in the Southern Colonies without the slaves- slaves did almost all of the work on the plantations, they kept the farms running and produced cash crops <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">, and they were basically the foundation of the Southern Colonies.

<span style="color: #f4932f; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The biggest cause of slavery was the geography of the Southern Colonies. Because it was so warm, and there was such a long growing season, people could grow tremendous amounts of crops to sell for money. People started coming to the Southern Colonies in order to grow crops and make money. The work was hard and long, and there were not enough people to work the fields, so people employed Africans. This took a great toll on society- this lead to slavery all over the 13 Colonies, later to the Civil War, and after that, to segregation; all because of the geography of the Southern Colonies. Clearly, the geography and climate of an area greatly affects the lives of the people living there.

<span style="color: #f4932f; font-family: Georgia,serif;">﻿"...the only unavoidable subject of regret." <span style="color: #f4932f; font-family: Georgia,serif;">-George Washington on slavery

<span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">tobacco: a plant used to make cigarettes and pipes <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">indigo: a plant which purple flowers are used as dye for clothing <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">plantation: a large farm or estate, usually on which a specific crop is grown <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">﻿ cash crops: crops grown in large amounts and sold for money



<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Many slaves attempted to fight their way to freedom in St. Augustine, Florida.

<span style="color: #f4932f; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">The Stono Rebellion By Katherine <span style="color: #f4932f; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Life as a slave in the Southern Colonies was difficult. There was always a great amount of work to do, and the list of chores and tasks never seemed to end. Because of the long growing season and rich, fertile soil, even the largest group of workers always seemed to have something to do. The never-ending hours of work resulted in tired and angry slaves; ones that were ready to stand up and fight for what they believed in. The climate of geography of the colonies in the South was the cause of many changes in the colonial society.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">On Sunday, September 9th, 1739 a group of roughly 20 slaves started the largest slave <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">revolt <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> in British North America. This revolt was later named the Stono <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">rebellion <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">. The leader of the group, Jemmy, broke into Hutchenson’s Store near the Stono River, just south of Charleston, North Carolina. After killing two workers and stealing their weapons, the group moved south towards Florida. In Florida, they hoped to find freedom among the Spanish in St. Augustine. The Spaniards promised freedom for black slaves from the Carolina’s, and many of those enslaved dreamed of one day finding their freedom there. The group marched towards Florida beating drums and shouting things like “liberty” and “freedom” at townspeople and all others they passed. In total, they gathered more than 50 followers on the way, something they weren’t sure they could do. On their way to Florida, the <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">rebels <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> attacked and burned several plantations, killing many white people, but only ones they thought deserved it. The “army” was only stopped when the governor from South Carolina, Lieutenant William Bull, sent an armed group of <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">militiamen <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> or “minute-men” to fight. The rebels were defeated by the militiamen in a battle in Stono just 50 miles from Florida, and so the Stono Rebellion was born.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">A majority of the rebels were captured, tortured and killed by the army, but the few that escaped <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> fled <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> to St. Augustine, their original destination, and began their lives among the other black runaways. But the rebels weren’t safe anywhere. In fury and need for revenge, the Carolina authorities started cracking down on all people that were, in their eyes, not worthy of lives outside their plantations. In doing something good for themselves, the little army of what was once twenty people caused thousands of blacks to be targeted. This seemingly simple attack from the “rebels” was one of the main reasons attributing to the Negro Act in 1740. The blacks outnumbered the colonists in South Carolina, and they lived in fear of being controlled by the Africans, so the colonists were no longer allowed to import slaves directly from Africa. The Negro Act also forced militias to patrol regularly, to prevent any other organized groups of rebellion like in the Stono Rebellion. The Negro Act also stated that slaves could no longer assemble on their own, grow food, learn to read or work for money. The already existing laws that restricted slaves came back into effect after the Negro Act, but this time they were heavily enforced.

<span style="color: #f4932f; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Stono rebellion was the cause of not only the Negro Act and reinforced laws, but also changes in society. When Jemmy and his group stood up to the British and revolted, it showed that they wanted to have power too. Yes, then they just created even more laws for themselves, but in the long run, they gave themselves freedom and rights. As history shows us today, the climate and geography of an area impacts and influences society.

<span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Revolt: to break away from or rise against constituted authority, as by open rebellion; cast off allegiance or subjection to those in authority <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rebels: a person who resists any authority, control, or tradition <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Militiamen: men enrolled for military service, and called out periodically for drill but serving full time only in emergencies <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Fled: to run away, as from danger or pursuers <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Rebellion: op <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: 16px;">en, organized, and armed resistance to one's government or ruler

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Works Cited: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Miller, Randall M., and Leslie Patrick. "Stono Rebellion." In Smith, Billy G., and Gary B. Nash, eds. Encyclopedia of American History: Colonization and Settlement, 1608 to 1760, Revised Edition (Volume II). New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2010. American History Online. Facts on File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">ItemID=WE52&iPin=EAHII392&SingleRecord=True

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">﻿By Katherine

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Daily Life in the Southern Colonies: by Lizzy

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Life in the southern colonies was very different depending on wealth. In, colonial times, upper class society had African slaves <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> used for different forms of work at the manor. Salves were shipped from Africa against there will and sold to work for with no rights. The men would care for crops and the women would cook and look after the children of the manor. A slave lived a extremely brutal <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> life, living in small cabins around the manor. If a slave did something wrong they would get whipped until they bleed. Meanwhile, life on the manor was much more luxurious than a slave’s life in a cabin. A manor had two floors, with many rooms. In colonial times, rooms had furniture of two contrasting colors, such as maroon and gold. Slaves and the people of the manor had very different ways of living.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Another element that varied depending on money was food and clothing. The upper class of society wore elegant, beautiful attire made of the nicest material such as silk and satin. Women of the 18th century wore satin, tight-waisted dresses. Over that, a silk petticoat <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">, that measures six feet across, was worn. Men wore fine linen shirts under fancy overcoats. A feathered hat completed the look. Meanwhile, slaves wore plain, rough garments made from the flax they’d harvested. In the manor, slaves cooked feasts from the family. A usual dinner consisted of soup, chicken, bacon and fruit at one end of the table. On the other side, roast beef, horse radish, and pickles were served. There was also an assortment of wines, vegetable pudding, apple pie and roast turkey. The slaves ate anything that was offered. Upper class society and slaves led a very different lifestyle.




 * This shows a manor in the southern colonies. This was considered a small compared to other manors. This is where someone of upper class society would live and the slaves would live in a cabin outback. ||

<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Five Fun Facts: <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">1) The southern colonies were known for growing tobacco, indigo, cotton, turpentine and other crops. 2) Slaves were very popular in the southern colonies especially. <span style="color: #ce1cce; font-family: Georgia,serif;">3) Southern Colonies border Atlantic Ocean ( east) and Appalachian Mountains (left). 4) Southern Colonies have a warm and humid climate. 5) The Southern Colonies had very fertile soil, which helped them grow crops. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">A young slave, Josiah Henson once wrote in his journal, "We lodged in log huts... Wooden floors were an unknown luxury. In a single room were huddled, like cattle, ten or a dozen persons...There were neither bedsteads nor furniture... Our beds were collections of straw and old rags... The wind whistled and the rain and snow blew in through the cracks, and the damp earth soaked in the moisture till the floor was miry as a pig-sty."  <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Highlighted Vocabualy Words:  <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**__slave-__** a person who was the property of someone else.  <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">__**brutal-**__ hard, cruel  <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**__petticoat-__** a full, often trimmed and ruffled, over or under skirt

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 1.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Kent, Deborah. //How We Lived in the Southern Colonies//. Tarrytown: Benchmark Books Marshall Cavendish Corporation, Print. <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 1.5pt; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">By: Lizzy