Southern Colonies

The southern colonies of England consisted of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, the Province of Maryland, the Province of Carolina, and the Province of Georgia. These were established in the 17^th and 18^th century. Mainly an agrarian economy, the colonists rich plantation owners depended on slaves bought from Africa .The most important cash crops grown in these colonies were rice, indigo, sugar cane ,cotton and tobacco. The House of Burgesses (dominated by rich planters and landowners) took care of the administration of the colonies. The colonies of North and South Carolina are named in honor of King Charles.NorthCarolina was more mountainous and therefore the people did lumbering and grew tobacco and other crops. As North Carolina was inhabited by Native Americans, the colonists treated them harshly which resulted in two fierce battles between the colonists and the Native Americans. Eventually, in 1729, Carolina became the proprietary colony of the Crown. Whereas, the weather of South Carolina was much better and the people followed an agrarian economy and grew cotton, rice, indigo, and most popular is tobacco. Here the legislature made laws, the judiciary approved the law and the executive headed by the governor ruled the colony. Slaves helped out in the plantation.. With regard to Virginia, John Smith created this colony April 26, 1607. Here the people followed the Anglican religion and did different kinds of jobs like glassmaking, baking, farming and making silver articles. Here too, slaves were employed to work on the corn, tobacco fields. The House of Burgesses carried on the administration of the colony. Maryland was inhabited by Native Americans before the arrival of the colonists. The colony was established in 1634 and became a propriety colony of the Crown. Tobacco farming is the main occupation of the colonists. The local natives allied with the settlers for protection and other basic needs. The Maryland General assembly took care of the administration of the colony. The last of the thirteen colonies was Georgia named after King George of England. It was founded by James Oglethorpe and was inhabited by missionaries and Native Americans. On the red plains the farmers owned large plantation and grew rice, tobacco, indigo, and cotton. They also enjoyed religious freedom and had a government run by elected representatives.