Some say that the new Hollywood is in Georgia; truth is, the original one was in Georgia too

Of course to get the full picture, and like any good Hollywood movie you have to start at the beginning, the very beginning.  The first couple of attempts for the colony called Georgia were not going to be set in Georgia’s present location.  And the original boundaries of the Georgia that did ultimately succeed would surprise you.

In 1731, there were twelve English colonies on the east coast of North America with a population of over 500,000.  Remarkably, there had been 1,500 transatlantic crossings by that time as well. (Morton, William J., The Story of Georgia’s Boundaries p.17)  England was interested in expanding its footprint on the new continent and wanted to get rid of French and Spanish settlements already on the new continent that were competing for land and commerce.  There were several attempts to start the colony “Georgia” to be named after King George II. The first attempts did not work out so well. 

The first colony of Georgia was a failure even before it began.  Swiss merchant Jean Pierre Purry convinced the Lords Proprietor in England to let him establish a new colony west of the Carolinas.  That’s right, Georgia was almost in Tennessee, which would have likely caused a lot of people in present day Tennessee to see red.  Purry’s selling point to the Lords Proprietor was that the French were migrating down the Mississippi from Canada and moving eastward; England needed to check that migration with a colony of English.  Of course one might ponder whether a little French high culture would have been such a bad thing for our friends in present day Tennessee.  Georgia 1.0 failed before it ever got off the ground.

The next attempt at establishing the colony of Georgia was made by a certain Thomas Coram, an Englishman who had made a fortune building ships in Massachusetts.  His plan was to locate Georgia between Massachusetts and Nova Scotia.  His Georgia was to be a refuge for Protestants from other European countries and hemp was to be the principal export. But Massachusetts did not want to lose any of its land and lobbied King George II to reject the plan, which he did.  When griping about a week-long cold snap, Georgians should keep in mind what could have been.

The third attempt for establishing the colony of Georgia was made by Sir William Keith, the retired royal governor of Pennsylvania. This time Georgia was going to be located on 120,000 square miles in what is now West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana.   And this time it was Virginia and Pennsylvania who were chaffed by the threat of competition and successfully killed the deal.

The fourth try for the colony of Georgia was a charm however.   Around 1720, England and South Carolina had begun actively promoting the Altamaha River area for settlement to block the French from moving in. (Ibid, p.21)  The Board of Trade had already bought and paid for a fort at the headwaters of the Altamaha for this purpose. (Ibid, p.21)  The Carolinas were concerned the French would compete for trade with the Native Americans.  So the timing was perfect for 30 year-old General James Oglethorpe, a general in the Royal Army and a Member of Parliament.  Oglethorpe assembled a group of investors, clergymen, philanthropists and politicians to help him promote the establishment of a 13th colony to be called Georgia.  Oglethorpe and his team were more strategic than previous colony promoters in their process.  They knocked out the “not-in-my-backyard” component first by obtaining the tacit approval of the officials in Charles Town (now Charleston) even before approaching the Board of Trade in England.  Due to the fear of French encroachment, this approval from Charles Towne was fairly easily obtained. 

The Crown was also concerned about encroachment from the Spanish from the south. The ownership of the land between St. Augustine and the Savannah River was still in question at that time.   It was referred to as the “debatable lands” and the Crown did not want the Spanish to build settlements there and thereby strengthen their claim.  This area was perfect for a new colony as it could serve as human roadblock to the French and Spanish.  The King granted Oglethorpe his Charter in 1732. (Ibid, p.20) 

Oglethorpe and 35 families of volunteer merchants, cooks, carpenters and farmers set sail from England on the frigate Anne to start the new Georgia.   On January 13th, 1733, the Anne landed near Charles Towne.  Oglethorpe went ashore and received an official greeting from the governor.

The Anne then sailed to the island of Hilton Head and the settlers came ashore. Major Oglethorpe and a small contingent sailed up river to meet with Tomochichi, the chief of the Yamacraw tribe, to ask permission to build a settlement to be known as Savannah on the Savannah River.  Tomochichi consented and the settlement of Georgia began in earnest.