The Origin of the Southern Colonies!

       Settlers had a multiple of reasons to immigrate to the southern colonies. But the main reason was: they wanted to make money, as did the many of the other new settlers in the English Colonies. They brought their families and started plantations that grew valuable cash crops. 

Above is a picture of the original Jamestown colony. 

       In 1607, Jamestown, Virginia was founded to gain wealth and to convert the natives that lived there to Christianity. It was the first permanent settlement of the English in the new world. And in 1624, Virginia was created as a royal colony (which included Jamestown). This link shows the list of signatures of burgesses who founded Jamestown in 1617.  

      In 1634 Maryland was founded by a group of English Catholics who came to America for a free religion policy. Their leader was Lord Baltimore. In the beginning, Baltimore sent about 300 settlers to the colony, and named it St. Mary's. Later the colony was renamed Baltimore for Lord Baltimore.

      In 1663 King Charles gave a land grant to the eight lords proprietors. They brought settlers from the English colonies of Barbados and Bermuda. Soon after that, European immigrants began settling in the Carolinas, and in 1680North Carolina and South Carolina split.

     The last colony founded in the 13 colonies was Georgia. In 1733 James Oglethrope got a land grant from King Charles. He wanted to found the colony as a place for unwanted English residents to live. It also served to protect the colonies from the French to the south and Spanish to the west. The first settlement was named Savannah.