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BRITISH GEORGIA, The Trustees, 1732-1752WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?Did the Trustees, ensconced in London, realize the enormous task they were undertaking when they petitioned the King for a Charter for the Colony of Georgia? Did they have any idea ofMoreBRITISH GEORGIA, The Trustees, 1732-1752WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?Did the Trustees, ensconced in London, realize the enormous task they were undertaking when they petitioned the King for a Charter for the Colony of Georgia? Did they have any idea of the land, or challenges to settlement?Where was the money coming from to pay for transportation, feed the people until they could be settled, housed, and provide religious and medical care?None of the original Trustees had even been in America. Yet the lives of Georgia’s settlers were in their hands – in what might become a war zone!These Trustees were independently wealthy men, many were serving as members of Parliament. There was a scattering of the clergy, and members of the nobility as well. Over 20 years they gave of their time, position, and many gave funds, to provide a new life in America for persons whom they never knew. But only one, Oglethorpe, put his life on the line, and led the first settlers into their “Promised Land.”Were they a bunch of do-gooders, or serial philanthropists? Yes. Some had joined the “Associates of Dr. Bray” to bring Christianity to Indians and Negroes. Sea-captain Thomas Coram’s “Foundling Home” is still in operation.James Vernon, who served continually from the beginning to end of the Trust, was too busy to pose for a portrait. Highest ranking member of the original Trustees, the 1st Earl of Egmont, kept detailed notes on the individual settlers, and progress of the colony until his death. These formed the basis for BRITISH GEORGIA, the First Settlers, 1732-1740.DEBTORSThe initial aim of the Trust was to offer a new start to the bankrupt small business men who filled the Debtors Prisons. Their idea was to get the men out of prison, give them another chance, while peopling Georgia. There was a problem, however. Few if any were farmers, able to feed themselves in a strange land.FOREIGN PROTESTANTSBefore the Charter could be written, it was modified to include as potential settlers the Persecuted Protestants who were flooding in from Europe. These families were aided by the Trustees, and two religious charities, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), and the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) with transportation and maintenance from Europe to Georgia. As a result, during the Trust period half the Georgians were German-speakers.Unknown to the Trustees, these foreign Protestants, who took half the resources to be used for populating Georgia, were farmers who knew HOW to farm, feed themselves and others. They had skills unknown to many of those city-dwelling British settlers.WHERE WAS THE MONEY COMING FROM TO SUPPORT THIS EFFORT?Donations were collected in churches, from individuals, from the SPG and SPCK, and finally the King and Parliament. Would charity collections be enough to support new settlers long enough to establish, and feed themselves?THE SPANISH THREATWho would pay the cost of defense, if Spain chose to invade? The Trustees couldn’t protect settlements or maintain an army. Settlers were given some military training before leaving England, and furnished with guns and ammunition.Follow the story of this “social experiment” which became Georgia. British Georgia, The Trustees, Unsung Heroes 1732-1752 by Mary Warren
