Essay #2:Story of a Georgia Loyalist

It was 1730 in London where I was sitting and thinking about my family’s future, barely having the money to buy bread for my children to eat. Living in England was hard for us, but I didn’t want my children growing up and knowing the truth that we were poor and couldn’t afford anything. As the days passed, I searched for opportunities to earn more money. One Monday evening, I was walking down the street and overheard a man named Oglethorpe speaking to a group of people about how he is going to help the poor and debt-ridden people of London. Oglethorpe was a man who served in the army and after he left, he devoted his time in helping people. I came up to him pleading if he could help me, and he suggested that I move to the New World and settle in Georgia. I believe in the British cause for the protection of our rights and security of my family that can bring prosperity.

I left my homeland and took off for Georgia in 1735 for a one in a lifetime chance to bring prosperity to my family. It was an experience that changed my life forever. Georgia offered, “families of all social classes the opportunity to obtain free land and enjoy the status it brought” (Hall xiv). It did not matter how low the class of a family was to receive the opportunity to move to Georgia. The most important thing is that the British provide for us while we live in Georgia. For the first twelve months we worked on clearing the land and for the next two years we were given the chance to settle and inhabit the free land that was given to us. The Trustees provided all men with many useful items such as a watch coat, hatchet, hammer, iron pot, and many other items. Also, for the maintenance in the colony for one year, I was given food in proportions that the Trustees thought were proper. I received all this and not paying one bit of money to the Trustees. Though I left England behind and settled in Georgia, my family and I were greatly protected.

Many families and I did not know the security the land would give, but the British proved that they were there to protect us from harm. “Oglethorpe chose to spend £90,000 of his personal fortune to protect the southern frontier rather than risk its loss” (Hall 2). Georgia heavily depended for its protection and economic welfare on Britain, so most of the population here are Loyalists. “Additionally Oglethorpe constructed a series of forts and fortified settlements, brought in a regiment of British regulars, and led several attacks against the Spanish at St. Augustine as well as defended Georgia against Spanish attack” (Hall 2). I felt safe living in Georgia because I trusted the strongest empire being in power.

Leaving Britain would result in losing protection of the rights given to us by the British. Though we were given free land, we did have to abide by the rules the Trustees have made.
“Negroes and rum are prohibited to be used in the said, Colony, and trade with the Indians, unless licensed” (Jones 195). If people didn’t have a license for having slaves, that right would be taken away, but the British did not want people to lose their rights so they made sure that all rules were being followed. This is important to us because Britain fundamentally protected and is still protecting our property that I am unsure that the thirteen colonies would be able to do.

Looking at the life we lived in the 1730s was a gift from God. I was given the opportunity to take my family and move to Georgia. Here I am protected and worry free. I don’t want to break away from the British government because they have provided an opportunity for my family to start a new life with their helping hand by giving us many things that we were not able to obtain on our own. Britain deserves the support from the colonists to rule over the American colonies.

Works Cited:

Blassingame, John W. "American Nationalism and Other Loyalties in the Southern Colonies 1763-1775." Vol. 34 Feb. 1968 50-75. 16 Nov 2008 .

Hall, Leslie. Land & Allegiance in Revolutionary Georgia. University of Georgia Press, 2001.

"The Georgia Trustees: Rules for 1735." Colonial Settlement, 1600s-1763. 07/24/2003. The Library of Congress. 17 Nov 2008 .

Jones, Charles Jones. The History of Georgia. 1888.