Voices from Colonial America: Georgia, 1521-1776

Did you know that the treasure of the infamous pirate Blackbeard is probably buried on one of the islands off Georgia? And did you know of the dastardly deed of Spanish privateers that provoked the War of Jenkins's Ear?

James Oglethorpe's "noble experiment" to make Georgia a place where debtors got a second chance and slavery and alcohol were banned was destroyed by "malcontents." Plantations producing rice and indigo increased the demand for slave labor, and the rift between the coastal planters and poorer upcountry farmers quickly divided the colony. This division would also complicate Georgia's decision to join the other colonies in the fight for independence.