Charter of 1732 (The Georgia Charter)
For years James Oglethorpe worked to make a colony out of what is now Georgia, so on June 9, 1732, when King George the II granted him permission for a charter, he was ecstatic. Oglethorpe along with the board of trustees then formed the Charter of 1732. This outlined all the terms, conditions, and new rules under which this new colony would be formed.
One of these conditions stated who was allowed to become a colonist. Catholics, Jews, liquor dealers, lawyers, and African-Americans were all not allowed to come to Georgia as colonists. Catholics and Jews weren't allowed to come to Georgia because they went against the church of England. Liquor dealers weren't allowed to become colonists because the king believed alcohol clouded your thoughts. Lawyers weren't allowed to come because they were considered almost as royalty and always sided with the king, which was who the colonists were getting away from. Finally Africans were not allowed to come to the new colony because Oglethorpe didn't want any slavery. The document also stated that there would be a trustee, who would return to England after a year of governing Georgia. Some of the trustees include John Vernon, William Stephens, Samuel Smith, and of course, James Oglethorpe. Trustees could not own land, hold office in Georgia, and were not paid. It was stated within the charter |
that the colony was to be in between the Savannah and the Altamaha river. The charter also stated that every colonist had to plant mulberry trees to increase silk production so they could send it back to the king. The colonists also had to defend the land from invaders like the Spanish in the name of the king. The colonists were in turn give 50 acres of land, food supply for a year, and tools for farming. The charter was finally signed by King George the II on April 21, 1732.
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