“The colony of Georgia was truly the vision of James Edward Oglethorpe. His plan to use the new colony as a haven for people in debtors prison grew out of his committee work while a member of Parliament. Although Oglethorpe did not conceive the idea, he did seize it and attempted to act upon it. However, by the time he received the charter for Georgia (June 9, 1732) Oglethorpe had dropped his plan to use debtors and hand-selected the 116 men and women who would travel to South Carolina on The Ann.
On February 12, 1733 (February 1, old style) a group of six small ships landed at Yamacraw Bluffs and set up on a site Oglethorpe had chosen earlier. It would become Savannah. Defense was an early concern of the new colony. Oglethorpe established a perimeter around the colony including Fort Augusta, Fort Fredrica and Fort St. Simon (List of Georgia forts) and had slavery and liquor banned from the colony…”
Excerpted from Colonial Georgia by Col. Samuel Taylor U.S.M.C. (Ret.),
exclusively for Our Georgia History
Please visit this website for a comprehensive history of Georgia, including timeline.
GEORGIA HISTORY LINKS:
The New Georgia Encyclopedia
Georgia History: Wikipedia
The History Channel (videos and more)
Encyclopædia Britannica
Georgia History on InfoPlease
Georgia Historical Society