Program Information

The founding the colony of Georgia in 1732 was the happy coincidence of security needs of British North America and the need to deal with the problem of overcrowded prisons in England.

A Moment in Time is a brief, exciting and compelling journey into the past. Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the present and its impact on the future, A Moment In Time is a captivating historical narrative that is currently broadcast worldwide.

Transcript

Lead: The founding the colony of Georgia in 1732 was the happy coincidence of security needs of British North America and the need to deal with the problem of overcrowded prisons in England.

Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: James Edward Oglethorpe was a soldier from a family with a fighting tradition. He fought in continental armies, but was prevented from receiving a British Army commission because of his family’s strong support for the old Stuart line of royalty. They were Jacobites. After distinguished service in the army of the Prince of Savoy and a brief stint at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, he returned home to manage the family’s business affairs in Surrey. In the early 1720s he stood for Parliament from Haslemere and held the seat until 1754.

His early years in Parliament were lackluster, but in 1728 Oglethorpe was propelled to national fame over the appalling conditions of English prisons. His good friend Robert Castell fell onto hard times and was thrown into the infamous Fleet prison for debt. With no money with which to bribe for himself better living conditions, Castell contracted smallpox and died. Horrified, Oglethorpe headed a Parliamentary committee examining English jails. In the course of that examination he stumbled upon the opportunity presented by the need in North America for a buffer colony between the Spanish and the rich rice fields of South Carolina. He reasoned that Parliament would be open to supporting a colony of soldier-farmers that would provide security for Carolina and also be a dumping place for excess prisoners.

In 1732 he obtained the charter for the colony and in February 1733 Oglethorpe and some 100 settlers established a village 18 miles up the Savannah River and named it Savannah.

Oglethorpe was not the best leader. He chose poor associates and tended toward authoritarian leadership himself, but his military prowess kept the Spanish at bay, his clout and determination in Parliament kept support for the colony alive and as long as he was directly involved in Georgia affairs, he fought a rear-guard action and successfully blocked the introduction of black slavery into the colony.

At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

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