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Southern Colonies Facts & Worksheets

British colonies in the south focused on the production of cash crops like tobacco and sugar which resulted in large populations of enslaved Africans in these colonies.

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The Southern Colonies of British America comprised the Province of Maryland, the Colony of Virginia, the Province of Carolina (which was split into North and South Carolina in 1712), and the Province of Georgia. Until the Spanish Empire reclaimed Florida, Great Britain would join the recently founded provinces of East Florida and West Florida to the Southern Colonies in 1763.

See the fact file below for more information on the Southern Colonies, or you can download our 30-page Southern Colonies worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Carolina

  • Carolina was first established as an English and then a British colony in North America in 1608. On March 24, 1663, a new charter was granted to a group of eight English noblemen known as the Lord’s Proprietors since the first charter had yet to be realized and had been deemed illegitimate.
  • These lords and their heirs ruled the province of Carolina from 1663 to 1729 under the direction of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury.
  • The philosopher John Locke served as Shaftesbury’s secretary while they worked on a complex strategy to manage the large influx of immigrants into the colony.
  • The colony’s tobacco, timber, and pitch industries were major exporters in 1680.
  • A deputy governor was appointed to run the northern part of Carolina in 1691 due to disagreements about the province’s administration. Both Carolinas became royal colonies after the British government spent nearly ten years trying to track down and buy out the owners.

Georgia

  • On February 12, 1733, James Oglethorpe established the British colony of Georgia. A charter granted by King George II and bearing his name gave the Georgia Trustees authority to govern the region.
  • The Oglethorpe Plan, which envisioned an agricultural community of Yeoman farmers and outlawed slavery, was a complex settlement strategy that the Trustees implemented.
  • The War of Jenkins’ Ear saw the Spanish assault the province in 1742. After the government refused to renew funds that had helped finance the area, the Trustees handed over sovereignty to the Crown in 1752. Georgia was made a Crown province, and the monarch appointed the governor.
  • The area is ideal for cultivating products, including tobacco, rice, sugarcane, and indigo, due to the warm climate and marshy areas.

Maryland

  • King Charles, I granted Georg Calvert a charter in 1632 to establish the Maryland colony. After Georg Calvert passed away, Caecilius Calvert, known as Lord Baltimore, took over as owner.
  • Calvert, who hailed from a prosperous Catholic family, was the first to receive a gift from the Crown rather than a joint stock corporation. He was given a sizable parcel of property north of the Potomac River and on each side of Chesapeake Bay.
  • Calvert intended to provide shelter for English Roman Catholics who could not worship in public, most of whom were wealthy nobility like himself. In his proposed agricultural manorial society, tenants would labor in the fields and perform other duties while each noble would own a sizable manor.
  • However, because land in Maryland was so inexpensive, many Protestants migrated there and purchased land for themselves. They quickly became the majority, and in 1642 religious conflict started to flare up.
  • After Rhode Island, Maryland became the second colony to gain religious freedom in 1649 after Calvert was compelled to seize power and enact the Maryland Toleration Act. The Act accomplished nothing to promote religious harmony, though.
  • Protestants repealed the Toleration Act, forbade Catholics from voting, and deposed a governor who supported tolerance in 1654. Until 1658, when Calvert retook control of the colony, Maryland remained a Protestant state.

Virginia

  • From 1607 until the American Revolution, the Colony of Virginia was an English colony that operated continuously in North America. The Virginia Colony, the Province of Virginia, and occasionally the Dominion and Colony of Virginia were other names for it (a British colony after 1707).
  • Jamestown was the first settlement established by the Virginia colony, and Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth I used the name Virginia for the first time in 1584. King Charles II dubbed the Virginia Colony “The Old Dominion” during the English Civil War because of its alleged devotion to the English Monarchy during the Commonwealth of England.
  • Virginia continued to have tobacco farmers while other colonies were being established, and since it had the best land along the shore, new people moved inland. The colony’s governor, Sir William Berkeley, dispatched explorers across the Blue Ridge Mountains to make Virginia’s wilderness accessible for colonization.
  • The Virginia Colony, one of the original thirteen states of the United States, gained independence from Great Britain in 1776 and became the Commonwealth of Virginia, adopting the motto “The Old Dominion.” Later, the states of West Virginia, Kentucky, India, and Illinois, as well as some of Ohio, were formed from the territory that the Colony of Virginia had previously covered.

Climate Geography

  • Due to their tropical setting, the Southern Colonies had hot summers and comfortable winters. The topography ranged from coastal plains in the east to the piedmont farther interior, with most western parts being mountainous.
  • The growing season was longer than in any other place, and the soil was ideal for cultivation. However, hot summers helped spread illnesses like yellow fever and malaria.

Religion

  • Southern Colonies residents tended to be Anglicans (Baptist or Presbyterian). However, because Lord Baltimore established the Maryland colony as a haven for English Catholics, most of its first immigrants were Catholic. Because people lived on plantations that were frequently wide apart and far from one another, religion did not exist in the Atlantic colonies.

Economy

  • The economy of the South was mostly centered on agriculture. Cash crops included rice, indigo, tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton. Large plantations where enslaved people and indentured servants toiled grew crops. In the 1700s, Charleston, South Carolina, developed as one of the critical hubs of the American slave trade.

Impacts on Indigenous Peoples

  • Native Americans who had already occupied the area resisted the Virginia Colony. The Powhatan tribes, a group of Native American tribes, commanded by Powhatan, saw the colonists as invaders and made an effort to drive them out.
  • As the Virginia Colony expanded thanks to the headright system, there was a noticeable increase in conflict and military conflict between the colonists and the native peoples over time.
  • Additionally, the collapse of the indigenous peoples was greatly influenced by the disease transmission between the colonists and them. Through these methods, native people were driven from their country and eventually posed no threat to the colonists.

Southern Colonies Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Southern Colonies across 30 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Southern Colonies worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the British colonies in the south, which focused on the production of cash crops like tobacco and sugar, which resulted in large populations of enslaved Africans in these colonies as well as social stratification between wealthy white plantation owners and poor white and black laborers.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Colonial Census
  • A Day in the Life
  • Colonial Mapping
  • Southern Pop Quiz
  • The 13 Colonies
  • Same But Different
  • Lord Proprietors
  • Stop, Think, Sketch
  • Voc-OWL-bulary
  • Colonial Time Machine

Frequently Asked Questions

What comprised the Southern Colonies?

The Southern Colonies of British America comprised the Province of Maryland, the Colony of Virginia, the Province of Carolina (which was split into North and South Carolina in 1712), and the Province of Georgia. Until the Spanish Empire reclaimed Florida, Great Britain would join the recently founded provinces of East Florida and West Florida to the Southern Colonies in 1763.

What is the first ever established English and then British colony in North America?

Carolina was first established as an English and then a British colony in North America in 1608. On March 24, 1663, a new charter was granted to a group of eight English noblemen known as the Lord’s Proprietors since the first charter had yet to be realized and had been deemed illegitimate.

What is the climate geography in Southern Colonies?

Due to their tropical setting, the Southern Colonies had hot summers and comfortable winters. The topography ranged from coastal plains in the east to the piedmont farther interior, with most western parts being mountainous.

What is the focus of the economy in Southern Colonies?

The economy of the South was mostly centered on agriculture. Cash crops included rice, indigo, tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton. Large plantations where enslaved people and indentured servants toiled grew crops. In the 1700s, Charleston, South Carolina, developed as one of the critical hubs of the American slave trade.

What are the impacts of Southern Colonies on Indigenous People?

Native Americans who had already occupied the area resisted the Virginia Colony. The Powhatan tribes, a group of Native American tribes, commanded by Powhatan, saw the colonists as invaders and made an effort to drive them out.

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Use With Any Curriculum

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