Georgia Was the First to Abolish Slavery: Learn About the Ban in Colonial Georgia!

Did you know that Georgia was one of the very first colonies and areas to ban slavery? It's true!

Georgia TrusteesPhoto byDigital Library of Georgia

Before Georgia was a state it was a thriving colony.

Between 1735 and 1750, Georgia was the only Britsh-American colony to make an attempt by using a public policy to prohibit African-Americans from being enslaved.

The decision to ban slavery was introduced and created by the founders of Georgia called the "Trustees".

General James Oglethorpe and other fellow Trustees banned slavery in the colony of Georgia because of it being inconsistent with their social and economic intentions.

They also knew with the Spanish presence in Florida that slavery could be a threat to military security of the colony of Georgia. Spain offered those enslaved freedom in exchange for their service in the Spanish military.

The Trustees not only choose to abolish slavery for this reason but also because they wanted to guarantee early settlers who arrived in Georgia a comfortable living rather than the prospect of wealth by plantations which were located elsewhere in British America.

To obtain a guarantee of comfortable living they had to work for themselves rather than being dependent on someone elses labor.

The Trustees believed the Mediterranean-type crops like silk could be grown and harvested in the state of Georgia by Europeans without the need of labor from enslaved workers.

Oglethorpe then soon persuaded the other Trustees that the slavery ban had to be backed by the British government. The Trustees told the House of Commons their intentions for the colony of Georgia and about the colony's threat against the Spanish in Florida if slavery was brought to Georgia.

In 1735, just two years after the first settlers arrived in Georgia, the House of Commons passed legislation prohibiting any use of slavery in the colony of Georgia.

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