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The Southern Colonies
| | | | The five Southern colonies were Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. These five colonies had a warmer climate than the other colonies. Farmers had great plantations where they grew tobacco and rice.
However, planting and harvesting these crops required many workers. During the 17th and 18th centuries many Negro slaves from Africa were brought to the South to work on the plantations. The slaves had no rights of their own. Some colonies passed laws saying that the Africans could be bought and sold as slaves. This was the beginning of a sad part of American history.
Charleston in South Carolina was the major city of the Southern colonies. In the 1700's more than 10,000 whites and 12,000 black slaves lived there. Charleston had an excellent harbour. Planters brought their crops to the port. There the crops were loaded on ships and sent to Great Britain, the West Indies and to other colonies. Merchants grew rich from the busy trade. They built beautiful houses in the city. Many of these colonial houses are still standing today.
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