James Oglethorpe

James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to resettle Britain's "worthy poor" in the New World, initially focusing on those in debtors' prisons.

Born to a prominent British family, Oglethorpe left college in England and a British Army commission to travel to France, where he attended a military academy before fighting under Prince Eugene of Savoy in the Austro-Turkish War. He returned to England in 1718, and was elected to the House of Commons in 1722. His early years were relatively undistinguished until 1729, when Oglethorpe was made chair of the Gaols Committee that investigated British debtors' prisons. After the report was published, to widespread attention, Oglethorpe and others began publicizing the idea of a new colony, to serve as a buffer between the Carolinas and Spanish Florida. After being granted a charter, Oglethorpe sailed to Georgia in November 1732.

He was a major figure in the early history of the colony, holding much civil and military power and instituting a ban on slavery and alcohol. During the War of Jenkins' Ear, Oglethorpe led British troops in Georgia against Spanish forces based in Florida. In 1740, he led a lengthy Siege of St. Augustine, which was unsuccessful. He then defeated a Spanish Invasion of Georgia in 1742. Oglethorpe left the colony after another unsuccessful invasion of St. Augustine, and never returned. He led some government troops in the Jacobite rising of 1745 and was blamed for British defeat in the Clifton Moor Skirmish. Despite being cleared in a court martial, Oglethorpe never held British command again. He lost reelection to the House of Commons in 1754. He left England and served undercover in the Prussian Army during the Seven Years' War. In his later years, Oglethorpe was prominent in literary circles, becoming close to James Boswell and Samuel Johnson.

Early life and family

His family history dates back to William the Conqueror. They supported Charles I, an unpopular monarch. They suffered under Oliver Cromwell, but regained favor following the Stuart Restoration in 1660. Theophilus Oglethorpe, the head of the family, lived next to the royal palace at Whitehall; he and his brothers were members of Parliament. At Whitehall Theophilus met Eleanor Wall, one of Queen Anne's ladies-in-waiting, and the two fell in love and married in 1680. They had ten children: Lewis, Anne, Eleanor, Theophilus Jr., James, Frances Charlotte, Sutton, Louise Mary, and James Edward. James Edward was the Oglethorpes’ youngest child and their fifth son. He was born on 22 December 1696. Little is known about Oglethorpe's early life. He was named James after James II, reflecting his family's royalist sympathies, and Edward after James Francis Edward Stuart. Oglethorpe was baptized on 23 December at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London.

Early military career

Oglethorpe's father bought him a commission in Queen Anne's 1st regiment of Foot Guards as an ensign in 1707, he was commissioned to be lieutenant unassigned on 21 November 1713 with the rank of captain of foot (infantry). Following in the footsteps of his older brothers, he entered Eton College. His mother managed to have him enter Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he matriculated on 8 July 1714 with Basil Kennett as his tutor. His army commission was renewed in 1715 by George I, but he resigned on 23 November 1715, in part because the Foot Guards were not expected to see action.

Oglethorpe then traveled to France, where both his sisters Anne and Fanny lived, he attended the military academy at Lompres, near Paris, where he met and befriended fellow-student James Francis Edward Keith. The following year, intending to fight in the Austro-Turkish War, he travelled to serve under military commander Prince Eugene of Savoy. With a letter of recommendation from the Duke of Argyle and several other prominent Britons, Oglethorpe and Louis François Crozat arrived and with Infante Manuel, Count of Ourém entered the Prince's service on 3 August as an aides-de-camp. Oglethorpe was present but not actively engaged in the Battle of Petrovaradin in August 1716. At the Siege of Timisoara in September that same year he served as aide-de-camp. He found active command at the Siege of Belgrade from 19 June to 16 August. After the death of his superior in combat, on 16 August, Oglethorpe as the most senior aide-de-camp acted ad adjutant general; as such he took possession of the Turkish camp, and reported to the Prince the casualty report. After the battle, he was offered the rank of lieutenant colonel in the army— which he never accepted.

Oglethorpe then fought in Sicily under General Georg Olivier Wallis in 1718 for several weeks. By 19 September, he had returned to England. Despite his hope otherwise, Oglethorpe was refused a commission in the British Army and was briefly back at Corpus Christi beginning on 25 June 1719.

As a Member of Parliament

When he was twenty-six, Oglethorpe inherited the family estate at Godalming in Surrey from his brother. He was first elected to the House of Commons as a Tory aligned with William Windham in 1722, representing Haslemere. Oglethorpe remained unchallenged until 1734. He almost did not serve when, in a drunken brawl, he killed a man and spent five months in prison, before he was cleared of murder through the influence of a powerful friend and released from prison. He took his seat in the House of Commons on 9 October.

Oglethorpe was, according to Pitofsky, "among the least productive representatives," who notes that in the six years after he was first elected, he was actively involved in only two debates. In contrast, Sweet writes that Oglethorpe was an "eloquent yet honest" speaker who had strong Tory principals and genuinely cared about the conditions of his constituents, citing that his service on forty different committees that investigated widely varied topics. His first participation in debate was on 6 April 1723, unsuccessfully opposing the banishment of the bishop Francis Atterbury, who had been accused of supporting James Francis Edward Stuart.

In response to the poor living and working conditions of sailors in the Royal Navy, Oglethorpe published an anonymous pamphlet titled "The Sailors Advocate" in 1728 about press gangs and pay issues. It was 52 pages long and argued for reforming and strengthening the Navy and against impressment. However, he proposed few real solutions apart from analysing the work of navies of other countries. Sweet considers that it marks the beginning of Oglethorpe's philanthropy and writes that it "gave Oglethorpe the practical experience necessary to undertake future efforts more successfully". The pamphlet was reprinted several times throughout the 18th century.

Gaols Committee

In the late 1720s, Oglethorpe's attentions were drawn to the conditions of debtors' prisons after his friend, Robert Castell, was sent to Fleet Prison and eventually died. Oglethorpe motioned to investigate the warden of the prison, and was made chairman of the resulting committee on 25 February 1729. As chair of the Gaols Committee, he began touring debtors' prisons in late February and the following month finished the first of three detailed reports presented to parliament. In the reports various abuses in the prisons were profiled, including torturing, overcrowding, and widespread disease. The reports particularly attacked Thomas Bambridge, the warden of Fleet Prison, where Castell had died. He urged for reform of the prisons, mainly through prosecution of those in charge of them. Most of the blame was laid on the individual prison wardens, rather than the system as a whole. While these reports attracted much attention, there was little real change. The investigation ended on 14 May.

In the aftermath (the final report was presented on 8 May 1730), Oglethorpe and the committee were praised by prominent Britons such as Alexander Pope, James Thomson, Samuel Wesley, and William Hogarth. Pitofsky writes that there was seemingly a "great deal of popular support for the committee". However, Conservative members of the House of Commons attempted to prevent much change through deriding members of the committee as "amateurs and zealots" and preventing the wardens from being jailed. On 3 April 1730, a bill drafted by Oglethorpe was presented to the House; it would have removed Bambridge from his position. It was adopted in a revised form six weeks later by both Houses. However, recommendations for a bill to better oversee Fleet Prison were discarded. In the Trial of William Acton for murdering four debtors, Acton was acquitted. Oglethorpe felt that the proceedings had been manipulated. Bambridge was acquitted of charges as well. Oglethorpe denounced both acquittals. Shortly afterwards, Oglethorpe disbanded the committee. He led another committee of the same nature in 1754.

Other stances and later service

Oglethorpe, a committed advocate against alcohol, proposed a tax on malt in the same session the Gaols Committee was authorized. He argued against a royal grant of 115,000 pounds to cover arrearages, considering it extravagant. Oglethorpe also initially opposed Britain being involved in making peace in Europe, but by 1730 had begun advocating military preparedness. Oglethorpe served on a committee investigating the Charitable Corporation after its 1731 collapse. In the 1732 Parliamentary session, he staunchly opposed the administration's policy of disarmament and continued to emphasize the need for preparedness. Although Oglethorpe held his seat until 1754, after he left for Georgia he was rarely involved in parliamentary affairs, and after Robert Walpole lost his power in 1742 Oglethorpe lost most of his remaining influence and primarily held office in opposition to those who held power.

Establishment of Georgia

While working on the Gaols Committee, Oglethorpe met and became close to John Perceval (who later became the first Earl of Egmont). After leaving the committee, Oglethorpe considered sending around a hundred unemployed people from London to America. In 1730, Oglethorpe shared a plan to establish a new American colony with Perceval. The colony would be a place to send "the unemployed and the unemployable", and he anticipated broad societal support. He was soon granted 5,000 pounds for the colony by the trustees of the estate of a man named King. Oglethorpe began looking for other sources of funding and met Thomas Bray, a reverend and philanthropist. Bray, in failing health by 1730, had founded the Bray Associates to continue his humanitarian work. Perceval was a trustee of the associates, and Oglethorpe was made a trustee in February 1730, the same month that Bray died. Although initially there was no set location for the colony, Oglethorpe settled on America on 1 April. It soon became clear that a colony south of the Savannah River would be supported by the House of Commons, as it could serve as a 'buffer' between the prosperous Carolinas and Spanish Florida, and Oglethorpe picked the region on 26 June. People sent to the colony would serve as both soldiers and farmers, making the colony "South Carolina's first line of defence". In July, they started campaigns to raise money through subscription and grants.

The Bray Associates determined to put "all available funds" towards the colony on 1 July, and they presented a charter to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom on 17 September. On 12 November, the Bray Associates announced a plan to increase support for their proposed colony through a promotional campaign, which mainly consisted of producing promotional literature. Baine writes that beginning in 1730, Oglethorpe "directed the promotional campaign and wrote, or edited, almost all of the promotional literature until he sailed for Georgia". The first written work about the proposal was by Oglethorpe and titled ''Some accounts of the design of the trustees for establishing colonys in America''. Though it was finished in spring 1731 and never published, Benjamin Martyn drew on it when writing his 1732 book ''Some Account of the Designs of the Trustees for Establishing the Colony of Georgia in America''.

Oglethorpe arranged for Martyn's work to be widely read; in addition to being independently published, it appeared in ''The London Journal'', the ''Country Journal'', the ''Gentlemen's Magazine'', and the ''South Carolina Gazette''. Various notices seeking donations and people willing to emigrate to the colony were published in other English newspapers. In November 1732, Oglethorpe had ''Select Tracts Relating to Colonies'' published. In 1733, ''Reasons for Establishing the Colony of Georgia in America'', written by Martyn, and ''A New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South-Carolina and Georgia'', by Oglethorpe, were published. Oglethorpe is thought to have paid for the publication of ''Select Tracts'' and ''A New and Accurate Account''. In 1732, Oglethorpe advocated for extending Thomas Lombe's patent on a silk engine.

In June 1732, Oglethorpe, Perceval, Martyn, and a group of other prominent Britons (collectively known as the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America) petitioned for and were eventually granted a royal charter to establish the colony of Georgia between the Savannah River and the Altamaha River on 9 June 1732. The following month they selected the first group to send to the colony from wide-ranging applications. Oglethorpe's mother had died on 19 June, and he decided to join the group and travel to Georgia. He was formally placed in charge of publicizing the Georgia colony on 3 August.

That summer, a letter written by Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, an enslaved merchant, reached Oglethorpe. He purchased and freed Diallo. Oglethorpe, who had been made a director or assistant of the Royal African Company in January 1731 and elected a deputy governor in 1732, sold his stock and resigned after the 'Diallo incident' and shortly before leaving for Georgia. Oglethorpe set sail from Gravesend for Georgia with 114 others on the ''Anne'' on 15 or 17 November 1732.

In Georgia

The ''Anne'' reached Charleston, South Carolina, on 13 January 1733. When they arrived in Georgia 1 February 1733, Spalding notes that Oglethorpe chose to settle "as far from the Spanish as he geographically could". As Spain disliked their presence in the region, Oglethorpe was careful to maintain good relations with the Native Americans who lived in the region. Left for England and expanded Georgia further south when he returned. When Oglethorpe returned to England in 1737 he was confronted by an angry British and Spanish government. That year, Oglethorpe granted land to 40 Jewish settlers against the orders of the Georgia trustees.

On 4 December 1731, Oglethorpe entered into a partnership with Jean-Pierre Pury to settle land in South Carolina. He gained a 1/4 stake in a 3,000-acre plot of land. His holdings, termed the 'Oglethorpe Barony' were located at the 'Palachocolas', a crossing of the Savannah River in Granville County. He may have held the tract, around 2,060 acres, for the trustees. From 1732 to 1738, Oglethorpe was the de facto leader of Georgia and dominated both the military and the civil aspects of the country. From 1738 to 1743 he commanded a British regiment and was also involved in civil affairs before returning to England. While he was involved with the colony, Oglethorpe was the most prominent trustee and the only one to actually live in the colony. He was also involved in mapping the colony.

Oglethorpe founded the still-active Solomon's Masonic Lodge in 1734.

Early influence

Oglethorpe and the trustees formulated a contractual, multi-tiered plan for the settlement of Georgia (see the Oglethorpe Plan). The plan envisioned a system of "agrarian equality", designed to support and perpetuate an economy based on family farming, and prevent social disintegration associated with unregulated urbanisation. Land ownership was limited to fifty acres, a grant that included a town lot, a garden plot near town, and a forty-five-acre farm. Self-supporting colonists were able to obtain larger grants, but such grants were structured in fifty-acre increments tied to the number of indentured servants supported by the grantee. Servants would receive a land grant of their own upon completing their term of service. No-one was permitted to acquire additional land through purchase or inheritance.

Despite arriving in Georgia with relatively limited power, Oglethorpe soon became the main authority in the colony. Lannen writes that he "became everything to everyone". He negotiated with the Yamacraw Indiansbecoming the colony's ambassador to native tribescommanded the militia, directed the building of Savannah and otherwise generally supervised the colony. In early 1733, "every matter of importance was brought first to Oglethorpe". He lived in a tent separated from the rest of the colonists; some of them called him "father". Oglethorpe paid for the construction of a 'first fort' to protect Savannah, but it was not completed. He invited talented foreigners to immigrate to the colony. In June 1733, Oglethorpe traveled to Charleston. In his absence, the citizens of Savannah had a disagreement over the authority of the man left in charge. They waited for Oglethorpe to return and resolve it. It was not until July that a separate court was established, but Oglethorpe continued to hold much civil power.

When Oglethorpe arrived in Georgia, Native Americans were well into the process of integration with the Europeans. He saw Native Americans as participants in the new economy Europeans brought to America. Weaver notes that he was known for "fair dealing with the Indians". He negotiated with Tomochichi, chief of the Yamacraw tribe for land to build Savannah on. Tomochichi became Oglethope's "strongest ally in the New World."

As there were rumors a war with France might break out in early 1734, Oglethorpe traveled to Charleston, arriving on 2 March. While there he discussed Indian affairs and, after conferencing with the leadership of the Carolinas, decided to raise a company to build "a fort among the Upper Creek

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