Georgia was created by James Edward Oglethorpe, a British general, and social reformer. He was a politician who served as a Member of Parliament for 32 years in addition to being a military leader. He enjoyed a privileged childhood as the son of a prominent politician. Despite his luxurious lifestyle, he was aware of the plight of the poor and acquired an early interest in assisting people who were not as fortunate as he was. In keeping with family history, he entered politics as well. As a politician, he was instrumental in persuading the British government to approve the foundation of the country’s first new colony in more than five decades. As a humanitarian, he believed that establishing a new colony would provide Britain’s destitute a chance to relocate to the New World. In the 1730s, he led a colonial expedition to Savannah and spent several years there monitoring the nascent colony’s economic and political development. He was a key military figure in repelling the Spanish invasion of Georgia, after which the Spanish never dared to attack Britain’s colonies on the East Coast of America again.
Childhood and Adolescence
Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe and his wife Eleanor Oglethorpe gave birth to James Oglethorpe on December 22, 1696, in Godalming, Surrey, England. His father served in the army and was a member of Parliament.
In 1714, he enrolled in Corpus Christi College in Oxford, but he did not stay long because he joined Prince Eugene of Savoy’s army the same year.
James Oglethorpe’s Career
He was appointed as the prince’s aide-de-camp after receiving a recommendation from John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. The young James then traveled to Austria, where he distinguished himself during the Austro-Turkish War (1716–18).
Following the war, he returned to England. In 1722, he ran for parliament and was elected Member of Parliament for Haslemere, keeping the family tradition.
He had always been engaged in humanitarian causes, and as a Member of Parliament, he dedicated himself entirely to making constructive changes in society for the benefit of the poor.
One of his friends, Robert Castell, was imprisoned in London’s Fleet Prison in the late 1720s due to debts. There, Castell was forced to share a cell with a smallpox-infected prisoner. As a result, Castell caught the sickness and died as well.
Oglethorpe initiated a national effort to improve England’s jails after his friend’s death stunned him. He was appointed chairman of a parliamentary committee to investigate the prisons, and throughout the course of the investigation, he learned about the appalling conditions in which the prisoners were held and the tortures they were subjected to. Oglethorpe began to wonder about the morality of imprisoning and torturing individuals solely because they were in debt.
Following this examination, a variety of reforms to London’s prisons were implemented. Oglethorpe’s attempts to reform prisons earned him national acclaim, and he became renowned as one of Britain’s most prominent humanitarians.
However, prison reforms and the consequent release of a number of inmates presented a new issue. The debtors were now free, but they had no way of supporting themselves financially because there were few realistic options for productive work in the countryside.
To remedy this problem, Oglethorpe and some of his jail committee colleagues began to consider the notion of establishing a new colony in America where London’s former debtors could work as farmers, artisans, and merchants. To further this aim, the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America were founded.
Their idea was authorized by the British government in 1732, and Oglethorpe led a colonial expedition to the New World, with the first ship setting sail in late 1732. He and the other trustees envisioned an “agrarian equality” system—an economy centered on family farming and prohibiting big landholdings by individuals. Land ownership was restricted to 50 acres, and no one was allowed to purchase or inherit extra land.
The first colonists came to South Carolina in late 1732, led by Oglethorpe, and landed near what is now Savannah, Georgia. There, he made friends with Chief Tomochichi, the Yamacraw chief, and began planning the colony he had envisioned.
Despite the fact that Oglethorpe’s original goal was to resettle London debtors, only a few debtors ended up in Georgia. Many destitute English citizens and religious immigrants from Switzerland, France, and Germany were among the colonists.
He returned to England multiple times to urge Parliament for funds to build forts in Georgia. During one of these visits, in 1737, he requested that King George II appoint him as a colonel in the army and provide him with a regiment of British soldiers to return to Georgia with. His plea was granted by the king.
Georgia was sandwiched between the English Carolinas and the Spanish state of Florida. In July 1742, the Spanish invaded Georgia with tens of thousands of troops.
At the Fight of Bloody Marsh, Oglethorpe roused his soldiers for battle and destroyed the Spanish forces, forcing them to withdraw. He was appointed brigadier general in His Majesty’s Army as a result of this battle, and he became a national hero in England. In 1743, Oglethorpe returned to London.
When Jacobite forces from Scotland marched into the North of England in 1745, he was called to serve in the Jacobite Rising. He aided the Duke of Cumberland in suppressing the revolt, but things did not go as planned, and Oglethorpe was court-martialed and accused of misbehavior. Despite his acquittal, this episode effectively signaled the end of his active military career.
His Major Projects
James Edward Oglethorpe is primarily known for founding the British American colony of Georgia. It was the last of the thirteen original American colonies established by Great Britain in what subsequently became the United States. It was originally envisioned as a shelter for debtors from London.
Personal History and Legacy
In the early 1740s, he met and fell in love with Elizabeth Wright, a wealthy heiress, and they married in September 1744. They lived a joyful and active life, entertaining friends and associating with other prominent Londoners. There were no offspring for the couple.
After a brief illness, James Oglethorpe died on June 30, 1785, after a long life. He was 88 years old when he died.
In Atlanta, Oglethorpe County and Oglethorpe University are named for him.
Estimated Net worth
James is one of the wealthiest explorers and one of the most well-known. James Oglethorpe’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.