What Was Daily Life Like in the Georgia Colony?

Daily life for colonial Georgians was centered around the home and farm, as they were fairly isolated among themselves and from the rest of the colonies. Georgia initially was a community of small farmers, but grew quickly in later years.

Most people in colonial Georgia were small farmers. Each family was given a small farm, which descended to the male heir. The people were somewhat isolated from the rest of the colonies, and mail hardly reached Georgia, especially farther from the coast. There weren’t roads to connect settlers, and the only town was the small village of Savannah.

There were no schools in colonial Georgia. Although wealthy boys in the colonies were sent to schools or tutored at home, most children learned skills around the house or farm. Girls were not educated at all and married by the time they were 20 years old.

In 1749, Georgia became a slave colony. It was argued that slave labor was necessary to develop the colony. This, in combination with Georgia becoming a royal colony in 1752, spurred growth quickly. By the time of the Revolutionary War, half of Georgia’s population of 50,000 were slaves.

The English church was the official church in Georgia, although Protestants enjoyed religious freedom there, too.