Founding the Deep South

• Barbadian founders established Charleston in $1670-1671$, modeling it after the brutal West Indian slave state.

• The Carolina charter, with its land grants per slave, solidified a plantation-based economy and an elite oligarchy.

• From its founding, the Deep South became a slave society characterized by a harsh $1698$ slave code, treating Africans as interchangeable property.

• A rigid, race-based caste system, enforced legally and culturally from $1670$ to $1970$, created a black majority and limited social mobility for enslaved people.

• Georgia, initially a philanthropic experiment banning slavery, was reoriented by the $1740s-1750s$ to extend the Barbadian-style slave system into its coastal regions.

Settlement Groups and Patterns

• Charleston ($1670-1671$): Established by Barbadian founders, directly modeling the West Indian slave state. Its foundation solidified a plantation-based economy.

• Georgia (initially): A philanthropic experiment intended to ban slavery but later reoriented by the $1740s-1750s$ to extend the Barbadian-style slave system into its coastal regions.

Ideals and Motivations

• Economic and Social Structure: The Carolina charter, with its land grants per slave, fostered a plantation-based economy and an elite oligarchy.

• Slavery as Foundation: The Deep South was characterized as a slave society from its inception, driven by the brutal model of the West Indian slave state.

• Legal Framework: A harsh $1698$ slave code treated Africans as interchangeable property.

• Caste System: A rigid, race-based caste system was legally and culturally enforced from $1670$ to $1970$, creating a black majority and severely limiting social mobility for enslaved people.