Print of Mulberry Grove in 1794

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Print of Mulberry Grove in 1794

An unknown artist created this print of Mulberry Grove plantation, 1794. Although the artist and exact date of this work’s creation is unknown, it is clear that the artist wanted to depict Mulberry Grove’s connection to the cotton gin. While staying at Mulberry Grove Plantation, Eli Whitney perfected the design for his cotton gin. This one invention had a dramatic impact on the expansion cotton production and slavery into Georgia.

Print of Mulberry Grove, 1794. From the Georgia Historical Society Collection of Photographs, 1361PH.

View a description of this item in the GHS digital image catalog.

A True Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia in America

GHS Primary Source Set 2 ,
A True Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia in America

Patrick Telfair was one of the most outspoken critics of the Georgia trustees. Telfair worked with Thomas Stephens, son of the secretary to the Georgia Trustees William Stephens, to organize the unhappy colonists or “malcontents” in an official campaign against the Trustees. Telfair was the primary author of the tract “A True and Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia in America.” Telfair wrote the tract as a reaction to William Stephens’s “A State of the Province of Georgia” which argued that there was wide support for the Trustees and their policies among the colonists in Georgia.

Telfair, Patrick, M.D., Hugh Anderson, Dr. Douglass and others. “A True and Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia in America, &c.,.” (1740) In Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Volume II. Georgia Historical Society.

An Impartial Inquiry into the State and Utility of the Provinces of Georgia

GHS Primary Source Set 2 ,
An Impartial Inquiry into the State and Utility of the Provinces of Georgia

Benjamin Martyn was employed by the Georgia Trustees to be their official secretary. It was Martyn’s job to keep the official records for the Georgia Colony. In 1741, Martyn’s “An Impartial Inquiry into the State and Utility of the Province of Georgia” was published. The document was created for the express purpose of addressing critics of the colony.

Benjamin Martyn (1699-1763). “An Impartial Inquiry into the State and Utility of the Province of Georgia.” In Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Volume I.

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A Proclamation by James Wright, 1774

GHS Primary Source Set 2 ,
A Proclamation by James Wright, 1774

As the head executive leader in the Royal Colony of Georgia, James Wright had many responsibilities, one of which was maintaining peaceful relations with the native population. The March 28, 1774, proclamation given by James Wright offers a glimpse into the office of Royal Governor, the daily life issues of the colony, and the situation in Georgia just before the American Revolution.

A Proclamation by James Wright Issued March 28, 1774. From the James Wright Papers, MS 884. Georgia Historical Society.

Advertisements in the Georgia Gazette on July 01, 1767

GHS Primary Source Set 2 ,
Advertisements in the Georgia Gazette on July 01, 1767

The Georgia Gazette, the colony’s first newspaper, started printing in 1763. It is a great resource for understanding life in Royal Georgia. The particular advertisements selected here focus on the slave trade in Georgia. Slavery was banned in Georgia until 1751. Once the ban was lifted, the slave population in Georgia quickly grew as wealthy South Carolina planters expanded to Georgia.

Advertisements in the Georgia Gazette, July 01, 1767.

Account of the Exports and Imports at the Port of Savannah, 1773

GHS Primary Source Set 2 ,
Account of the Exports and Imports at the Port of Savannah, 1773

James Wright served as royal governor of Georgia from 1761-1782. The James Wright Papers at GHS contain letters, proclamations, and reports written by Governor Wright. A report written to Lord Dartmouth in 1773 includes a chart showing all exports and imports to the Port of Savannah the previous year.

Account of the Exports and Imports at the Port of Savannah. Report of Sir James Wright on the Condition of the Province of Georgia on 20th September 1773. James Wright Papers, MS 884. Georgia Historical Society.

Download a transcript the document.
Read Governor Wright’s full report on the Internet Archive.

A New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South Carolina and Georgia, 1733

GHS Primary Source Set 2 ,
A New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South Carolina and Georgia, 1733

“A New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South-Carolina and Georgia…” was part of a promotional campaign led by the Trustees to encourage emigrants to sign-up for the new colony and to solicit charitable contributions for the venture.

“A New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South Carolina and Georgia: With Many Curious and Useful Observations on the Trade, Navigation and Plantations of Great Britain, Compared with Her Most Powerful Maritime Neighbors in Ancient and Modern Times.” London: Printed for J. Worrall at the Bible and Dove in Bell-Yard near Lincoln’s Inn; and Sold by J. Roberts near the Oxford-Arms in Warwick-Lane, 1732. In the Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Vol. 1.

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Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues “Brevis narratio eorum quae in Florida Americae provincia Gallis acciderunt”

GHS Primary Source Set 1 ,
Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues “Brevis narratio eorum quae in Florida Americae provincia Gallis acciderunt”

De Morgues’ book gives a detailed account of the tragic fate of the French colony in Florida who were killed by the Spanish in the 16th century. Jacques le Moyne de Morgues was a French artist and member of Jean Ribault’s expedition to the New World. His depictions of Native American life and culture, colonial life, and plants are of extraordinary historical importance.

Lemoyne de Morgues, Jacques. Brevis narratio eorum quae in Florida Americae provincia Gallis acciderunt (Brief Narration of Those Things Which Befell the French in the Province of Florida in America.) Published by Theodor de Bry, 1519.

Read a selected transcript with color images from the National Humanities Center. 

View the book on the Internet Archive.

De Orbe Novo: The Eight Decades of Peter Martyr D’ Anghera

GHS Primary Source Set 1 ,
De Orbe Novo: The Eight Decades of Peter Martyr D’ Anghera

Peter Martyr D’Anghera was a priest in the Roman Catholic Church and chronicler for Spain. As a chronicler, Peter Martyr was tasked with recording Spain’s endeavors in the New World. In the “Seventh Decade” of his De Orbe Novo, Peter Martyr D’Anghera recounts the experience of Francisco of Chicorana, a Native American captured by Lucas Vasquez De Ayllon and brought to Santo Domingo where he met Peter Martyr. Archeologist David G. Anderson argues the account offers “considerable value, as it presents the first detailed description of Southeastern chiefdom societies…”

De Orbe Novo: The Eight Decades of Peter Martyr D’Anghera. Translated from Latin with Notes and Information by Francis Augustus MacNutt. Volume Two. New York and London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1912.

View the full book on the Internet Archive.

Diego Ribero 1529 World Map of Spanish Global Conquests

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Diego Ribero 1529 World Map of Spanish Global Conquests

Diego Ribero created his world map in 1529 to celebrate Spanish global conquests. Ribero was a Portuguese artist who created this map to prove that the Moluccas islands in the Indonesian archipelago belonged to the Spanish in accordance with the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas. The De Orbe Novo map used art and geography to give the Spanish an edge in the spice trade.  It took hundreds of years to disprove Ribero’s work.

Ribero, Diego. 1529 World Map also called the Propaganda Map. London : W. Griggs,[1887?]. from the Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.
View the map from the Library of Congress.