Editing Southern Colonies (section)

{{Short description|16/17th-century British colonies which became the Southern United States}}
[[File:Gacolony.png|thumb|Map of the colonies with the [[Royal Proclamation of 1763|proclamation line of 1763]] shown in red]]

The '''Southern Colonies''' within [[British America]] consisted of the [[Province of Maryland]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/us/5.asp|title = The Southern Colonies|access-date=2014-10-17}}</ref> the [[Colony of Virginia]], the [[Province of Carolina]] (in 1712 split into [[Province of North Carolina|North]] and [[Province of South Carolina|South Carolina]]), and the [[Province of Georgia]]. In 1763, the newly created colonies of [[East Florida]] and [[West Florida]] were added to the Southern Colonies by Great Britain until the [[Spanish Empire]] took back [[Spanish Florida|Florida]]. These colonies were the historical core of what became the [[Southern United States]], or "[[Dixie]]". They were located south of the [[Middle Colonies]], although Virginia and Maryland (located on the expansive [[Chesapeake Bay]] in the Upper South) were also called the [[Chesapeake Colonies]].

The Southern Colonies were overwhelmingly rural, with large agricultural operations, which made extensive use of slavery and indentured servitude. During a period of civil unrest, [[Bacon's Rebellion]] shaped the way that servitude and slavery worked in the South. After a series of attacks on the [[Susquehannock]], attacks that ensued after the group of natives burnt one of [[Nathaniel Bacon (Virginia colonist)|Bacon's]] farms, Bacon's arrest, along with other arrest warrants, were issued by [[William Berkeley (governor)|Governor Berkely]], for attacking the natives without his permission. Bacon avoided detainment, though, and then burnt [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]], in response to the governor previously denying him land in fear of native attacks. Bacon hadn't believed his policies were entirely conventional, saying that they didn't ensure protection to the [[English people|English settlers]], as well as the exclusion of Bacon from Berkeley's social clubs and friend groups. The rebellion dissolved some time in 1676, following [[Charles II of England|Charles II's]] initial sending of troops to restore order in the colony. This rebellion influenced the view of the Africans, helping create a completely African servitude and workforce in the Chesapeake Colonies, alleviating primarily White servitude, a working class that could be repugnant at times through disobedience and mischief. This also helped racial superiority in white regions, helping the poor and wealthy white people feel almost equal. It diminished alliances between white and black people, as had happened in [[Bacon's Rebellion]].<ref>{{cite book |title=U.S. History |date=2014 |publisher=OpenStax College |location=Houston, Texas |isbn=978-1-947172-08-1 |page=78 |url=https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history |access-date=12 September 2023}}</ref>

The colonies developed prosperous economies based on the cultivation of [[cash crop]]s, such as [[tobacco]],<ref name=tev1>{{cite book| last = Boyer| first = Paul S.| author-link = Paul S. Boyer| title = The Enduring Vision, 5th Edition| url = https://archive.org/details/enduringvision5thpaul| url-access = registration| publisher = Houghghton-Mifflin| page = [https://archive.org/details/enduringvision5thpaul/page/64 64] | year = 2004| isbn = 0-618-28065-0}}</ref> [[Indigofera|indigo]],<ref name=pink>{{cite web|url=http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_indigo.htm|last=West|first=Jean M.|work=Slavery in America|title=The Devil's Blue Dye and Slavery|access-date=2011-01-16|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120614034859/http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_indigo.htm|archive-date=2012-06-14}}</ref> and [[rice]].<ref name=tev2>{{cite book| last = Boyer| first = Paul S.| title = The Enduring Vision, 5th Edition| url = https://archive.org/details/enduringvision5thpaul| url-access = registration| publisher = [[Houghton-Mifflin]]| page = [https://archive.org/details/enduringvision5thpaul/page/77 77] | year = 2004| isbn = 0-618-28065-0}}</ref> An effect of the cultivation of these crops was the presence of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] in significantly higher proportions than in other parts of British America.