Because the climate and topography of southeastern N. America was milder and warmer than northeastern America, the southern colonies developed differently from the New England and Middle colonies. Crops such as tobacco, rice and cotton grew well in this region, but they were laborious to cultivate. As southern colonies grew, the demand for capable workers grew. Not all people came to work in the colonies of their own free will. English criminals and Scottish and Irish prisoners of war were shipped to the colonies. Many of them worked as indentured servants who could earn their release after working for 7 years. The first group of enslaved African people arrived in Virginia in 1619, thus beginning America's tragic era of slavery that lasted for 246 years - until the end of the Civil War in 1865. Maryland was established in 1632 by Sir George Calvert and Lord Baltimore who wanted to establish a safe place for Catholics who were being persecuted in England. Despite the 1649 Act of Toleration that allowed Catholics and Protestants to worship freely, Protestants eventually comprised the religious majority of MD. The city of Baltimore, founded in 1729 was Maryland's port and the colony's largest settlement. In the 1760s, MD & PA established their border known as the Mason-Dixon Line. This border eventually becomes the boundary between northern and southern American colonies and states and it will play a larger part in US History in the years to come. Virginia, the oldest southern colony established in the early 1600s, continues to grow. In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon, a settler in western VA, led a rebellion against the colony's gov't. Although order is restored, Bacon's Rebellion had shown that settlers were not willing to be restricted to the coast. In 1663, a large proprietary colony was established called Carolina. The city of Charleston was est. in 1680. In 1729, Carolina split into 2 separate colonies: North Carolina and South Carolina. North Carolina was settled mostly by farmers and didn't have a good harbor. South Carolina was more prosperous due to more arable farmland and the large harbor in Charleston. Rice and indigo soon became leading crops in South Carolina. Slave labor heavily relied upon in cultivation of tobacco, rice, indigo and cotton. Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe in 1733. He received a charter from England to create a colony where debtors and poor people could make a fresh start. Britain also used GA as a buffer against Spanish attack as Florida was still occupied by Spain. Religious refugees from Europe began to settle in GA and it soon had a higher % of non-British settlers than any other colony. Savannah was the first city established in GA. We then discussed French settlements (New France) in N. America and the founding of Quebec in 1608. French explorers looking for a passage to the Pacific Ocean explored the Mississippi River and in addition to parts of Canada, claim vast areas around the river for France, est. the territory of Louisiana and the port city of New Orleans in 1718. Estate holders, tenant farmers and fur traders dominate the French colonies. The French maintained better relationships with Native Americans than other Europeans because the fur traders traveled deep into the countryside, learned their languages and respected their ways. The French also did not push Indians off their lands due to slow settlement growth. New Spain consisted of Spanish settlement in South & Central America, Florida, Texas, the southwest and California. The Spanish also forced Native Americans into slavery and conversion to Christianity. Despite the presence of Britain, France and Spain in the Americas, France & Britain were the principal rivals of the colonial period.