<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> It has been suggested that Colonial South and the Chesapeake be merged into this article . (Discuss) Proposed since October 2017 . </Td> </Tr> <P> The Southern Colonies within British America consisted of the Province of Maryland, the Colony of Virginia, the Province of Carolina (in 1712 split into North and South Carolina) and the Province of Georgia . In 1763, the newly created colonies of East Florida and West Florida would be added to the Southern Colonies by Great Britain . These colonies would become the historical core of what would become the Southern United States, or "Dixie". </P> <P> The colonies developed prosperous economies based on the cultivation of cash crops, such as tobacco, indigo, and rice . A side effect of the cultivation of these crops was the presence of slavery in significantly higher proportions than in other parts of British America . </P> <P> The British colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe on February 12, 1733 . The colony was administered by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America under a charter issued by (and named for) King George II . The Trustees implemented an elaborate plan for the settlement of the colony, known as the Oglethorpe Plan, which envisioned an agrarian society of yeoman farmers and prohibited slavery . In 1742 the colony was invaded by the Spanish during the War of Jenkins' Ear . In 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to the Crown . Georgia became a Crown colony, with a governor appointed by the king . </P>

What was the government of the southern colonies like