<P> In 1752, Georgia became a royal colony . Planters from South Carolina, wealthier than the original settlers of Georgia, migrated south and soon dominated the colony . They replicated the customs and institutions of the South Carolina Lowcountry . Planters had higher rates of absenteeism from their large plantations in the Lowcountry and the Sea Islands . They often took their families to the hills during the summer, the "sick season", when the Lowcountry had high rates of disease, such as malaria and yellow fever . The decade after the end of Trustee rule was a decade of significant growth . Georgia began to slowly but solidly grow after the treaty of 1748 ended fear of further attacks from Spain . </P> <P> By the 1750s, British settlers lived as far south as Cumberland Island, which was in violation of the rules of their own government as well as that of Spain, who claimed the territory . British settlers living south of the Altamaha River frequently engaged in trade with Spanish Florida which was also illegal according to both governments, but the ban on such trade was essentially unenforceable . </P> <P> The pacing and development of large plantations made the Georgia coast society more like that of the West Indies than of Virginia . The large plantations were worked by numerous African - born slaves, and many Africans, although of different languages and tribes, came from closely related geographic areas of West Africa . The slaves of the' Rice Coast' of South Carolina and Georgia developed the unique Gullah or Geechee culture (the latter term more common in Georgia), in which important parts of West African linguistic, religious and cultural heritage were preserved and creolized . This multi-ethnic culture developed throughout the Lowcountry and Sea Islands, where enslaved African Americans later worked at cotton plantations . African - American influence, which absorbed elements of Native American and European - American culture, was strong on the cuisine and music that became integral parts of southern culture . </P> <P> Georgia was largely untouched by war during much of Britain's involvement in the Seven Years War as the colony was located a long distance from Canada and the French - allied Indians . In 1762 Georgia feared a potential Spanish invasion from Florida, although this did not occur by the time peace was signed at the 1763 Treaty of Paris . During this period the Anglo - Cherokee War began . </P>

Who did georgia serve as protection for the english colonies