James Oglethorpe was the founder of Georgia. He was a member of parliament, and came from a wealthy, educated family. He had a friend, Castelle, who was imprisoned, though he was a very inteligent engineer, because of his debts. In fact, there were a lot of people filling prisons. Castelle died of sickness in jail, which inspired James Oglethorpe to create a colony, Georgia, for all of the debtors of England.
James was to be one of the 21 trustees of Georgia, and after two months at sea, they found Yamacraw Bluff 17 miles from the mouth of the Savannah River. Oglethorpe met the cheif of the Yamacraw tribe, Tomochichi, and soon the two became great friends. After learning of the reasons why Oglethorpe came to America, Tomochichi allowed the white men to clear away some of the forest in order to build a settlement.
The Natives and Englishmen were able to communicate better through Mary Musgrove, a half Native American and half English woman. She and her husband owned a trading post, but he had died. Later, she worked for Oglethorpe, who, even though he couldn't run for office, was thought of as Georgia's first governer. Even though he founded Georgia as a state for the indebted people of England, it ended up being great for economics, considering that Savannah became an area of much trade, thanks to Musgrove. The town was doing well. Thus, the last colony was started.
After putting much effort in to accomplishing his goal, he persuaded King George II to sign the Charter of 1732. The Charter was a legal document that the king signed which gave permission to form a colony, but had a few restrictions. One being that none of the Trustees could own land or run for office.
There were three major reasons for starting the new colony. One reason was for charity, as Georgia was meant to be a place where all of the debtors could go and prosper, rather than rot away in their prison cells. The second reason, which really apealed to the king, was economy. Georgia would provide the British with raw supplies, and the British could practice mercantilism, an idea in which a country exports more than it imports, therefore gaining profit. The final, and possibly most important reason was defense. Georgia would serve as a buffer (something that blocks or stops) colony for South Carolina. Agriculture had been going very well in the Carolinas, and the English didn't want the Spanish or hostile Native Americans to come and destroy it.
Overlooking the river, the men started construction of a town, in which each landowner had to work his own land (in order to prevent the division into classes). This town would come to be known as Savannah. It was the first planned settlement in the New World, and was based off plans for a city by Robert Castell, Oglethorpe's deceased friend.