SAVANNAH, Ga (WSAV)- In 18th-century London, people who fell into financial trouble rarely climbed their way out.
It was a crime to owe money, and offenders were sent to a debtor’s prison. There, they were charged for room and board, sending them further into a debt they would never be able to repay.
The prisoners were forced to work off their dues in filthy conditions and disease-ridden dungeons, where many died.
One of them was named Robert Castell, who caught smallpox while in jail. A friend of his was horrified at the injustice, saying that debt should not be a death sentence, and taking that argument to the King.
The advocate asked King George if, instead of sending the poor to jail, he could gather them to forge a new colony in the Americas. The King agreed, and the man set sail on the frigate Anne with 114 refugee passengers headed to a new land. In mid-February of 1732, James Edward Oglethorpe and his passengers landed on Yamacraw Bluff, in what is now known as the city of Savannah. In an homage to King George, he named the new colony “Georgia.”