Worksheet # 28          Home Questions Puzzle Links Next

THE SOUTHERN COLONIES

Just below Penn’s woods a new claim was carved out,

In the uppermost region that still sits in The South.

Catholic members came first to live on these shores,

With others soon welcomed by its Lord Baltimore.

And Maryland too, with seas and soils so rich,

Prospered quite quickly, trading tobacco and fish.

As oysters and crabs and all the game you could seek

Were there milling about the Bay Chesapeake.

While a step to the south, below Virginia’s foothold,

Stood three more parcels in the Great British fold.

The two Carolinas, North and South, it did seem,

Were blessed with rich soil at every river and stream.

And with weather so warm, it gave folks a reason

To super-size farms for the long growing season.

Yes, the fields in these parts ran for acres and acres,

With their bounty quite bound to elicit new takers.

While daily life in those deep, most southernly quarters

Took place in Great Houses down by the tidewaters.

These estates were so grand, people lived just like kings,

With tastes that ran to the most luxurious things.

But in raising tobacco, along with cotton and rice,

Many planters fell prey to the most dreadful vice.

Alas, with no second thoughts and no hesitations,

They forced people to work on their giant plantations.