Georgia & Northern Florida

As we awoke from a shallow sleep in a deserted car park next to the still waters that surround Skidaway Island, I sat in the Beast and contemplated where we were. Looking at the map, the geography was obvious. I could see that Florida was within striking distance and that, after we tore ourselves from bed, we could reach the border within a couple of hours. However, the problem was that in my mind I had no idea about what made Georgia tick historically, politically and culturally and this left me feeling disorientated and unable to really understand what was around me.

I needed to do a little research…

With the British Carolina’s to the north, Spanish Florida to the South and French settlements emerging in modern day Alabama to the west, the state of Georgia started as a pocket of land that was being eyed by colonialists in every direction. Previously, it had been the home of an ancient ‘Moundbuilder’ culture that predated the native American tribes like the Yamasee, who in the late 17h Century allied with the British before the Yamasee War, a conflict that would become one of the most successful acts of defiance by Native Americans against colonialism and European rule (even though it did ultimately end in failure).

Anyway, with the Yamasee War won, the area was purposefully and actively depopulated. This paved the way for the ‘Province of Georgia’ to be established and named in honour of King George II. Unlike for previous British colonies, the early path of Georgia would be defined by the emerging British parliament rather then its troubled monarch. So in 1733 parliament funded the first boats for new settlers who were leaving from England. They also supported the invitation to encourage German Lutherans, Scottish Presbyterians, French Huguenots and Jews to also settle this land in a bid to ward off the influence of Spanish Catholicism to south. This decision proved pivotal. Understandably, upon settlement many of these communities were reluctant to embrace the Church of England and so dissented against British cultural rule. By 1776, this dissent had grown so strong that it directly influenced Georgia’s decision to sign and embrace the Declaration of Independence.

Despite this, the Georgian city of Savannah remained in British hands until they finally departed with the thousands of African slaves who had helped to defend it under the promise of freedom. Many of these people were rewarded with resettlement in Great Britain, the Caribbean or Canada, where thankfully, attitudes toward the slave trade were evolving. Back in Georgia however, this evolution was not being embraced at all, and with this policy, this state increasingly identified itself with the Confederacy, an allegiance that would result in it becoming one of the major battlefields of the American civil war.

St Augustine

Both the Southern identity and the Spanish influence were obvious as we approached Florida, where a surprising number of confederate flags could be seen fluttering in the breeze. Our first stop over the border was St Augustine, the US’s oldest colonial city which was established in 1565, and which to my eye, is an attractive town saturated with Spanish influence. Here, we parked up the Beast and dodged the numerous tacky tourist traps that dominate its centre as best we could. Eventually, in search of rest-bite we found a bizarre private house that had been part converted into a museum for random objects, and part converted into an eccentric café. Here we ate well, and with our bellies full, we ventured back out onto the intricately decorated streets and walked toward the ramparts that used to protect this coastline.

Despite its pleasantry, St Augustine doesn’t really justify more then a couple of hours of attention, so we swiftly departed and headed to the far more appealing stretch of coastline immediately to its south. Here we found Flagler Beach, home to many a beach bum and surfer. This was the perfect place to camp between the dunes and beside an ocean rippled with smooth waves that relentlessly pounded a flat golden beach. I liked it here a lot.