In 1741 three “malcontents” of Georgia, Patrick Tailfer, David Douglas, and Hugh Anderson, wrote A True and Historical Narrative of Georgia, an indictment of Oglethorpe and the other trustees of the colony. Mockingly they dedicated their small, excellently written work to Oglethorpe and proceeded to enumerate and explain the policies and acts which were bringing the settlement to the brink of ruin. John Lord Viscount Percival, the first Earl of Egmont and one of the more active of the trustees, answered the charges point by point. For the first time this volume makes available the Tailfer book interlarded with the more than 350 comments of Egmont. A twenty-six page introduction by the editor traces the history of the factions in Georgia and explains the details of their publications.
The roots of controversies in Georgia were grounded in the multiple purposes of the colony: a battlefield for imperialistic European countries, a protection for established English colonies, a philanthropic enterprise, and a prosperous colony. No matter the fundamental purpose of his settlement, Oglethorpe was forced into a military role. His failure to capture Spanish Florida in 1740 fanned the flames of discontent within Georgia and enhanced the importance of the Tailfer book. While this connection between Florida and Georgia may be of paramount interest to students of Hispanic American history, they will also find in this volume one of the best contemporary accounts of the colonial era.
