James Edward Oglethorpe was a British general and social reformer who founded the colony of Georgia. Along with being a military leader he was also a politician who served as a Member of Parliament for 32 long years. Born as the son of a prominent politician, he had a privileged childhood. In spite of his own comfortable life he was not oblivious to the sufferings of the underprivileged and developed an early interest in helping those who were not as fortunate as he was. In keeping up with family traditions he too joined politics. As a politician, he played a major role in convincing the British government to authorize the establishment of its first new colony in North America in more than five decades. As a humanitarian, he believed that the establishment of a new colony would provide an opportunity to resettle Britain’s poor in the New World. He led the expedition of colonists to Savannah in the 1730s and spent several years in Georgia overseeing the economic and political development of the new colony. As a military leader, he played a significant role in resisting the Spanish invasion of Georgia following which the Spanish never again dared to attack Britain's colonies on the East Coast of America.
