The first European nation to make a concerted effort to establish a settlement in Georgia was Spain. Hernando de Soto spearheaded Spanish exploration in the area for several years, operating out of Florida. In 1566, Spain established a fort on St. Catherine's island just south of modern-day city of Savannah.
About 100 years later, the English arrived in the area, claiming much of what is today North and South Carolina for themselves. This set off a proxy-war with the Spanish to the south. By 1680 the Spanish were dislodged from St. Catherine's island, but continued to remain a nuisance to the English from Florida for many years.
The area known today as Georgia was given its name by General James Oglethorpe. Olgethorpe had been given the land by King George II of England. It was King George's idea to create a buffer between the Spanish colonies to the south and the Carolinas to the North. It was Oglethorpe, along with the other trustees of the colony, who thought of turning it into a place where debtors could work off their debt.
It wasn't until 1733 that Olgethorpe oversaw the founding of Savannah and Augusta, both of which he decided to situate on the Savannah river. In 1742 Olgethorpe soundly defeated the Spanish on St. Simon's island at the battle of "Bloody Marsh" effectively ending any Spanish hope of occupying or owning Georgia. It was officially considered a royal colony in 1754
Originally, the trustees whom George II placed over the Georgia colony enacted a prohibition of both slavery and alcohol throughout the colony. They did this with the hope of creating a colony in which one could reform oneself by paying off debts and living a moral lifestyle. However, once its royal colonial status was established, the local government imitated the lucrative practices of slavery which had been established in the colonies to the north.