The state of Georgia is named for British King George II, who awarded the colony of Georgia its charter in 1733. According to historian Peter Linebaugh, the colony was the result of a 1729 Parliamentary committee investigation of the horros of London prisons led by James Oglethorpe. The resul was "a buffer against the Spanish in Flordia, a forcing house for Methodism, and dumping ground for incarcerated debtors." (p.180). Georgia's ranks 38th in literacy rate among American states, at 82.8%, below the national average of 84.2%.