Final answer:
Option (D), James Oglethorpe founded Georgia as a haven for debtors and persecuted religious minorities, incorporating ideals of the Age of Enlightenment and strategic military considerations against Spanish Florida, with a goal of self-sufficiency that later included the use of enslaved labor.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that best describes James Oglethorpe's role in the new colony of Georgia is that he founded the colony as a haven for debtors and persecuted religious minorities. Oglethorpe, a member of Parliament and advocate for social reform, saw Georgia as a place where England's "worthy poor" could have a fresh start away from the impoverishing conditions of urban life in England.
His vision aligned with the Age of Enlightenment, seeking to reform and improve society by giving each male immigrant fifty acres of land, tools, and the means to become self-sustaining farmers. Oglethorpe also intended for Georgia to act as a military buffer between the British colony of South Carolina and Spanish-held Florida, with the colonists ready to defend the territory.
Despite restrictions such as the initial bans on alcohol and slavery intended to shape the colony according to Enlightenment ideals, Georgia eventually followed similar paths as other colonies, including the use of enslaved labor for rice cultivation.