What man loved silk so much that he paid bounties to any colonist that would plant mulberry bushes raise worms and export raw silk?

The man who loved silk so much that he offered bounties for the cultivation of mulberry bushes and the raising of silkworms was James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Georgia colony. He believed that silk production could help the colony become economically self-sufficient. Oglethorpe's efforts were part of a broader vision to diversify the economy of Georgia beyond agriculture and to establish it as a center for silk production in the New World.