South Carolina Colony

Overview

The region known today as South Carolina was originally occupied by various Native American Indian tribes. After Christopher Columbus’s First Voyage of Discovery (1492), Spain and Portugal agreed to a treaty that divided the Americas between the two nations, and South Carolina was under Spanish control. Although the Spanish and French attempted to establish settlements in the 1500s, all their efforts ultimately failed.

In the late 1500s, English explorers made their way to North America in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. These expeditions led to the establishment of the “Lost Colony” on Roanoke Island, which was ultimately abandoned, and the settlers disappeared between 1587 and 1590. By the early 1600s, Jamestown (1607), Plymouth (1620), and Massachusetts (1629) gave England the foothold in the New World that it desired.

Colonial expansion slowed due to the English Civil War (1642–1649) and other conflicts until the early 1660s. In 1663, King Charles II issued a charter for a new colony, “Carolina,” to a group of men known as the “Lords Proprietors,” who were led by Anthony Ashley Cooper. The Proprietors proceeded to develop guidelines for the colony’s government and establish counties.

Over the next seven years, various setbacks occurred as groups from New England and Barbados failed to establish permanent settlements in the southern portion of Carolina. Finally, in 1670, a settlement known as “Charles Town” was established near the mouths of the Ashley River and the Cooper River. This became the first permanent English settlement in South Carolina, and was eventually known simply as “Charleston.”

For the next 40 years, the two regions in Carolina grew apart, and North Carolina became a separate province around 1712. Afterward, South Carolina was ravaged by the Yamasee War, which led the inhabitants to ask the Crown to take control of the colony from the Lords Proprietors in 1719.

After appointing a Royal Governor, the Crown purchased the shares of the colony from seven of the eight Proprietors for £2,500 each. In 1729, the Proprietors surrendered the charter, completing South Carolina’s transition from a Proprietary Colony to a Royal Colony.

Essential Facts

• Also Known As: South Carolina has been called the South Carolina Colony, Colony of South Carolina, and the Province of South Carolina.
• Region: The colonies are generally divided into three regions — New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. South Carolina was one of the Southern Colonies in Colonial America.
• First Settlement: The first permanent English settlement was Charles Town (Charleston).
• Purpose: Carolina was established as a reward for a group of men who supported King Charles II, and to organize English territory between Virginia and Spanish Florida.

Key Moments

• King Charles I granted a charter for “Carolana” to Sir Robert Heath in 1629. 
• In 1653, Virginia settlers crossed the Nansemond Valley and the Dismal Swamp into present-day North Carolina.
• King Charles II issued the Carolina Charter to the Lords Proprietors in 1663.
• The Proprietors created the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina in 1669, which established a new government structure and a noble class.
• Charleston was founded in 1670 and became the capital in 1680.
• Rice was introduced in the late 1600s, quickly became a cash crop, and led to an increase in the population of enslaved Africans.
• The South Carolina Commons House of Assembly was established in 1692.
• Hostilities with Native American Indians led to the Tuscarora War (1711–1715) and the Yamasee War (1715–1717).
• Pirates, led by Blackbeard, Stede Bonnet, and Charles Vane, blockaded Charleston Harbor in 1718.
• Settlers seized control of the South Carolina government during the Revolution of 1719.
• The Crown started taking control of South Carolina in 1721, and the transition was completed by 1729.
• The Stono Rebellion, the largest slave revolt in Colonial America, occurred in 1740.
• Eliza Pinckney helped make indigo a cash crop in the 1740s.
• New towns and settlements led to the Anglo-Cherokee War (1758–1761).
• Wealthy Planters opposed the British government during the Stamp Act Crisis (1764–1765).
• The Regulator Movement (1767–1769) in the Backcountry led to the establishment of new courts.

Key Details

• Charlesfort, on Parris Island, was the site of the first French settlement within the present-day United States.
• Charleston, the oldest English settlement in South Carolina, was established in 1670.
• The oldest known brick house in South Carolina, Medway Plantation, was built in 1686 by Jan Van Arrsens, who led a group of Dutch settlers to Carolina.
• The French Huguenot Church was organized in Charleston in 1687.
• Middleburg Plantation is the oldest wooden house in South Carolina. It was built around 1699 by Benjamin Simons.

Significance

South Carolina Colony is important to American History because it was one of the early European settlements in North America. Over time, it developed a robust Plantation System that helped it become one of the wealthiest colonies. This allowed its capital, Charleston, to become a center of business on par with northern cities like Boston and New York. However, it also contributed to a large population of enslaved Africans. South Carolina’s emergence in the 18th Century helped it become a leader during the American Revolution.

History

South Carolina was one of the most important of the original 13 Colonies. By the time the American Revolution started, South Carolina was a robust, wealthy colony whose economy was driven by a Plantation System that had developed over more than a century.

• The growth and development of the Plantation System led to the development of a Wealthy Planter Class that dominated politics and society.
• The system also contributed to a large population of enslaved people in South Carolina.
• The capital, Charleston, was considered to be the center of upper-class lifestyle in the Southern Colonies and was one of the largest ports in America.

Early Contact Between Mississippians and the Spanish

During the Age of Exploration, most of South Carolina was controlled by Native American Indian tribes. Roughly 25 years after Columbus landed in the New World in 1492, the Spanish explorers, slave traders, and Conquistadores finally made their way to the coast of South Carolina.

• The Spanish encountered large Mississippian chiefdoms, including Cofitachequi, which was near present-day Camden, South Carolina.
• Although the Mississippian Culture was undergoing changes, the arrival of the Spanish accelerated the decline of the large chiefdoms.
• The chiefdoms broke into smaller, self-governing villages and bands. It is these smaller groups that clashed with English colonists in the late 1600s and early 1700s.

These smaller groups, such as the Cusabo, Catawba, Yamasee, and Cherokee, spoke different languages that belonged to various groups, including:

• Siouan
• Iroquoian
• Muskogean
• Algonquian

South Carolina Indian communities varied in size, from small coastal communities such as the Catawba to large inland nations like the Cherokee. Many of these people lived in permanent or semi-permanent villages, surrounded by fields where they grew various crops, including beans, corn, and squash.

• Women managed agriculture and home life.
• Men hunted and took on roles related to warfare, trade, and diplomacy with other tribes and, eventually, with European settlers.

Clans were the basis of social organization and were typically passed down through the maternal line.

• Clan membership shaped marriage decisions and legal punishments.
• Ceremonies marked many aspects of native social and cultural life.

AHC Notes

• Mississippian Culture — A Native American Indian civilization that emerged in the Mississippi River Valley and the southeastern United States from approximately 800 AD to 1600. Known for their ceremonial centers, mound-building, and extensive Trade Networks, the Mississippian People exhibited social complexity and urban development. 

Lucas Vasquez de Ayllón

In the early 1500s, Lucas Vasquez de Ayllón, a Spanish official on the island of Hispaniola, sponsored expeditions to the Bahamas. 

• The purpose of these expeditions was to capture local Indians and return them to Hispaniola, where they would be enslaved. 
• At least two of these expeditions led the Spanish to South Carolina.

Salazar and the Island of Giants

Sometime between 1514 and 1517, Ayllón hired Pedro de Salazar to lead out one of these expeditions. Salazar traveled to the Bahamas and then further north, where he found more land, which is believed to be the coast of present-day South Carolina.

• Salazar landed at an unknown location where he encountered Indians who were taller than the natives in the Caribbean.
• Because of this, the Spanish called it the “Island of Giants.”
• Salazar and his men were welcomed by the Indians.
• When Salazar and his men prepared to leave, they seized some of the Indians, which led to fighting.
• Salazar returned to Hispaniola with the captives. However, many of them died during the voyage due to a lack of food.
• It is believed that Ayllón purchased some of the “giants” to work on his properties.

Gordillo and Chicora

In 1521, Francisco Gordillo led an expedition to the Bahamas. Before he left Hispaniola, Ayllón told him that if he did not find enough Indians in the Bahamas to sail to the “Island of Giants.”

During the journey, Gordillo encountered Pedro de Quexos (also spelled de Quejo), a Spanish slave trader, and they proceeded together. After failing to capture enough Indians in the Bahamas, they sailed north, moving along the coast of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. They explored the region and captured Indians.

• Gordillo claimed the territory for the Spanish Crown on June 30, 1521.
• He named rivers and other waterways during the journey.
• He created important maps that were used by European mapmakers.

One of the Indians captured on this mission was enslaved by Ayllón. He was baptized and given the name “Francisco de Chicora.”

• Chicora is believed to have been seized near Winyah Bay, South Carolina.
• Chicora told him stories about his homeland, which gave Ayllón the impression there were riches to be had.

Ayllón used these stories to inspire interest in the Spanish conquest of the southeastern coast of North America.

• In June 1523, King Charles I of Spain granted Ayllón a contract to establish a Spanish colony in the region.
• The contract named Ayllón the Governor of the colony and granted him a range of privileges in exchange for funding and carrying out an expedition to establish this colony.

AHC Notes

• Charles I (1500–1558) — The ruler of Spain as Charles I and Holy Roman Emperor as Charles V. He inherited vast territories, including Castile, Aragón, Burgundy, Austria, and Spain’s possessions in the Americas, making him one of the most powerful monarchs of his time. His reign oversaw major expansion in the New World and immense wealth from silver and trade, but he faced religious conflict with Martin Luther and political challenges across his diverse empire. He abdicated in 1555–1556, dividing his lands between his son Philip II and his brother Ferdinand.

Giovanni da Verrazzano

The first European explorer to visit the region was Giovanni da Verrazzano, who was commissioned by King Francis I of France to find the Northwest Passage. 

• In 1524, Verrazzano saw land near Cape Fear and went ashore around March 21 at a place he called “Selva di Lauri,” meaning Forest of Laurels. 
• Verrazzano sailed further south to present-day Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras. He named the land there “Annunciata.” 
• Verrazzano believed the land was an isthmus separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Pacific Ocean. After leaving, Verrazzano explored the coasts of New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Maine.

AHC Notes

• Northwest Passage — A legendary sea route through northern North America. During the Age of Exploration, it was widely believed that a water route existed that connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, allowing Europeans to reach Asia more quickly than traditional overland routes. Explorers sought the passage for more than 200 years, which contributed to the early exploration of North America and territorial claims of European nations along the Atlantic Coast.
• Francis I (1494–1547) — The King of France from 1515 to 1547. He sponsored several exploratory expeditions, including those led by Giovanni da Verrazzano, Jacques Cartier, and Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval. These expeditions aimed to find new trade routes and territories and expand French influence in North America.

San Miguel de Gualdape

Inspired by Verrazzano and the earlier Spanish expeditions, Ayllón became determined to establish a Spanish colony on the mainland. 

• In 1525, Ayllón hired Pedro de Quejo to lead an expedition to the coast to find a suitable location for a colony.
• During this expedition, Quejo encountered Hilton Head and called it “Punta de Santa Elena.”
• The information gathered on this voyage expanded Spanish knowledge of the coast.

In June 1526, Ayllón led an expedition to the mouth of the Cape Fear River, where he intended to start his settlement. However, the area was a poor choice because it was marshy and infested with mosquitoes. 

• The expedition, which included roughly 500 men and women, including Friars and slaves, struggled from the start. 
• The settlement, San Miguel de Gualdape, was plagued by Indian attacks, dissension, and disease. 
• Ayllón himself died after contracting a fever. 
• The settlement was abandoned within a year, and the 150 survivors returned to Hispaniola.

Ayllón’s efforts contributed to European interest in and knowledge of the southeastern coast of North America. Further, the stories told by Ayllón and Chicora were recorded by Peter Martyr and spread throughout Europe.

AHC Notes

• Peter Martyr (1457–1526)  — An Italian historian who worked for Spain during the Age of Exploration. He documented the early Spanish explorations into Central America and South America, which were published as De Orbe Novo (Decades of the New World). He also documented the first contact between Europeans and native people living in the Americas.

De Soto’s Expedition

Spanish Conquistadors expanded from the Caribbean to the American mainland in the early 1500s and made their way into the interior. Between 1539 and 1543, Hernando de Soto led an expedition through the southeastern United States.

• This exploratory mission into the region known as “La Florida” was called an “entrada,” meaning entrance.
• De Soto was inspired by reports written by Cabeza de Vaca, who had exaggerated the wealth in the region.
• De Soto led roughly 600 men, who plundered Indian towns, treated the people harshly, and enslaved some of them.
• Ultimately, De Soto failed to find the riches he sought, but the expedition provided Spain with important information about the interior of America.

De Soto moved into present-day South Carolina in search of the chiefdom of Cofitachequi, which was rumored to have vast riches. He eventually found it, near present-day Camden.

• The chiefdom was led by a woman he called the “Lady of Cofitachequi.”
• These Indians gave the Spanish gifts, including small pearls.
• De Soto had his men raid the village for food and the graves in search of more pearls.
• Afterward, De Soto marched into North Carolina.
• He took the Lady of Cofitachequi with him. However, she escaped with an African slave and returned to her village.

AHC Notes

• Hernando de Soto (1500–1542) — a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition through the southeastern United States from 1539 to 1542. His expedition explored regions including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The expedition was one of the first major European expeditions into the interior of North America.
• Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (c. 1488–1559) — A Spanish explorer who is best known for his accounts of the Narváez Expedition and his subsequent journey across the present-day southern United States. Shipwrecked near present-day Galveston, Texas, in 1528, Cabeza de Vaca and a small group of survivors embarked on a remarkable journey across Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico.
• Narváez Expedition (1528) — A Spanish expedition led by Pánfilo de Narváez from Santo Domingo to the Gulf Coast of North America in search of gold. The 600-member expedition faced shipwrecks, disease, and harsh overland travel. Only four people survived, including Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.

Charlesfort

Charlesfort was a French settlement established in 1562 on Parris Island, which is roughly 50 miles southwest of Charleston. It was founded by French explorer Jean Ribault and served as a strategic outpost during France’s attempts to colonize the southeastern region of North America. 

• When Ribault returned to France for supplies, the settlers mutinied.
• They built a boat, abandoned the settlement, and returned to France.

Santa Elena and Spanish Forts on Parris Island

The Spanish made their way to Parris Island in 1565 and established Santa Elena. The next year, 1566, they built Fort San Felipe. 

• Spanish explorer Juan Pardo arrived in 1566 and led the last two Spanish military expeditions in the interior.
• The expeditions marched from Santa Elena westward in search of a route to the silver mines at Zacatecas, Mexico.
• Pardo visited many of the same Indian towns De Soto had visited during his expedition.
• He went as far as East Tennessee, but failed to find the route he sought.
• Pardo’s expeditions provided valuable information about the region during the 16th Century.

Fort San Felipe lasted for a decade before the Indians attacked and destroyed it in 1576. The Spanish quickly returned and built Fort San Marcos in 1577. The settlement was abandoned in 1587, after an English fleet under the command of Francis Drake attacked St. Augustine.

AHC Notes

• The Spanish forts on Parris Island, the northernmost posts of the defenses for Spanish Florida, also defended the Spanish Treasure Fleet.
• The Treasure Fleet transported cargo from Spanish territories in the Americas to Seville.
• Pirates and Privateers such as Drake often threatened the Treasure Fleet.

Impact of the Spanish

Ultimately, the presence and influence of the Spanish in the American Southeast diminished. 

• Spain failed to establish a lasting colony in the interior of South Carolina, although Franciscan missionaries established missions on the Sea Islands.
• The Spanish retreated to Florida, leaving most of present-day Georgia as open territory between them and the English.

The Catawba and the Fur Trade

By 1585, the Catawba were one of the dominant tribes living in the Piedmont Region.

• Exposure to European diseases decimated their population over the next 200 years
• The Catawba’s independence, culture, and lands came under attack as Europeans expanded in South Carolina.

The Catawba hunted deer and traded skins for European goods. However, they became dependent on European goods such as metal pots, arrow tips, knives, and guns.

• As the number of deer declined, the Catawba became brokers in the Fur Trade between English settlers and other tribes.
• Their role in the Fur Trade and reputation as fierce warriors helped shield them from violence.
• The Fur Trade in South Carolina eventually declined as the deer population decreased. This reduced the power of the Catawba in South Carolina.

Sir Robert Heath and Carolana

In 1629, King Charles I claimed the region south of Virginia and named it “Carolana” or “New Carolana.’ Charles granted the territory to Sir Robert Heath, a member of the  Council of the Virginia Company, who also owned land in Virginia. 

• Carolana was between 31 degrees and 36 degrees North latitude in the New World. It was approximately 30 miles north of the present-day Florida state line, on the southern side of Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. 
• Other than Roanoke Island, it did not include the territory already explored by Virginians since 1607. 

Heath and others tried to settle the region but failed, and Heath eventually lost his rights to Carolana during the English Civil Wars.

• 1630 — Samuel Vassal and others tried unsuccessfully to explore and settle the area based on a transfer from Heath.
• 1632 — Henry Lord Maltravers was said to have received the “province of Carolana” from Heath.
• 1638 — Governor Sir John Harvey of Virginia issued the “Harvey Patent,” claiming land south of the James River, which was called Norfolk County.

AHC Notes

• English Civil War (1642–1649) — A conflict fought between King Charles I and Parliament over authority in governing the state and controlling the Church of England. The war involved major battles, including Edgehill, Marston Moor, and Naseby, in which Royalist and Parliamentary forces were engaged. Parliament’s victory led to the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England, under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell.

The Cherokee in the West

The Cherokee Nation dominated the Appalachian Mountains in present-day Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina. It is estimated that there were 22,000 Cherokee in 1650.

• By the late 17th century, the Cherokee were engaged in significant trade with South Carolina merchants.
• Some Cherokee villages signed treaties with South Carolina.
• A number of Cherokee women married Europeans, especially traders.
• The Cherokee came to rely on metal goods and commerce with the settlers, which weakened their power and independence.

Over time, the Cherokee ceded large tracts of land in present-day South Carolina and Tennessee, as they became involved in the struggle between Britain, France, and Spain for control of the American Southeast. They often allied with different factions, as they sought to gain an advantage.

• During the French and Indian War, some Cherokee towns supported the French and attacked the Carolina Backcountry in 1760. However, other towns fought with the British.
• The Cherokee sided with the British during the American Revolution and eventually became subordinate to the United States Government.

Albemarle Colony

Around 1653, settlers from Virginia moved across the Nansemond Valley and the Dismal Swamp into present-day North Carolina.

• They settled north of Albemarle Sound between the Chowan River and the Atlantic Ocean.
• The House of Burgesses supported this as a way to protect Virginia’s southern frontier.
• Land grants were offered to the first settlers between the Chowan and Roanoke rivers in July 1653.
• Two Virginians, Francis Yeardley and Argall Yeardley, provided financial support to the settlement.

England Captures Jamaica

In 1655, England captured Jamaica from Spain during the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660).

• This encouraged the English to believe that Spain could be forced out of North America.
• It promoted English expansion along the southern frontier.

Stuart Restoration

In 1649, Parliament abolished the monarchy and executed King Charles I. His son, the future Charles II, fled to France for safety. For the next 11 years, Oliver Cromwell ruled England and its growing empire. 

• When Cromwell died in 1658, his government started to collapse. 
• English nobles, known as “Royalists,” helped restore the monarchy, and Charles II became King of England in 1660. 
• This event is known as the “Stuart Restoration.”

William Hilton’s Expeditions

William Hilton Jr. was a Massachusetts native who explored the coast of the Carolinas in 1662 and 1663. These explorations helped bring the region to the attention of the Crown and investors.

• In August 1662, Hilton sailed from Charlestown, Massachusetts, on the Adventurer. 
• This expedition was financed by investors who called themselves the “Adventurers About Cape Fayre,” which is also called the “Cape Fear Company.”
• Hilton explored the Cape Fear Region.
• When he returned to Massachusetts in November, he had Nicholas Shapley, a Charlestown navigator, make a detailed map.

This attracted the attention of merchants in New England, London, and Barbados, who hired Hilton to lead another expedition. This group was called the “Corporation of Barbados Adventurers.” John Vassall and his cousin Henry Vassall were involved with the Adventurers.

• Hilton set sail in the Adventurer in August 1663.
• The ship was near St. Helena Island, south of present-day Charleston, when it encountered Indians who were holding Englishmen as captives. These Englishmen are believed to have been survivors of a shipwreck.
• Hilton successfully negotiated with the Indians for their release and gathered information about the culture.

Afterward, the ship sailed toward Cape Fear, but was blown off course and did not arrive until October.

• Hilton explored the area until December and then returned to Massachusetts.
• Afterward, he published A Relation of a Discovery Lately Made on the Coast of Florida.

Failed Colony at Cape Fear

The Cape Fear Company sent a group of settlers to the region who established a settlement on Old Town Creek in present-day Brunswick County after Hilton completed his 1663 expedition.

• They purchased the land from the local Indians. 
• Virginia protested the settlement, claiming it was within its boundaries.
• Indians attacked the settlement.
• The settlement was abandoned after roughly three months, in the fall of 1663.

AHC Note — Some sources indicate that these settlers sailed with Hilton on his 1663 voyage.

Carolina Charter

Following the Stuart Restoration, Charles II sought to reward supporters of the Crown and to expand English colonization in the Americas. At this time, New Netherland was still under Dutch control, but the English colonies of Virginia, Plymouth, and Massachusetts were well-established and relatively stable.

• On April 3, 1663, Charles granted a charter for the Carolina Colony to a group of men known as the “Lords Proprietors,” who were led by Anthony Ashley Cooper.
• When the colony was established, the Lords Proprietors intended it to be one colony, with one government. 
• Over time, the geographic and economic differences between the northern and southern regions created a need for separate governments, leading to the division of Carolina into two colonies with separate governments.

AHC Notes

• The Cape Fear Company and others protested this charter.
• On August 22, 1665, the Privy Council declared all previous patents were null and void.
• Lawsuits continued as late as 1768, when Daniel Coxe, who held the old Heath Patent, was given 100,000 acres in the Province of New York as a settlement.

Declarations and Proposals

As part of the process of organizing the new colony, the Lords Proprietors created the “Declarations and Proposals,” which established the following guidelines:

1. The colony would be established on the Charles River, near Cape Fear.
2. The colonists were permitted to fortify the entrance to the river.
3. The colonists were instructed to identify 13 people. From them, the Lords Proprietors would choose a Governor and Governor’s Council. The Council would have six members.
4. A General Assembly was authorized to make laws, which had to be approved by the Lords Proprietors.
5. Freedom of religion was established.
6. A modified version of the Headright System was established. Indentured servants were granted land when their contracts were completed. Men who owned a musket were to be granted 50 acres of land. Women were to be granted 30 acres. Men who did not provide a musket were to be given 10 acres.
7. Taxes were set at one-half penny for every acre and were to be used to build courthouses and public meeting houses.

AHC Note — The name of the Charles River was changed to Cape Fear River.

First Counties in Carolina

By 1664, there were three regions in Carolina. They are typically referred to as counties, but sometimes called provinces, indicating they were viewed as separate colonies within the territory of Carolina. The boundaries for these counties were never surveyed.

1. Albemarle County included all lands that were settled by Virginians along the Albemarle Sound
2. Clarendon County was the area around the Cape Fear River in what is present-day Brunswick County. It was here that the first Charles Town was established in 1664. 
3. Craven County included all lands south of Clarendon County to present-day northern Florida. This county also included most of present-day South Carolina.

AHC Note — These counties were officially created by the Lords Proprietors in the Concessions and Agreements of 1665.

William Drummond

In October 1664, William Berkeley appointed William Drummond as governor of the Albemarle Colony. Drummond was a native of Scotland who emigrated to Virginia in 1637.

• Drummond moved to the colony, where he remained for three years.
• He returned to Jamestown in 1667.
• Drummond was an ally of Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon’s Rebellion (1676–1677).

Competing Corporations

After financing William Hilton’s 1663 expedition, the Corporation of Barbados Adventurers sought to establish a settlement in the Cape Fear Region.

• The Barbados Adventurers included Thomas Modyford, Peter Colleton, John Yeamans, and William Yeamans.
• Colleton’s father, John Colleton, was one of the Proprietors.
• William Yeamans was the son of John Yeamans.

The Barbados Adventurers selected William Yeamans to negotiate on their behalf with the Proprietors. At this point, John Vassall and Henry Vassall broke away from the Adventurers and sought to negotiate with the Proprietors on their own.

• The Barbados Adventurers and the Vassalls approached the Proprietors around the same time.
• The Proprietors decided to work with the Barbados Adventurers.

The Vassalls responded by forming a company called the “Adventurers and Planters of Cape Feare.” 

• Henry Vassall sailed to London to meet with the Proprietors on behalf of the Cape Fear Adventurers.
• John Vassall decided to proceed with plans to establish a settlement and sailed to Carolina with a group of colonists.

The Proprietors offered an agreement to Henry Vassall, which he accepted. However, during final negotiations, the Proprietors learned that John Vassall had proceeded without their permission.

• The Proprietors ended negotiations with Henry Vassall and the Cape Fear Adventurers.
• The Proprietors completed an agreement with William Yeamans and the Barbados Adventurers, which is known as the “Concessions and Agreements of 1665.” The location of the settlement was to be at present-day Port Royal, South Carolina.

Charles Town in Clarendon County

John Vassall and the colonists funded by the Cape Fear Adventurers landed in the Cape Fear Region on May 29, 1664. They were likely unaware that the Lords Proprietors had ended negotiations with Henry Vassall.

• This settlement was in Clarendon County, one of the first three counties in Carolina.
• According to some sources, Vassall negotiated the purchase of land along the riverfront from the local Indians. 
• A fortified settlement was completed by November,
• It was on the east bank of the Cape Fear River, near the mouth of Old Town Creek.
• It was named “Charles Town.”

As part of their agreement with the Barbados Adventurers and William Yeamans, the Proprietors appointed John Yeamans as Governor of the region. His official title was “Governor of our County of Clarendon neare Cape Faire and of all that tract of ground which lyeth southerly as farr as the river St. Mathias.”

• Although there was no agreement with the Vassalls and the Cape Fear Adventurers, the Proprietors named John Vassall as Deputy Governor.
• John Colleton is the only Proprietor who supported the settlement. However, he died in 1666.

In October 1665, Yeamans led an expedition consisting of three ships to the region, intending to explore the area between the Cape Fear River and Port Royal.

• Yeamans intended to find a location to establish a settlement.
• When the fleet arrived at the Cape Fear River, the ship carrying the supplies ran aground and sank.
• Yeamans and his people joined the settlers at Charles Town.
• Yeamans sent a ship to Virginia to purchase supplies, but it was lost during the voyage.
• During his short stay, Yeamans presided over a meeting of the General Assembly.
• In December 1665, Yeamans sailed to Barbados and never returned to South Carolina.

Vassall assumed leadership of the Charles Town settlement and tried to keep it going. However, attacks from local Indians and shortages of supplies led most people to abandon it in 1667. Although most of the settlers had already left, the region was devastated by the “Dreadful Hurricane of 1667.”

• This powerful hurricane struck the southern East Coast around September 6, 1667.
• It was preceded by nearly two weeks of rain.
• The storm moved up the coast, hitting the Outer Banks of North Carolina before making landfall around Jamestown, Virginia.
• It is believed that 10,000 homes were destroyed, along with valuable crops and livestock.

AHC Notes

• Some of the original settlers, including John Vassall, went to Virginia, while others returned to Massachusetts.
• This Charles Town is important to American History because it was the first attempt to establish a settlement in the Carolinas, and the first to include colonists from Barbados.
• Many of these colonists remained interested in the region and contributed to the establishment of the second Charles Town in 1670.

Concessions and Agreements of the Lords Proprietors

The agreement between William Yeamans and the Lords Proprietors, known as the Concessions and Agreements, applied to the entire Carolina Colony and was intended to encourage immigration. The Concessions and Agreements made modifications to the 1663 Declaration and Proposals, including:

• The establishment of three counties — “Countye of Clarendine the County of Albermarle and the County which latter is to bee to the southward or westward of Cape Romania all within the Province aforesaid.” The third county was eventually called Craven County.
• There was to be a Governor for each county, and the Governor had the authority to appoint a Governor’s Council (or Executive Council) of 6-12 people.
• Each county was instructed to keep accurate and organized records of public affairs. Land transactions were required to include oaths of at least two witnesses.
• All government officials were required to swear an Oath of Loyalty to the English monarch. Freemen had to swear an Oath of Loyalty to the Crown and be faithful to the Lords Proprietors.
• Government officials and Freemen were allowed religious freedom. Further, the General Assemblies were allowed to appoint ministers and determine their compensation.
• A General Assembly was established and given the right to levy taxes.

Carolina’s Second Charter

In 1665, another charter was granted to the Lords Proprietors by King Charles II. This charter altered the boundaries of the province, which were set at 36°30 ′ on the north and 29 ′ on the south.

The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina

In 1669, the Lords Proprietors issued the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina. Also known as the “Grand Model,” it created a new government structure for Carolina that set up a nobility and diminished the power of the General Assembly. 

• The Proprietors created the Constitutions to help protect their interests and keep the government from developing into a democracy. 
• The Fundamental Constitutions were controversial. 
• It was modified several times and suspended from 1693 to 1698. 
• Most of the provisions were never fully implemented, or they were simply ignored.

Charleston Founded

By 1669, Anthony Ashley Cooper convinced the other Lords Proprietors to finance another attempt at establishing a settlement in the southern portion of Carolina near Port Royal. In August 1669, a fleet of three ships, the Carolina, Port Royall, and Albemarle, set sail with the first colonists.

• The fleet was under the command of Captain Joseph West.
• It sailed to Ireland and then Barbados, where Albemarle was destroyed by a storm and replaced with The Three Brothers.

West carried a document with him that he delivered to John Yeamans, who had previously been the Governor of the first Charles Town settlement.

• The document commissioned Yeamans as Governor, but allowed him to appoint someone else if he wanted.
• Yeamans joined the fleet.

The Port Royall had to be left behind, either due to damage or because it was lost in a storm, and the Carolina and The Three Brothers continued to Bermuda.

• After arriving in Bermuda, Yeamans decided to return to Barbados.
• He updated the commission, making William Sayle the Governor. Sayle was referred to as the “Governor of Charles Town.”

The two ships continued the voyage to Carolina. However, only the Carolina completed the voyage.

• The Three Brothers sailed to Virginia. Most accounts suggest it was blown off course, but some indicate the ship’s captain decided to take a different course.
• The last ship in the fleet, the Carolina, finally arrived at present-day Port Royal in March 1670.

The colonists encountered a tribe of Kiawah, who suggested they move further north. The Carolina sailed to the Ashley River and landed there in April.

• A fortified settlement was built on the west bank of the Ashley River, at Albemarle Point.
• They called it “Charles Town” in honor of King Charles II, which eventually became “Charleston.”
• This was the first permanent English settlement in South Carolina.

The settlers were on good terms with the local Indians, due to the efforts of Henry Woodward, who had been living among them since the 1660s.

• The settlers made fields around the settlement to grow crops.
• They traded with the Indian tribes, including the Kiowa, Coosa, and Westo, for furs.
• In the 1670s, trade with the Indians expanded to include slaves.

John Yeamans and a second group of settlers arrived from Barbados in 1671. These settlers brought their slaves with them, along with the slave code that had established chattel slavery.

• Over the next decade, Charleston expanded.
• The settlers realized the location was not ideal.
• In December 1679, the Proprietors instructed the settlers to move to Oyster Point, at the junction of the Ashley River and Cooper River.

AHC Note — The 1661 Barbados Slave Code explicitly defined slaves as chattel (property) no different than land, buildings, or livestock. Slave owners who migrated to the Southern Colonies retained this law.

Joseph West Becomes Governor

• William Sayle, the Governor of Charles Town, died on March 4, 1671.
• Joseph West succeeded him as interim Governor.
• West’s authority was soon challenged by John Yeamans and his political allies from Goose Creek.

Yeamans and the Goose Creek Men

Another group of emigrants from Barbados established a settlement at Goose Creek in 1670. This group, known as the “Goose Creek Men,” resisted the proprietary government and was heavily involved in the slave trade of Indians. They were also known to trade with pirates.

• The Goose Creek Men were also called the “Anti-Proprietary Party.”
• They openly rejected the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina by refusing to ratify it.
• The Goose Creek Men were Anglicans and clashed with Carolina leaders over religion, politics, and trade.

John Yeamans was associated with this group. When he returned to South Carolina in 1671, he claimed the office of Governor of Charles Town for himself. 

• Yeamans claimed it because he held the title of “landgrave,” while interim Governor Joseph West held a lower title, “casique.”
• The Fundamental Constitutions allowed Yeamans to do this because of its nobility system.
• West and his council protested. However, they were forced to submit when Yeamans received a commission from the Proprietors confirming his appointment in April 1672.

Yeamans governed for two years, during which he was accused of abusing his authority.

• He sold food at inflated prices, boosting his wealth.
• The Proprietors revoked his commission and appointed West as Governor of Charles Town.
• Yeamans died in August 1674, before the news of his removal arrived.

Connections to Barbados

From 1670 to 1680, South Carolina grew because of its strong connections to Barbados due to the makeup of the population and trade.

• Many settlers were Englishmen who emigrated from Barbados and brought their enslaved Africans with them.
• South Carolina produced wood staves, corn, and livestock, which were traded with merchants in Barbados.

Indian Slave Trade

In 1671, settlers clashed with the Coosa, whom they believed were conspiring against them with the Spanish. The Coosa were defeated, and many of the survivors who were captured alive were sold as slaves. This is believed to be how the English entered into the slave trade with the Indian tribes in South Carolina.

Westo War

In 1674, the Proprietors instructed Henry Woodward to open trade with the Westo people.

• A partnership was established that provided settlers with fur skins and slaves.
• The English traded weapons to the Westos, who helped defend South Carolina against the Spanish.

In 1677, the Proprietors assumed control of trade with the Westos, angering South Carolina settlers. Some of the settlers continued to illegally trade with the Westo.

• After two Englishmen were killed, the Proprietors banned the Westo from Charleston.
• The Westo responded by stealing cattle and raiding enemy tribes.

In 1680, John Boone and James Moore were sent to meet with the Westo and negotiate with them. After the talks failed, the Governor’s Council banned all trade with the Westo.

• The Westo responded with hostilities that were largely ineffective.
• Many Westo were killed or captured in this conflict, which is known as the “Westo War.”
• Westo survivors fled the region and eventually ended up in Georgia, where they joined the Creek Confederacy.

Bacon’s Rebellion

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676–1677) took place primarily in Virginia. It was the first rebellion in 17th-century America.

According to Robert Beverley, an early historian of the rebellion, the establishment of Carolina was one of the causes. Beverley said, “The Splitting the Colony into Proprieties, contrary to the original Charters; and the extravagant Taxes they were forced to undergo, to relieve themselves from those Grants.”

During the rebellion, William Drummond allied himself with Nathaniel Bacon. Following Bacon’s death, the rebellion collapsed. 

• Drummond was one of the men executed by order of Sir William Berkeley, the Governor of Virginia, and one of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina.
• Soon after Bacon’s Rebellion, migration from Virginia to North Carolina increased.

Culpepper’s Rebellion and Seth Sothel

As the events of Bacon’s Rebellion came to an end, a second revolt took place. This time, settlers living in Albemarle County arrested Governor Thomas Miller, who was enforcing the Navigation Acts, including the 1673 Plantation Duty Act.

• Miller led the “proprietary faction” in the colony that supported the Lords Proprietors.
• He was accused of election tampering and also imposed fines on colonists for failure to comply with laws.
• On December 3, 1677, outraged colonists organized a new government.
• Led by John Culpeper and George Durant, they arrested Miller and threw him in prison, along with Timothy Biggs, the customs official.

Miller was held in jail for two years but eventually managed to escape and return to England. Culpeper and Durant decided to negotiate with the Proprietors and followed Miller to England in 1680.

• Culpeper was arrested and tried for treason. 
• The Proprietors, fearing a rebellion in the colony, decided to help defend Culpeper, leading to his acquittal.
• A rebellion in the colony could have led the Crown to seize the charter and take Carolina from the Proprietors.

Seth Sothel was appointed as Governor of Albemarle, but he was captured by Turkish pirates during his voyage to Carolina. Durant governed Albemarle until Sothel arrived in 1683.

Smuggling Tobacco

• On October 1, 1679, Virginia passed a law banning the importation of Carolina tobacco.
• This forced Carolina merchants to increase trade with Massachusetts and Rhode Island merchants.
• These merchants carried Carolina tobacco to New England and then reshipped it to Europe.
• By shipping the tobacco to New England first, they violated the Navigation Acts, which was considered illegal trade (smuggling).

Charleston Becomes the Capital

In 1680, the Lords Proprietors relocated the capital to Charleston.

• The Proprietors wanted colonists to establish orderly towns like those found in the New England Colonies.
• The Proprietors also started to recruit French Huguenots to settle in the region.
• King Charles II authorized the HMS Richmond to transport Huguenots.

AHC Notes

• Charles II (1630–1685) — Charles became King of England after the English Civil War. His reign saw the expansion of the British Empire, but it was plagued by political tensions with Parliament. Despite financial struggles and religious issues, he manipulated Parliament and successfully navigated colonial politics until his death in 1685. He was followed by King James II.
• Huguenots — French Protestants who emerged during the 1500s and 1600s as followers of John Calvin. They were persecuted by France’s Catholic monarchy during the Protestant Reformation and the French Wars of Religion. After the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), many fled France and settled in colonies like South Carolina.

Stuart’s Town

In 1680, Henry Erskine, Lord Cardross, hoped to establish a settlement in South Carolina for Presbyterians from Scotland. Erskine and 150 settlers landed at Charleston in 1684 and then established Stuart’s Town at Port Royal. Spanish officials and Charleston merchants opposed this settlement.

• The Spanish believed it was in their territory, per the Treaty of Madrid (1670).
• Charleston merchants believed the settlers threatened their trade with the local Indians.

In the aftermath of the Westo War, the Spanish withdrew from their northern posts and moved closer to North Florida. The Westo followed them.

• The Yamasee settled in the territory that the Westo had abandoned.
• At the time, the Yamasee were fighting the Timucua, who were allied with the Spanish.

Charleston officials tried to take control of Stuart’s Town, but Erskine refused them. Soon after, militia from Stuart’s Town participated in a raid on the Timucua. The Spanish responded by sending an expedition to attack Stuart’s Town.

• Three Spanish ships transported 150 troops to Stuart’s Town in 1686.
• The settlers fled, and the Spanish looted the town and then burned it to the ground.
• The Spanish tried to sail to Charleston, but a storm blew the ships off course, and they abandoned the mission.
• Stuart’s Town was abandoned.

AHC Notes

• Treaty of Madrid (1670) — Also known as the Godolphin Treaty, it was an agreement between England and Spain that settled territorial disputes between them in the Caribbean and the Americas. Prior to this agreement, all territory in the Americas, except for Brazil, was claimed by the Spanish based on the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). The Spanish recognized that territory settled by the English belonged to England, including most of South Carolina.

Africans, Rice, and Culture

South Carolina’s early economy was diverse. However, around 1680, Africans arrived who knew how to cultivate rice. They helped introduce the crop to South Carolina, and it quickly became an important cash crop by the end of the 17th Century.

• Rice cultivation produced large profits for Wealthy Planters.
• Before the American Revolution, nine of the 10 richest men in the American Colonies were South Carolina rice planters.

Rice farming greatly increased South Carolina’s dependence on enslaved labor because planters relied on the knowledge and labor of Africans to grow rice.

• Many of the Africans already knew rice farming techniques, especially those from the Rice Coast between the Senegal and Gambia Rivers in West Africa.
• Despite this preference, traders and planters often purchased slaves from other regions as well.
• In some rice-producing areas, slaves made up more than three-quarters of the population.

During the early 1700s, the number of enslaved Africans in South Carolina rapidly increased.

• By 1708, Africans outnumbered English settlers.
• This trend persisted throughout the colony’s development.
• In the 1730s, Britain allowed South Carolina planters to sell rice directly to Portugal and Spain, which led to an increase in production and the need for workers.
• In 1737, Samuel Dyssli, a Swiss settler, said that South Carolina was “more like a negro country than one settled by white people.”

The large African population influenced South Carolina’s culture, including food and language. Early on, enslaved people were given a significant amount of freedom in their daily lives. When their daily tasks were completed, they were allowed to congregate and develop their own social customs.

• This system allowed African American culture to develop more freely.
• Enslaved people organized their communities using their own customs and traditions.
• Some argue that slaves in early South Carolina achieved a level of independence not seen elsewhere in British North America.

Enslaved Africans from the Rice Coast living in the Sea Islands and the Lowcountry developed a unique identity known as “Gullah” or “Geechee.”

• Both of these terms have been used to refer to these people and their language.
• Most of the Gullah in South Carolina came through the port at Sullivan’s Island, near Charleston.
• They came from different areas of Africa, and Gullah emerged as a common language and culture.
• Gullah folklore and traditions were passed down through oral storytelling.

South Carolina’s First Counties

In 1682, the Proprietors subdivided Craven County, adding Berkeley County and Colleton County. Charleston was in Berkeley County.

• The only new county added between 1682 and 1700 was Carteret County.
• It was created when the Proprietors subdivided Colleton County in 1684.

The Growing Divide and Political Unrest

From 1682 to 1691, the divide between North Carolina and South Carolina grew. According to many accounts, people were referring to Carolina by its geographical divisions of North Carolina and South Carolina by 1691. 

During this time, the regions developed separate identities, which were based on the cultural makeup, economic opportunities, and religious affiliations.

• North Carolina was connected with the Virginia immigrants and “Cavaliers,” who supported the Crown. 
• South Carolina was linked to immigrants from Barbados, who had founded Charleston, and clashed with the Proprietors.

Both regions also experienced political unrest.

• In 1682, settlers in Berkeley County (Charleston and the surrounding area) rejected a revised version of the Fundamental Constitutions.
• After arriving in 1683, Seth Sothel assumed the position of Governor of Albemarle. However, he abused his authority for his own personal gain.
• On September 20, 1685, Joseph Morton, the Governor of Charles Town, dissolved the General Assembly under orders from the Proprietors.
• James Colleton arrived in February 1687 and replaced Morton as Governor of Charles Town. However, he refused to call the General Assembly in 1689, even though the Proprietors ordered him to.

In the summer of 1689, the inhabitants of Albemarle arrested Seth Sothel. The Albemarle Assembly banished him for a year and banned him from holding office. Philip Ludwell took Sothel’s place as Governor of Albemarle.

• In October 1690, Sothel went to Charleston, where he demanded to be named Governor of Charles Town.
• His argument was based on the fact that he was the highest-ranking official in Carolina, which was legitimate, based on the Fundamental Constitutions.

Despite protests from James Colleton and others, Sothel assumed the office and proceeded to abuse his authority.

• He defied the Proprietors by calling a General Assembly, which banished James Colleton and some of his supporters from Carolina.
• Sothel took control of the government by removing political opponents from office and having others imprisoned.
• He extended his control over Charleston by taking land for himself, trading with pirates, and controlling the Fur Trade with the Indians.

The Proprietors became aware of Sothel’s conduct, reprimanded him, and ordered him to follow their instructions for governing Carolina. When Sothel ignored them, they responded by:

• Suspending the Fundamental Constitutions in November 1691.
• Appointing Philip Ludwell as “Governor of Carolina Province,” which effectively united the colony under one government for the first time. This was announced in a proclamation issued on November 8, 1691.

Ludwell went to Charleston in the spring of 1692 and delivered documents from the Proprietors that informed Sothel of their actions. Sothel refused to give up the office and remained in Charleston until early 1683. 

• In May 1693, the Proprietors issued another proclamation that instructed the inhabitants of Carolina to ignore any instructions from Sothel.
• Soon after, Sothel appears to have left Carolina, and his fate is unclear.
• Philip Ludwell carried on the duties of Governor from Charleston.

AHC Notes

• Some sources indicate that Albemarle was renamed “North Carolina” in 1691.
• From 1691 to 1710, the North Carolina government was overseen by a Deputy Governor. Thomas Jarvis was the first Deputy Governor.
• According to most sources, the provincial government in Charleston and the Proprietors paid little attention to the government in Albemarle until Edward Hyde was appointed Governor of North Carolina in 1710.

French Huguenot Church in Charleston

45 Huguenot artisans arrived in 1680. In 1687, some of them organized the French Huguenot Church in Charleston.

• It is the first and oldest Huguenot Church in America.
• Elias Prioleau was the first pastor and served until he died in 1699.

Commons House of Assembly

In 1692, the Lords Proprietors instructed Ludwell to meet with the General Assembly in Charleston. The delegates were supposed to come from Carolina’s four counties: Albemarle, Berkeley, Colleton, and Craven. 

• Albemarle was too far from Charleston and did not send delegates.
• The other counties participated in what is considered to be the first meeting of the Commons House of Assembly.
• From this point forward, Albemarle’s General Assembly operated separately from the Commons House of Assembly.
• The Proprietors authorized the Commons to meet separately from the Governor’s Council, initiate legislation, and approve tax laws.

Tension and Conflicts with Indians

English traders created tension with the coastal tribes by exploiting them in various ways, as Indians became increasingly reliant on European goods and tools.

• Traders captured Indians to sell as slaves.
• Some tribes were given weapons to use against rival tribes.
• By the late 1600s, several coastal tribes had been destroyed.
• Some displaced Indians fled to Spanish St. Augustine or joined the Creek and Cherokee, while others stayed near Charleston for safety.

Backcountry Farmers

Most of South Carolina’s territory was on the western frontier, where English government officials had very little control. A unique society emerged that was largely self-sufficient. These “Backcountry” people were mainly farmers and indentured servants, although some farmers did own slaves. These farmers were involved in:

• Growing crops, such as indigo.
• Raising livestock, primarily cattle.
• Harvesting pine trees to produce “naval stores” such as lumber, tar, and pitch for ships.

1696–1700

1696 — An act was passed that allowed all immigrants, except Catholics, to petition the Governor to become Freemen (people entitled to political and civil rights). They were required to swear an Oath of Allegiance to King William III.

1697 — Congregationalists from Massachusetts settled at Dorchester, near the head of the Ashley River. The pastor was Reverend Joseph Lord.

1698 — Thomas Welch and Anthony Dodsworth traveled from Charleston to present-day Arkansas and Mississippi, where they established trade with the Chickasaw, who lived in the region.

1700 — The French established the Louisiana Colony, which threatened South Carolina’s trade with Indians in the region.

Queen Anne’s War

During Queen Anne’s War (1702–1713), South Carolina was involved in various incidents with French and Spanish forces.

In 1702, Carolina raised colonial militia forces and allied with Indian tribes. Governor James Moore Jr. led these forces south and carried out raids in Spanish Florida, culminating in the Siege of St. Augustine.

• Moore’s forces destroyed several outposts along the St. Johns River and attacked St. Augustine. 
• The Spanish were forced to abandon St. Augustine and withdrew to the Castillo de San Marcos.

Moore had his men burn St. Augustine, but was forced to withdraw after 2 months when the Spanish returned in warships.

Two years later, in 1704, Moore Jr. led another expedition against Spanish missions in Western Florida. The inhabitants of these missions were largely the Apalachee People.

• This expedition was successful. Nearly all the missions were captured, and many of the Apalachees were taken as captives and enslaved. 
• These raids significantly reduced the population of Spanish Florida, although Saint Augustine and Pensacola survived.

Hostilities resumed in September 1706 when a combined force of Spanish troops and French privateers sailed from Havana, Cuba, and St. Augustine, Florida, to raid Charleston.

• The Carolina militia successfully defeated the landing force. 
• Colonel William Rhett assembled a squadron of ships and successfully repelled the naval attack, capturing a ship and taking hundreds of prisoners.

The following year, Carolina allied with the Creek and carried out two attacks on Pensacola.

1. In August 1707, the Creek successfully burned the settlement, forcing most of the inhabitants to flee. However, Spanish defenders took refuge in Fort San Carlos de Austria and held out for more than a week, when the Creek finally withdrew.
2. In November 1707, 30 Carolina traders led 300 Creek warriors to Pensacola, where they demanded the surrender of the settlement. The Spanish rejected the request, even though the garrison was suffering from disease. South Carolina forces laid siege to the fort for two days. The Creeks withdrew when one of their chiefs was killed, ending the brief siege.

Church of England Becomes the Official Church

In 1704, the Anglicans passed a law known as the “Vestry Act” that banned non-conformists, or “dissenters,” from holding seats in the Commons House of Assembly.

• Another law made the Church of England the official Church.
• Opponents appealed to British officials in London, and both acts were repealed.

In 1706, another law was passed that reestablished the Church of England as the official Church. This law is referred to as the “Church Act.”

• It divided South Carolina into 10 parishes and required that land be set aside for churches, cemeteries, parsonages, fields, and buildings.
• Parishioners were required to follow the rites in the Book of Common Prayer.
• Public officials were required to take an Oath of Allegiance.
• The Church of England remained the official Church of South Carolina until 1778.

Naval Stores Act

In 1705, Parliament passed the Naval Stores Act, which increased the production of tar, pitch, turpentine, rosin, hemp, and masts in the American Colonies for the Royal Navy. To encourage colonists to produce these products, the act required the Navy to pay inflated prices. 

• Carolina was able to take advantage of the act because pine forests used to produce these products were abundant.
• When the act was first passed, most naval stores were produced in areas that would become part of South Carolina.

Cary’s Rebellion and the Split

In January 1710, Edward Hyde was commissioned as Governor of North Carolina. Due to Cary’s Rebellion, he was unable to take office right away.

The rebellion was sparked when Deputy Governor Thomas Cary enforced the Oath of Allegiance to the Anglican Church (per the Vestry Act), which forced the Quakers to be removed from the legislature. 

• A group of Quakers, led by John Porter, appealed to John Archdale, the only Quaker Proprietor, who was also Cary’s father-in-law.
• Archdale demanded that Cary be removed from office, and the Proprietors agreed.
• William Glover was appointed as Acting Deputy Governor of North Carolina.

Porter’s Quaker faction accepted Glover at first, thinking he would restore them to public office. However, Glover also refused the Quakers, who responded by allying themselves with Cary, after he agreed to restore some of them to public office in return for their support. Cary reclaimed the office of Governor and installed Quakers in public positions.

The Proprietors responded to the turmoil by appointing Edward Hyde as the Governor of North Carolina, once again establishing a separate government from South Carolina.

• Hyde arrived in North Carolina in January 1711.
• Cary and the Quakers agreed to let him take control.
• However, Hyde aligned with the Anglicans, which upset Cary and the Quakers.
• Cary refused to recognize Hyde’s authority.
• Hyde responded by declaring him a rebel.
• Both factions organized military forces, and a small battle took place.
• Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood sent a unit of Royal Marines to assist Hyde.
• When the Marines arrived, Cary and his forces fled.
• Cary was eventually arrested and sent to London for trial.

In January 1712, Hyde received a new commission as Governor of North Carolina from the Proprietors. Most historians consider this to be the point at which South Carolina was officially separated from North Carolina.

Tuscarora War

In 1710, the Tuscarora living on the Roanoke River and Tar-Pamlico River sent a petition to the government of Pennsylvania protesting the seizure of their lands, enslavement of their people by settlers in the Carolinas, and unfair trading practices.

• In 1711, the Tuscarora War started when the Tuscarora kidnapped Baron Christophe von Graffenreid, the founder of New Bern, and then launched a series of attacks on settlements.
• North Carolina’s Governor, Edward Hyde, asked Virginia and South Carolina for assistance.

Colonel John Barnwell led a force of settlers and Indians from South Carolina to North Carolina. In January 1712, Barnwell approached a Tuscarora fort west of New Bern that was called “Narhantes,” or Fort Hancock.

• Barnwell and his men laid siege to the fort until April.
• The Tuscarora surrendered and agreed to a treaty.

On their way back to South Carolina, Barnwell and his men attacked a group of Tuscarora, who were either killed or enslaved. The Tuscarora responded by resuming hostilities.

• James Moore Jr. led troops into North Carolina and defeated the Tuscarora.
• Another treaty was signed, which restricted the Tuscarora to a reservation along the Roanoke River.
• In 1715, the Tuscarora emigrated to New York, where they joined the Iroquois Confederacy in 1722 as the Sixth Nation.

Yamasee War

Some Indians living on the western frontier responded to the expansion of South Carolina farms and settlements with violence. However, some allied themselves with the settlers.

• South Carolina Indians participated on both sides in the Tuscarora War (1711–1715) and the Yamasee War (1715–1717).

The Yamasee War ended in a fragile peace, but the war had a devastating effect on settlers and Indians.

• It damaged South Carolina’s profits from the Fur Trade, which were not fully restored until 1722.
• Approximately 400 settlers were killed, and their land was left unattended.
• Some historians believe the Yamasee War was the closest any Indians came to destroying an English colony.

Following the war, South Carolina officials took steps to maintain tighter control over the remaining Indians.

• Government agents were appointed to deal with the tribes.
• A ranger company was established to patrol the Backcountry.
• A small fleet of ships was organized to patrol the southern coastline of South Carolina to keep watch for Indian raiding parties.

South Carolina’s Indian population east of the mountains fell from 10,000 in 1685 to 5,100 in 1715. By 1790, it is estimated that the Indian population had dropped to about 500 people in total, due to violence, disease, and emigration.

Public Education

Efforts to promote public education in South Carolina were limited in the early 18th Century. In 1712, the Commons House of Assembly passed “An Act for Founding and Erecting of a Free School in Charlestown.”

• This provided funding for a school in Charleston that was run by John Douglas, which was apparently established in 1710.
• It also provided funds for “free schools” to be established in other parishes.
• School Masters (teachers) were required to be members of the Church of England.

AHC Note — The first public library was established in Charleston in 1698. However, it closed by 1710.

Pirates Blockade Charleston

In May 1718, a small fleet of pirate ships, led by Edward “Blackbeard” Teach and Stede Bonnet, the “Gentleman Pirate,” blockaded Charleston for a week.

• The pirates “struck a great Terror to the whole Province of Carolina.”
• They stopped eight or nine ships and raided them, taking supplies and valuables, including gold and silver.

The pirates seized passengers on the ships, including councilman Samuel Wragg, and held them as hostages. Blackbeard informed Governor Robert Johnson that he would execute the hostages, destroy the ships they had seized, and burn the town unless Charleston provided him with a supply of medicines they needed

• Johnson agreed and traded a chest full of medicine for the hostages.
• The pirates ended the blockade and sailed to North Carolina, where two of their four ships were damaged.

Bonnet and Blackbeard went their separate ways, but both made their way to Bath, North Carolina, where they received pardons from Governor Charles Eden. This was done in compliance with the Act of Grace, which was issued by King George I in September 1717.

• Blackbeard married and then set up a camp at Ocracoke Inlet.
• Both Blackbeard and Bonnet resumed their pirate activities by August 1718.
• Blackbeard carried out raids from Ocracoke Inlet.
• Bonnet carried out raids in the area. After his ship was damaged, he took refuge in the Cape Fear River to make repairs.

Meanwhile, another pirate captain, Charles Vane, sailed from the Bahamas to Charleston. Vane blockaded the harbor and seized eight ships before withdrawing. Governor Robert Johnson responded to this by sending Colonel William Rhett and two ships in pursuit of Vane.

• Rhett failed to find Vane, who joined Blackbeard at Ocracoke.
• However, he learned that Bonnet was in the Cape Fear River and sailed there.
• Rhett entered the Cape Fear River early in the evening of September 26, 1718.
• The next day, September 27, Rhett fought Bonnet, and the ships engaged in a six-hour battle.
• Bonnet and his men were forced to surrender and were taken as prisoners.
• Bonnet was hanged on December 10.

Meanwhile, Governor Alexander Spotswood of Virginia prepared to deal with Blackbeard. He sent Lieutenant Robert Maynard and two ships in search of Blackbeard. By this time, Charles Vane had departed, weakening the strength of Blackbeard’s forces.

• Maynard found Blackbeard’s ships anchored near Ocracoke Island on November 21.
• Maynard blockaded Ocracoke Inlet and then proceeded to attack Blackbeard the next morning, November 22.
• Blackbeard attacked and nearly destroyed Maynard’s ship.
• With his ship disabled, Maynard ordered some of his men to hide below deck.

The ships eventually came together, and Blackbeard and his men crossed over to Maynard’s ship and attacked.

• Maynard’s men rushed out of their hiding place and surprised the pirates.
• The two sides engaged in intense hand-to-hand combat.
• Blackbeard and Maynard fought each other.
• One of Maynard’s men struck Blackbeard with a sword, wounding him.
• Several of Maynard’s men attacked Blackbeard and killed him.
• The pirates surrendered, ending the battle.

AHC Notes

• Act of Grace (1717–1718) — Also known as the “Proclamation for Suppressing of Pirates,” it was first issued by King George I on September 5, 1717, and was later extended. It offered a pardon to anyone involved in pirate activities if they surrendered themselves to British authorities.
• Edward “Blackbeard” Teach (c. 1680–1718) — Edward Teach, also known as “Blackbeard,” was a famous pirate of the early 1700s who terrorized the American coast and Caribbean. He captured the French ship Concorde, renamed it Queen Anne’s Revenge, and blockaded Charleston, South Carolina, in 1718. Though he briefly accepted a royal pardon in North Carolina, he was killed at Ocracoke on November 22, 1718, by Lieutenant Robert Maynard. Blackbeard and his exploits are associated with the Golden Age of Piracy. 
• Stede Bonnet (1688–1718) — Bonnet was a wealthy planter and militia officer from Barbados who was known as the “Gentleman Pirate.” He turned to piracy in 1717 after purchasing the sloop Revenge. He raided shipping along the American coast, allied with Blackbeard, and blockaded Charleston in May 1718. Despite receiving a royal pardon, Bonnet returned to piracy as captain of the Royal James. Captured by Colonel William Rhett at Cape Fear, he was tried, convicted, and executed at Charleston in December 1718.
• Charles Vane (c. 1680–1721) — Vane was an English pirate who operated in the Bahamas and was associated with pirates such as Blackbeard, Edward England, and Jack Rackham. He was involved in blockades of Charleston, South Carolina, in 1718. Vane is best known for his cruel treatment of the crewmen from the ships he captured. He refused a pardon offered to him by Woodes Rogers, the Governor of the Bahamas. Vane was eventually arrested and hanged in 1721.
• Benjamin Franklin, who was 12 or 13 years old at the time, commemorated the downfall of Blackbeard in a poem called “The Taking of Teach the Pirate, or the Downfall of Piracy.”

Revolution of 1719

From its inception, the government established by the Lords Proprietors struggled, partly due to the opposition of the Goose Creek Men.

• In 1707, the Proprietors decided to cooperate with the Goose Creek Men.
• From then until 1719, the authority of the Proprietors slowly declined.
• The downfall of the Proprietors came when they failed to provide significant support to South Carolina during the Yamasee War.

In 1719, the Goose Creek Men, led by Arthur Middleton, carried out a peaceful takeover of the South Carolina government. At the time, the government consisted of the Governor, the Governor’s Council, and the Commons House of Assembly. This is known as the “Revolution of 1719.”

The Revolution of 1719 was initiated when the Commons sent Francis Yonge to London to meet with the Proprietors to discuss the colony’s grievances. The Proprietors responded in a series of letters, which they gave to Yonge and then sent him back to South Carolina.

• Yonge delivered the letters to Governor Robert Johnson.
• The Proprietors were critical of the settlers in these letters, so Johnson refused to share them with the Commons.
• Johnson dissolved the Commons and called for new elections to be held on November 26, 1719.

By early November, rumors were spreading that a Spanish fleet was approaching South Carolina. The settlers were concerned that their defenses were inadequate. A group of men emerged, including Colonel James Moore Jr., who helped organize defenses in preparation for an attack.

In the elections that followed, Goose Creek Men and opponents of the Proprietors were elected to the Commons, gaining the majority.

• One of the leaders, Arthur Middleton, delivered a speech that said the Commons supported Governor Johnson. However, he declared that the Commons rejected the Governor’s Council as an illegal body.
• The Commons delivered a written list of grievances to Johnson.
• Johnson responded by dissolving the Commons.
• The Commons countered by declaring James Moore Jr. to be the Acting Governor.

On December 21, the South Carolina Militia gathered in Charleston. Johnson went to their location and ordered them to disperse, but they refused. When Johnson approached their leader, Colonel Alexander Parris, the militiamen aimed their weapons at him.

• Johnson backed away.
• The militia marched to the Granville Bastion, a fort on Oyster Point, which was the traditional place for swearing in the Governor.
• Moore was sworn in as Governor under the condition that he serve King George I, not the Lords Proprietors.

The Proprietors eventually agreed to cede control to the provincial government and acknowledged Moore’s authority.

• The Commons petitioned the Crown to take control of South Carolina.
• Moore oversaw South Carolina until the arrival of the new Governor, Francis Nicholson.

AHC Notes

• Robert Johnson was the last Governor of South Carolina appointed by the Lords Proprietors. In 1729, he was appointed Governor of South Carolina by the Crown.
• Arthur Middleton was the son of Edward Middleton, an emigrant from Barbados and a plantation owner. Arthur was a member of the Commons House of Assembly and served as Acting Governor in 1728. His grandson, also named Arthur Middleton, was involved in the Patriot Cause, represented South Carolina in the Continental Congress, and signed the Declaration of Independence.

South Carolina Transitions to a Royal Colony

After the Revolution of 1719, South Carolina slowly transitioned from being a Proprietary Colony to a Royal Colony, under complete control of the Crown.

• Francis Nicholson was appointed Governor on May 19, 1721.
• Over the next eight years, the Crown purchased the shares of the colony from seven of the eight Proprietors for £2,500 each.
• John Carteret, Earl of Granville, kept his share until 1743, when he traded it for land south of Virginia. This tract remained in his family until the American Revolution.
• The Proprietors surrendered the charter in 1729, completing the transition from a Proprietary Colony to a Royal Colony.

AHC Notes

• Francis Nicholson (1655–1728) — Nicholson was a colonial administrator who came to America with Edmund Andros in 1686 as one of his soldiers. He served as Deputy Governor of the Dominion of New England, was involved in Leisler’s Rebellion in New York, and later served separate terms as the governor of Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina.

Rise of the Planter Class

The Yamasee War and the Revolution of 1719 essentially removed Indians and the Lords Proprietors as obstacles to growth and expansion.

• The political and social authority of the Goose Creek men and their allies increased.
• South Carolina’s colonial society started to favor large plantation owners.
• These plantations relied heavily on the labor of enslaved African men and women.
• Wealth and power were concentrated in the hands of the Wealthy Planters.

During the 1730s and 1740s, emigrants from Germany and Switzerland made their way to South Carolina and settled in the Backcountry. They were followed in the 1760s by Scots-Irish from Pennsylvania and Virginia who moved south. These farmers clashed with the planters, who maintained long-term political and economic control.

First Permanent Settlements

By 1729, when South Carolina completed its transition to a Royal Colony, there were six settlements.

1. Charleston — Established at its current location in 1680.
2. Dorchester — Established in 1696 but abandoned in 1751.
3. Mt. Pleasant — Established in 1680 by Captain Florentia O’Sullivan.
4. Willtown — Established in 1704 and later abandoned.
5. Beaufort — Established in 1711 by English colonists.
6. Georgetown — Laid out in 1729 by Elisha Screven.

The Township Plan

By the end of the 1720s, Indians were returning to the edge of South Carolina settlements, which increased hostilities with the Indians. To create a buffer between the Indians and the Lowcountry settlements, Governor Robert Johnson introduced what is called the “Township Plan” in 1730 to create new townships. 

• Johnson called for at least 11 new townships.
• They were to be north and west of Charleston, but south and east of the Fall Line.
• Each would receive a financial grant from the government and land for new settlers.
• Families who settled in a township would receive 50 acres of land.
• 300 acres in each township were set aside for a commons, school, church, and public buildings.
• In the latter stages of implementing the Township Plan, the Commons levied a tax on slaves to raise revenue to fund townships.

The first nine townships were:

1. Amelia — Settled in 1732 by Reformed Swiss.
2. Congaree — Settled in 1735 by German Lutherans, who renamed it Saxe-Gotha Township.
3. Edisto — Settled in 1735 by Swiss immigrants of German and French heritage and renamed to Orangeburgh Township.
4. Fredericksburg — Settled by Quakers and Scots-Irish from Virginia. They established the first inland town, Camden (first called Pine Hill), in 1732.
5. Kings Town — Settled in 1734 by Scots-Irish from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland.
6. New Windsor — Settled in 1737 by Swiss immigrants of German and French heritage.
7. Purrysburg — Settled in 1732 by Swiss, German, and French immigrants.
8. Queensborough — Settled in 1735 by Scots-Irish and Welsh from Pennsylvania and Delaware.
9. Williamsburg — Settled in 1735 by Scots-Irish from Pennsylvania and Delaware.

First Newspapers

The first newspapers in South Carolina started in 1732.

• Eleazer Phillips Jr. printed the South-Carolina Weekly Journal, South Carolina’s first newspaper, in Charleston. However, Phillips died of Yellow Fever in July.
• Thomas Whitemarsh, who was a business associate of Benjamin Franklin, printed the first edition of the South-Carolina Gazette. Whitemarsh died of Yellow Fever in 1733.

In 1734, Lewis Timothy, who was also associated with Franklin, resumed printing the Gazette, which became the most well-known newspaper in the colony.

• Timothy died in 1738, and his wife, Elizabeth, continued operations.
• Elizabeth Timothy is believed to be the first female publisher in America.
• Their son, Peter Timothy, became a well-known journalist.

AHC Note — Both Phillips and Timothy are recognized as having the first Printing Presses in South Carolina.

Georgia

In 1733, the Province of Georgia was established to provide a buffer between South Carolina and Spanish Florida.

• This added a layer of protection between South Carolina and the Spanish at St. Augustine.
• Georgia’s leader, James Oglethorpe, created alliances with Indians that helped reduce hostilities.

Stono Rebellion

In August 1739, yet another war between Spain and Britain was imminent. In preparation, South Carolina passed the Security Act, which required all men to carry firearms to church on Sunday.

Soon after, a group of enslaved people in the Charleston area organized and carried out the Stono Rebellion, the largest uprising of enslaved people that took place in the American Colonies. 

On the morning of Sunday, September 9, 1739, 20 enslaved Angolans, led by a man named Jemmy, tried to escape to Fort Mosé in Spanish Florida, where they would be free. They chose Sunday morning as the day to escape because they knew most whites (with their guns) would be at church.

• The insurgents attacked a warehouse, killed two guards, and took weapons and gunpowder.
• They distributed arms to enslaved people on nearby plantations and started marching south, toward Spanish Florida.
• By afternoon, between 60 and 100 enslaved people joined the march.

Lieutenant Governor William Bull saw them marching, raised the alarm, and organized the militia.

• The militia engaged them near the Esoto River and overwhelmed them. Survivors fled into the woods and swamps.
• In the aftermath of the incident, survivors were hunted down by the militia with the help of local Indians.
• Approximately 40 people were captured and executed.

About six weeks later, on October 22, the War of Jenkins’ Ear started between Britain and Spain.

AHC Notes

• Fort Mosé — An important Spanish fort located north of St. Augustine. It was inhabited by escaped slaves who were given their freedom by the Spanish government in return for converting to Catholicism and serving in the militia. It is considered to be the first settlement of free Africans in America.
• War of Jenkins’ Ear (1739–1748) — A conflict between Great Britain and Spain. Most of the battles were fought in the Caribbean, but the war carried over to America, where British Georgia and Spanish Florida clashed over disputed territory. Hostilities continued between the two nations, as the War of the Austrian Succession engulfed Europe. In North America, the fight became known as King George’s War.

1740 Slave Code

The Commons House of Assembly responded to the Stono Rebellion in three ways:

1. Importation of slaves from Africa and the West Indies was restricted. The belief was that some of these Africans had gained military experience while living in Africa, which could be used to lead more rebellions.
2. The Commons required a ratio of one white for every ten blacks on plantations.
3. It adjusted the Slave Code by passing the Negro Act of 1740.

This new Slave Code restricted the activities, education, and freedom of slaves. It allowed slaveowners to regulate, control, and punish their slaves. It prohibited slaves from assembling in groups, learning to read, and learning to write.

• It was intended to control enslaved people and reduce the fears of more slave uprisings.
• Enforcement of the code was often inconsistent and not always strict.
• After the Stono Rebellion, no large-scale slave uprisings occurred during the Colonial Era.

More Events from 1735–1740

1735 — A fire department, “The Friendly Society for the Mutual Insuring of Houses Against Fire,” was established.

1735 — The first theater was built in Charleston.

1736 — On February 12, The Orphan was the first play performed in the Charleston theater.

1740 — Merchants and artisans started the shipbuilding business in Charleston and Beaufort.

1740 — Approximately half the buildings in Charleston were destroyed in a fire.

Eliza Lucas Pinckney and Indigo

Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1722–1793) was a pioneering agriculturalist in South Carolina who is credited with developing indigo as a major cash crop. Born in Antigua in 1722, she took over her family’s plantation at a young age and experimented with cultivating Indigo. Her efforts made indigo one of South Carolina’s most valuable exports in the mid-18th Century.

In 1739, Eliza’s father, George Lucas, returned to Antigua and left her in charge of the family’s plantation on the Wapoo River.

• He sent her a variety of seeds from the West Indies, which she planted.
• In 1740, she told him that the indigo crop was the most promising, and the plantation was adjusted to focus on its production.
• She shared seeds with other plantation owners, which allowed South Carolina to produce high-quality indigo.
• By 1747, more than 100,000 pounds of indigo were exported by South Carolina to England.

In 1744, she married Charles Pinckney. Two of their children became prominent figures in the Patriot Cause in South Carolina: Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Thomas Pinckney.

Salutary Neglect

Throughout the early and mid-18th Century, Britain was involved in various wars in Europe. This led to “Salutary Neglect,“ the limited enforcement of the Navigation Acts in the American Colonies. 

• It was an unwritten policy.
• Prime Minister Robert Walpole is given credit for the policy.

Salutary Neglect allowed South Carolina merchants to flourish, as they violated shipping laws and expanded trade with French and Spanish merchants, primarily in the West Indies. While the merchants believed they were simply conducting smart business, British officials viewed them as smugglers.

• By the mid-1700s, Britain renewed efforts to tighten its control over trade.
• The Rule of 1756 was enacted, allowing the Royal Navy to seize ships from neutral nations during wartime. This affected American trade with the West Indies.

Treaties with the Cherokee

In the 1750s, Governor James Glen acquired land from the Cherokee on two occasions, which helped open the Backcountry up for new settlements.

1. 1753 — He secured several thousand acres along the Keowee River. He had Fort Prince George built in the area.
2. 1755 — Glen and Old Hop, a Cherokee chief, agreed to a treaty at Saluda Old Town. The Cherokee ceded land that became part of the Ninety Six District.

Anglo-Cherokee War

The Anglo-Cherokee War, also referred to as the “First Cherokee War,” was fought from 1758 to 1761 during the French and Indian War (1754–1763).

Following the 1755 treaty, there was an influx of new immigrants into the Backcountry, which increased tension with the Cherokee. In 1758, Virginia settlers killed Cherokee warriors who were returning to their territory after helping the English fight the French and their Indian allies. The Cherokee retaliated in the spring of 1759.

• Governor William Henry Lyttelton countered by taking Cherokee leaders hostage at Fort Prince George in 1759.
• Cherokee retaliation led to the execution of hostages, escalating the violence.
• Lyttelton and Cherokee leaders agreed to a peace treaty on December 22, 1759.

The Cherokee broke the peace in February 1760 when they attacked settlers near Long Cane Creek and Fort Prince George.

• South Carolina retaliated by sending an expedition led by Colonel Archibald Montgomery that burned Cherokee towns in April and May.
• In August, the Cherokee captured Fort Loudoun and killed Captain Paul Demere.

Acting Governor William Bull opened negotiations with the Cherokee, but also planned to send another expedition to attack their towns.

• In May and June of 1761, Colonel James Grant destroyed 15 Cherokee towns and 15,000 acres of crops.
• The Treaty of Charleston was signed on September 23, 1761.
• Contemporary historian James Adair recorded that the Cherokee population fell to roughly 6,900 after the war.

AHC Notes

• Bull became Acting Governor in 1760 when William Henry Lyttelton left to serve as Governor of Jamaica.
• James Adair (1709–c. 1783) — Adair was a trader and writer who lived among Native American Indian tribes in the American Southeast during the Colonial Era. He worked closely with the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw, influencing tribal alliances and trade. He published History of the American Indians (1775), which provided detailed accounts of Indian customs and languages.

More Settlements and Townships

South Carolina continued to expand with new settlements and townships, including:

• Jacksonborough — 1744.
• Cheraw and Ninety-Six — 1745.
• Monck’s Corner — 1753.
• Lancaster — 1756.
• Long Bluff — 1760.

Three new townships were established in 1761:

1. Boonesborough — Settled in 1762 by Scots-Irish Presbyterians from Virginia. 
2. Hillsborough — Settled in 1764 by French Huguenots. New Bordeaux was established in 1764, and New Rochelle in 1766.
3. Londonborough — Settled in 1765 by Swiss immigrants, mostly German, with a number of French. It was known as Belfast Township, but this name was rarely used on maps. The town of Granby was established in 1765.

Taxation Without Representation

Following the French and Indian War, Parliament decided to establish a new “standing army” in the colonies. The purpose of this army was to defend the western frontier of the American Colonies against threats from the French, Spanish, and Indians. 

• Many Americans protested because they felt they could defend themselves after having been heavily involved in the French and Indian War.
• Some Americans argued the army was being maintained to exert control over the colonies, not defend them, because the army was controlled by Parliament.

While Prime Minister Charles Grenville and Parliament looked for ways to pay for this army, the Royal Navy was ordered to start enforcing the Molasses Act (1733). This ended Salutary Neglect and forced American merchant ships to comply with the Navigation Acts.

Grenville’s solution was to start levying taxes on the American Colonies. Prior to this, taxes were levied by the General Assemblies, including the South Carolina Commons House of Assembly, over which Americans had some control, because the members were elected by the people.

Parliament agreed and passed the Sugar Act (1764). It was the first law put in place by Britain to specifically raise money from the American Colonies. Americans, especially in New England, protested this new “Taxation Without Representation.”

Although it was technically an extension of the Molasses Act, the Sugar Act also altered the judicial system, which Americans believed violated their rights as Englishmen under the British Constitution.

• Anyone accused of violating the Navigation Acts had their cases moved from the civil courts to the Vice Admiralty Court.
• This Vice Admiralty Court did not use a jury of peers.
• It was overseen by three judges.
• The Sugar Act provided incentives to the judges to find violators of the Sugar Act guilty.
• Judges were allowed to sell property seized from violators and received a portion of the proceeds from the sale.

ACH Notes

• Enforcement of the Navigation Acts, based on the Molasses Act and the Sugar Act, hurt the New England economy due to its reliance on molasses for rum.
• There was very little impact in South Carolina.

Stamp Act Crisis in South Carolina

Although Americans protested the Sugar Act, Grenville and Parliament moved forward with more taxes and passed the Stamp Act (1765). This required nearly all printed materials to use special stamped paper that increased the cost of deeds, certificates, books, newspapers, and even playing cards. Americans responded to this new act with riots and threats of violence against any government official who tried to enforce it. 

• South Carolina merchants opposed the Stamp Act.
• Caleb Lloyd was appointed to distribute the stamped paper, and George Saxby was appointed as an inspector.
• The Commons House of Assembly issued resolutions in protest of the Stamp Act on July 26.

Several colonies decided to send representatives to a special “congress” to organize a unified response to the new law.

• South Carolina sent Christopher Gadsden, Thomas Lynch Sr., and John Rutledge to the Stamp Act Congress, which was held in New York City from October 7 to October 25, 1865.
• Delegates from nine colonies produced documents that protested the Stamp Act.
• The documents were sent to London, but were rejected by British officials.

Meanwhile, the Stamp Act Crisis escalated in South Carolina.

• On October 8, approximately 2,000 people gathered in Charleston, where they erected a gallows and hung effigies of British officials. 
• Saxby’s house was vandalized.
• Lloyd was threatened and issued a public statement saying he had not received a commission and had no authority to enforce the Stamp Act.

The first shipment of stamped paper arrived around October 20 and was placed in Fort Johnson for safekeeping by Lieutenant Governor William Bull. Rumors spread that the paper had been removed from the fort and taken to the home of Henry Laurens.

• Although Laurens opposed the Stamp Act, he also opposed the protests.
• A mob ransacked his property in search of the paper and consumed a quantity of wine and liquor he had.
• Laurens was outraged by the “zealous, untrained Sons of Liberty, who had honoured me with that irregular Visit.”

The Stamp Act was supposed to take effect on November 1. However, there was no stamped paper available.

• Official business could not be conducted. Courts and public offices were closed.
• The Commons House of Assembly passed more resolutions protesting the Stamp Act on November 29 (see South Carolina Resolves Against the Stamp Act).
• Parliament was forced to repeal the Stamp Act in 1766.

AHC Notes

• Although the Stamp Act Congress failed, it was an important step forward in establishing unity among the colonies. 
• The Stamp Act Crisis also led to the formation of Patriot groups known as the “Sons of Liberty,” and the establishment of Committees of Correspondence.

South Carolina Regulator Movement

Following the Anglo-Cherokee War, the South Carolina Backcountry was faced with a new threat. Wandering bands of bandits and thieves entered the region and harassed settlers. At the time, there was very little government infrastructure in the region and almost no law enforcement. 

• Settlers living in the region appealed to the government in Charleston for help, but they were largely ignored.
• They responded by organizing their own law enforcement group, known as “Regulators.”
• Regulators captured these lawbreakers and often took them to Charleston or escorted them out of South Carolina.

In 1767, the Regulators outlined their grievances to the Commons House of Assembly, demanding courts, jails, and other means of maintaining law and order in the Backcountry. They also called for increased representation in the government. The Assembly responded by:

• Organizing ranger companies to patrol the Backcountry.
• Starting the process of setting up new courts and laws to deal with the crimes.

Unfortunately, there was violence between the Regulators and some of the people they had arrested. The violence escalated when British officials tried to arrest some of the Regulators. 

• The Regulators were divided in 1769 when a new faction called the “Moderators” emerged, who opposed the violence. The two factions agreed to a truce in March that ended the violence.
• The Regulator Movement in South Carolina contributed to the establishment of four new judicial districts in the Backcountry.

A Divided Colony

As the American Revolution progressed and slowly moved toward war, South Carolina was divided between:

• Wealthy Planters in the Lowcountry, who controlled the government in Charleston, owned large plantations and favored the Church of England. This group opposed British taxation and largely supported the Patriot Cause.
• They were opposed by the Backcountry farmers who lived above the Fall Line and were primarily non-conformist Protestants (Baptists, Presbyterians, etc). Many of these people were Loyalists who supported the Crown.

AP US History Alignment

South Carolina Colony is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the APUSH Curriculum:

Unit 1: 1491–1607

• 1.6 — Cultural Interactions Between Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans

Unit 2: 1607–1754

• 2.2 — European Colonization
• 2.3 — The Regions of British Colonies
• 2.4 — Transatlantic Trade
• 2.5 — Interactions Between American Indians and Europeans
• 2.6 — Slavery in the British Colonies
• 2.7 — Colonial Society and Culture

American Pageant Notes

• The Planting of English America (1500–1733)
• American Life in the 17th Century (1607–1692)
• Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution (1700–1775)