Information on the Colony of South Carolina
Founders - In 1663, British King Charles II gave a charter for the establishment of the Carolina
Colony to eight proprietors, or men who would run the land without oversight from the British
Parliament. The proprietors were: Edward Earl of Clarendon, George Duke of Albemarle,
William Lord Craven, John Lord Berkley, Anthony Lord Ashley, Sir George Carteret, Sir William
Berkley, and Sir John Colleton. In 1670, the proprietors established the colony’s first permanent
settlement at Albemarle Point. In 1712, they divided the colony into North and South Carolina.
Control of the colony returned to the king in 1729, when he made South Carolina a royal colony.
Reasons for Being Founded - King Charles gave Carolina to the eight proprietors to reward them
for their support of him—they had helped him become king after his father’s execution at the end
of the English Civil War. For the proprietors, the land would be an investment—that is, a good way
to earn money. Settlers would pay their own way across the Atlantic, then sell what they produced
and trade for what they needed only through ports run by the proprietors. As middlemen, the
proprietors could make money off this exchange.
People in the Colony - To encourage settlement, the proprietors granted a set amount of land to
every free man who came to South Carolina, plus additional land for each family member or
indentured servant he brought along. The colony’s first settlers were mostly white and came from
England and the British colony on the Caribbean island of Barbados. Soon, additional European
settlers arrived from countries such as Germany and Switzerland. As well, Anglicans, Huguenots
(French Protestants), Welsh Baptists, Quakers, and Jews from all over Europe came. Many of
these settlers were fleeing religious persecution in their homelands. When the early settlers arrived,
they found many American Indian societies in the area. The settlers often forced the American
Indians into slavery. As well, the settlers often brought along their indentured servants, who were
usually white Europeans, and imported African slaves.
Geography and Climate - Off the coast lay numerous picturesque islands. Along the coast
stretched low, swampy plains in which mosquitoes thrived. Often, bites from these pests gave
settlers malaria, a dreadful infection. However, the coast also proved to be a good place for
growing rice. Many settlers started large rice plantations there. Wooded mountains covered the far
northwestern part of the colony. There, the weather was cooler and the land more rugged.
Some settlers in this region started smaller, self-sufficient farms instead of large plantations. The
winters were shorter and milder than the harsh English winters. Summers were long, humid, and
hot, with a lengthy growing season for crops.
Economy - Most settlers were farmers and grew cotton, tobacco, indigo, and rice. They usually
produced these cash crops on large plantations, using slave labor. The slave trade and the shipping
of crops became lucrative businesses during colonial times.
Farmers on small farms grew the food they needed plus a little extra to trade for other goods. They
also hunted deer and cut down lumber for building. American Indians lived by hunting, gathering,
fishing, and farming. They also bartered with the animal skins and probably the food they acquired.
Some craftsmen came to the colony to establish businesses. South Carolina was known for its
silversmiths and, later, for its furniture makers.
Religion - South Carolina was founded with the intention of offering religious liberty. John Locke,
a famous political philosopher of the time, and the proprietor Anthony Lord Ashley together
wrote a constitution for the colony in 1669. It said that “seven or more persons agreeing in any
religion, shall constitute a church” and that “no man shall use any. . . abusive language against any
religion of any church. . . . No person whatsoever shall disturb. . . or persecute another for his . . .
religion, or his way of worship.” Although this document never went into effect, the colony did
offer much more religious freedom than many settlers had experienced in their homelands.
Politics and Government - The proprietors intended for the colony to be ruled by the system of
laws established by the 1669 constitution, but the document was never ratified. The early
government consisted of a council that included a governor and other officials appointed by the
proprietors as well as an assembly of elected free men living in the colony. The free men did not
have much power at first. Over time, however, the colonists secured some local control over their
government. In fact, after South Carolina became a royal colony, the royal governor and legislature
allowed settlers much more power.