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The English Establish Carolina
In 1629, English King
Charles I gave Sir
Robert Heath a
charter to explore
land south of
Jamestown and
west to the
Pacific Ocean.
The Lords Proprietors
Chapter 2,
pt. 1
The organization of the
colony called Carolina
Eight noblemen, known as the Lords Proprietors, received
a charter from King Charles II, giving them the power
to rule Carolina.
• Edward Hyde,
Hyde earl of
Claredon
• George Monck,
Monck duke of
Albemarle
• William Craven,
Craven earl of
Craven
• Anthony Ashley Cooper
Co ,
earl of Shaftesbury
• John Berkley,
Berkley Baron
Berkeley of Stratton
• Sir William Berkeley,
Berkeley
governor of Virginia
• Sir George Carteret,
Carteret
Treasurer of the Navy
• Sir John Colleton of
Barbados
The Lords Proprietors (cont.)
To finance the colony, they tried to collect an annual
rent, called a quitrent,
quitrent from settlers. But they had a
hard time getting the money.
None of the Lords Proprietors ever went to Carolina.
Early efforts at colonizing failed. Eventually, all the
Proprietors lost interest in Carolina, except one—
Anthony Ashley Cooper.
Carolina became a Proprietary Colony.
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Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina
The Barbados Connection
Lord Ashley worked with John Locke to create the
Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina.
Carolina
Barbados was England’s most successful colony in the
West Indies.
Under the Constitution, all settlers were given a grant of
land. T he richer investors were given large estates,
sometimes as large as thousands of acres.
In the 1640s, settlers realized that Barbados had the
perfect climate to grow sugar cane.
cane It became their
cash crop.
crop
Settlers began to use slaves to grow sugar cane and used
strict slave codes to control the slaves.
To attract settlers, freedom of religion was allowed. Only
Catholics were denied.
Encouraged the Headright system.
How it Worked
Many settlers moved from Barbados to South Carolina to
find more economic opportunity and to escape
overcrowding.
Map of Barbados
Each proprietor appointed a deputy, who served on the
Grand Council with other nobles and elected
representatives.
T he Grand Council created laws and served as the court
for the colony.
Later, the government split. Officials
fficials appointed by the
proprietors stayed in the Grand Council.
Council Elected officials
moved from the Council to the Commons House of
Assembly.
Settlers from Barbados made up nearly 50%
of Carolina’s population
In what ways were the
Fundamental Constitutions of
Carolina progressive?
progressive
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Governing a Diverse Population
T he Lords Proprietors’ controlled the colony
through a Governor and Grand Council,
Council
which included representatives of the
proprietors.
T he first settlers were Englishmen who
emigrated from the British Colony of
Barbados and they brought a welldeveloped slave system.
A diverse population of settlers came from
France, Switzerland, Germany, Scotland,
and Ireland as well.
A Royal Government
In 1720, the Privy Council to appointed a temporary
governor, Sir Francis Nicholson.
Leading the colony was the Royal Governor.
Governor
Royal Governors were appointed by the king and approved
all laws made by the legislature.
Diverse religions arrived, including French
Huguenots and Jews.
Jews
Attracting Settlers
Lord Ashley was able to
convince investors to fund
a new settlement at Port
Royal. 100 settlers were recruited.
T hree ships, the Albemarle, the Port Royal, and the
Carolina set sale, stopping in Ireland and Barbados on
the way.
Two of the ships bound for Carolina sank or ran aground;
the Carolina, and T he T hree Brothers, were the only
ships to arrive safely.
A Permanent
Settlement
Charles Town was
Carolina’s first
permanent settlement in 1670.
Its location high above
the Ashley River provided protection
Charles Town moved to Oyster Point (between the Ashley
and Cooper Rivers) in 1680.
Streets were laid out in a grid with zoned land.
What was not progressive
about the new plan of
government?
Charles Town, or Charleston, became the capital of the
colony, one of the five largest cities and largest ports in
the colonies.
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