Colonial South Carolina

CHAPTER 2

Essential Question

How did South Carolina develop

during the colonial period in comparison

with other colonies?

Settlement and Change

LESSON 1

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 area was first named “Carolana,” (Latin for Charles).

• King Charles II later changed named the settlement Carolina, in honor of his father.

Map ofCarolana

• Edward Hyde, earl of Claredon

• George Monck, duke of Albemarle

• William Craven, earl of Craven

• Anthony Ashley Cooper, earl of Shaftesbury

• John Berkley, Baron Berkeley of Stratton

• Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia

• Sir George Carteret, Treasurer of the Navy

• Sir John Colleton of Barbados

Eight noblemen, known as the Lords Proprietors, received a charter from King Charles II, giving them

the power to rule Carolina.

The Lords Proprietors

• To finance the colony, they tried to collect an annual rent, called a 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.

The Lords Proprietors (cont.)

Governing a Diverse Population• The Lords Proprietors’ controlled the colony

through a Governor and Grand Council, which included representatives of the proprietors.

• The first settlers were Englishmen who emigrated from the British Colony of Barbados and they brought a well-developed slave system.

• A diverse population of settlers came from France, Switzerland, Germany, Scotland, and Ireland as well.

• Diverse religions arrived, including French Huguenots and Jews.

Attracting Settlers

• Lord Ashley was able to convince investors to funda new settlement at Port

• Royal. 100 settlers were recruited.

• Three 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 The Three Brothers, were the only ships to arrive safely.

A Permanent Settlement• Charles Town was

Carolina’s first permanent settlement.

• Its location high abovethe Ashley River provided protection

• Charles Town moved to Oyster Point (between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers).

• Streets were laid out in a grid with zoned land.

• Charles Town, or Charleston, became the capital of the colony, one of the five largest cities and largest ports in the colonies.

The Barbados Connection

• Barbados was England’s most successful colony in the West Indies.

• In the 1640s, settlers realized that Barbados had the perfect climate to grow sugar cane. It became their cash crop.

• Settlers began to use slaves to grow sugar cane and used strict slave codes to control the slaves.

• Many settlers moved from Barbados to South Carolina to find more economic opportunity and to escape overcrowding.

Settlers from Barbados made up nearly 50% of Carolina’s population

Map of Barbados

Africans in Carolina• The African slaves brought by the Barbadians had

a rich heritage of music, dancing, wood carving, story telling and folk medicine, and worship.

• Additional slaves were forced through the Middle Passage from the west coast of Africa by way of the West Indies.

• These Africans brought a knowledge of cultivating rice, and tending cattle.

• The Africans came from many nations or tribes and spoke different languages. Once in America, they began to create a common language called Gullah.

The Gullah Culture • The Gullah people live on the Sea Islands along

the coast.

• “Gullah” is the name for the language along the sea islands. It is a mix of several African languages and English.

• They knew more about growing rice than the plantation owners.

• Since their knowledge of rice was so great, plantation owners assigned daily tasks instead of close supervision.