The Colony of Carolina Objective: You will understand how the colony of Carolina began. You will also understand which groups of people settled this colony.

South Carolina in Colonial Times Before there was South Carolina, there was Carolina. Carolina was made up of present day North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Let’s take a look at map to understand what Carolina looked like.

A New Colony: The Start of Carolina People in England wanted to start a colony in the New World. A colony is a settlement under the control of another nation. The king of England gave eight men, known as the Lords Proprietors, the right to own land in the New World. This land was called Carolina. The king of England said the Lord’s Proprietors could rule Carolina. Let’s take a look at the Lords Proprietors

Many of the Lords Proprietors did not want to live in Carolina Many of the Lords Proprietors did not want to live in Carolina. Instead, they wanted to send settlers to the colony. They wanted the settlers to grow crops. The eight British men hoped to make a lot of money from selling the crops. Many of the proprietors wanted to grow richer from the new colony, except for Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper. He really wanted the colony to succeed.

Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper was one of the eight Lords Proprietors Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper was one of the eight Lords Proprietors. The Ashley River and the Cooper River are two rivers near Charleston named for him.

Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper had a plan to persuade settlers to live in the Carolina colony. Cooper wrote a document called the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina. This document consisted of laws that were meant to draw people to the colony.

This constitution allowed… 1. Religious Freedom 2. If a person goes to court and was found innocent, he couldn’t be tried for the same crime. 3. Free land 4. Slavery

Many people were excited to start a new life in the Carolina colony, but they needed to know where to settle. Two explorers who helped the new settlers find places to live in the Carolina colony were William Hilton and Henry Woodward.

William Hilton, and other Englishmen, came from Barbados to the Carolina Colony. In Barbados, these men established plantations and brought these plantations with them to the Carolina colony.

Slave labor was used to keep the plantation running Slave labor was used to keep the plantation running. Crops, like rice and indigo, that were grown and sold, made the plantation owners and the colony wealthy. Carolina became one of the richest of the 13 colonies.

Henry Woodward wanted to learn about the language and culture of the Native Americans and he helped establish the first successful English settlement…Charles Town.

The People of The Carolina Colony Who were they, and why did they come to Carolina?

The English Many of the English men from Barbados were already wealthy when they came to Carolina. These men became wealthy because of the large plantations they owned in which slave labor was used to grow the crops. The crops were then sold, and the men were paid. The slaves were from Africa and new how to grow certain crops. The English and slaves came to live in the Carolina colony.

Huguenots

Huguenots The Huguenots came from France. They were French Protestants who were persecuted (mistreated) in Catholic France. They came to South Carolina for religious freedom. This means they could worship how they wanted. The Huguenots started the South Carolina Society which started schools and helped the poor.

European Jews The European Jews were also attracted to the colony because of its religious toleration. They established a synagogue in Charleston and contributed to the city’s economic growth.

Germans

Germans German settlers were hard workers. They moved into the backcountry and built farms and cabins. Many came from Pennsylvania, where they had first settled. They were given free land which was good for growing wheat. The wheat was used to make foods such as bread. Because so much wheat was used and grown in the backcountry, it became known as the breadbasket of the colony.

Scots-Irish The Scots-Irish were also hard workers who moved to the backcountry of Carolina. They came to Carolina for religious freedom. After they arrived, they built a church, and then they built their town around the church.