A Royal Colony
Chapter 6
South Carolina History
Changes in a Royal Colony
When South Carolina became a
royal colony, there were some
major changes. One of those
changes was the creation of
Georgia. It was created to be
a buffer zone between SC and
Spanish Florida, as well as
hostile Native Americans, and
also to be a social experiment,
giving prisoners and debtors a
second chance. One condition
was that slavery would not be
allowed.
Changes in a Royal Colony
Carolina Gold
Georgia provided a sense
of security for South
Carolina, but also caused
problems. Less land was
available to SC settlers,
and colonists were also
afraid that Georgia would
provide a safe haven for
runaway slaves. The
biggest complaint was that
Georgia created
competition for SC in the
rice market.
Mercantilism
South Carolina was part of
an economic policy called
mercantilism (pronounced
MER can til ism). Through
mercantilism, the mother
country tries to export
more products than it
imports. England was trying
to get rich by selling more
goods than it was buying
from the colonies.
Mercantilism
South Carolina had a lot of
natural resources (wood,
animal skins, cash crops)
which meant that England no
longer had to buy these
items from other European
countries. The colony would
send raw materials (like
wood) to England, who would
make finished products (like
tables and chairs) and sell
them back to the colonies
and to other countries.
Mercantilism
England had very
strong rules about
trade. Rice was on
the list of items
that could be sold
only to England;
however, they didn’t
enforce the law on
South Carolina’s rice,
which (along with
indigo) helped to
make the colony very
rich.
Eliza Lucas Pinckney
Eliza Lucas
Pinckney
Skeins of thread dyed with indigo.
Eliza Lucas Pinckney had a
major impact on Carolina
economy. England highly valued
the blue dye and offered to
pay subsidies (bonuses) to
anyone who would grow it. Eliza
experimented with the plant
and eventually learned the
secret to growing it. With this
knowledge, indigo became a
major cash crop for South
Carolina.
Slavery and Plantations
The first Africans to come
to America were explorers
that came over with the
Spanish, they were NOT
slaves. As South Carolina’s
demand to grow rice and
indigo increased, the need
for slave labor rose. A
triangle trade route was
established between England,
Africa, and the Carolinas
that brought many slaves to
Charles Town, South Carolina.
Regional Differences
As South Carolina
developed, the geographic
differences caused a
separation of two main
regions, the Up county and
the Low Country. The
different cultures,
lifestyles, and belief
systems that developed
there eventually led to
major problems that can
be seen during the
American Revolution.
Low Country
The Low Country of South Carolina became known as the
“tidewater region” because the rivers rose and fell with
the tides. This was very helpful to rice plantations that
needed to flood their fields.
Same
location at
low tide and
at high tide
Low Country
Many of the Low
Country settlers were
planters and there
were many
plantations. Their
plantations had many
slaves that grew rice
and indigo.
Young rice in a
flooded field
Rice
trunk
Low Country
Low Country was settled first, it
had the largest population, which
made it the colony’s most important
region. The majority of the Low
Country population was slaves.
Most of the Assembly members
were from here, which means the
plantation owners had a lot of
influence in making laws. All of the
courts and the majority of wealth
were located here until the passage
of the Circuit Court Act of 1769.
Hopsewee Plantation
Up Country
Upstate homestead
The largest part of the colony was
known as the Up Country. It was
the area that was located away
from the coast. The Up County had
a majority white population and
only a few slaves.
Settlers were usually subsistence
farmers but there were some small
plantations. Because there wasn’t a
lot of money to pay for an
education, the people in this region
were usually less educated than in
the Low Country.
Colonial Education
According to the colonial leaders of SC, the parents
were responsible for education. There was something
called a “free school” but students had to pay a tuition
to go.
There were three main reasons that South Carolina
children didn’t go to school. First, there were no free
schools where children needed them. Second, parents
could not afford tuition or simply needed the children
at home. Third, parents did not value education because
they could not read or write themselves.
Slave owners did not want slaves to be educated
because they felt it would lead to revolts.
Up Country
There were no courts, jails, or sheriffs in the Up
Country until the passage of the Circuit Court Act of
1769.
Settlers often feared attacks by Indians, and got little
help from the Low Country because they were not
adequately represented in Assembly.
The Regulator Movement
The Up Country began to get
tired of having to travel all
the way to Charles Town to go
to court or to get help with a
legal problem. “The
Regulators” were self
appointed vigilantes (people
who took the law into their
own hands) who felt it was
necessary to help establish
law and order in the Upstate.
The Regulator Movement
The Regulator
Movement worked for
awhile, but stopped
after awhile. The
Regulators used their
position to settle old
scores. Innocent
people started to get
hurt and sometimes
killed.
The Regulator Movement
Law and order was finally
established in the Up
Country by the Circuit Court
Act of 1769 . First, it ended
the Regulator movement.
Second, it established seven
districts with courthouses.
Third, it gave each district
a jail, a sheriff, and a
courthouse. Fourth, a judge
rode in a circuit (a circle
like pattern) visiting the
courts.
Electrical
circuit
Seven Judicial districts
Native American Relationships
Native American
relationships with the
colonists continued to be
mixed. Although the
Cherokee had the best
relationship with the
colonists, it began to get
strained when people
moved to the Up Country,
an area that had up until
that point been
Cherokee land.
Native American Relationships
South Carolina was
basically at peace with the
Native Americans. The
Catawba were very friendly
and actually helped protect
colonists from attacks
from hostile tribes.
However, the Catawba
were nearly wiped out from
a small pox epidemic, and
by 1760, less than 500
Catawba remained.
Skeletons at a Native
American burial site.
Native American Relationships
France and England constantly fought over rights for land.
By 1729, the Cherokee relationship with South Carolina
colonists began to get bad as French fur traders came into
the area and tried to create a treaty with the Cherokee.
South Carolina needed to create an alliance with the
Cherokee to keep them from joining sides with the French.
Native American Relationships
As Sir Alexander Cuming spoke
lighting flashed in the sky.
Sir Alexander Cuming, went
to talk with the Cherokee,
and he actually created a
misunderstanding. He
persuaded the Cherokee to
enter into a treaty. The
Cherokee thought that they
were now allies with the
British and that they were
still equals. The British
thought the Native
Americans were now subjects
of the King of England.
Native American Relationships
The Cherokee realized their
mistake with the treaty
when settlers started to
take their land and build
forts. Another treaty lasted
for awhile until Governor
William Lyttelton took
office. Gov. Lyttleton did not
get along with the Cherokee
and he tried to force them
to do what he wanted rather
than working the problems
out with them.
Examples of colonial forts
The Cherokee War
When Gov. Lyttleton imposed an embargo preventing colonists
from trading with the Cherokee, they felt Gov. Lyttleton had
violated trade agreements. Thirty-one Cherokee chiefs went
to Gov. Lyttleton to try to work things out, he took them
hostage. The Cherokee attacked near by forts in response,
which made the British so angry, they killed the chiefs and
directly lead to the Cherokee War.
The Cherokee War
The following retaliation
for the deaths of the
chiefs began the Cherokee
War (1759-1763). The
Cherokee War occurred
entirely within South
Carolina and happened at
the same time as the
French and Indian War
(1753-1763). The fighting
lasted until 1761 but a
treaty was not signed until
1763.
Stono Rebellion
The slave population in
South Carolina was
continually growing.
The Assembly began to
worry about there
being too many slaves
in the colony, but
slaves were so
important to
plantations, there was
little they could do.
Stono Rebellion
Soon, the cruel system of
slavery, and Spanish law that
gave freedom to any slave who
reached Florida led to the
slave revolt known as the
Stono Rebellion. Between sixty
and eighty slaves were
involved in this revolt that
took place near the Stono
River in Charles Town. By the
end of the revolt, twenty
whites and at least forty
slaves were dead.
Stono Rebellion
As a result of the Stono
Rebellion, the Slave Code was
established. It set penalties
for any owner that was too
harsh or demanding. It also
imposed the strict laws on
slaves, like preventing slaves
from assembling without
permission, as well as making
educating slaves illegal. Slave
codes did not end revolts,
but it limited their success.
Spikes, called cheveax de frise,
appeared on gates in Charleston after
the Stono Rebellion as protection
from future slave revolts.
Colonial Life
South Carolina had difficulties
supporting itself financially
because of numerous diseases,
high infant mortality rate, wars
with Native Americans, and poor
sanitation killed many of the
colonists. South Carolina’s
population continued to grow in
spite of the death rate being
higher than the birth rate
because of the massive number
of immigrations of slaves and
European settlers.