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. 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. 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. 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.