North Carolina Colony
The foundation and success of North Caroina
The Foundation
North Carolina was founded in 1729 by Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe, who were apart of the Lord Proprietors. In 1663, King Charles II issued a royal charter to eight nobles (the Lord Proprietors) to settle in the area south of Virginia. It was mainly founded for trade and profit for the mother county and also to repay the debt of King Charles II to the Lord Proprietors. It was the twelve of thirteen colonies to be founded in America. The colony was named after King Charles I and King Charles II of England. The name "Carolina" comes from the Latin word "Carolinus," meaning "of Charles." The "North" is due to the separation from South Carolina.
“Known as the Lords Proprietors, they ruled the land from the Virginia border all the way to Florida like junior kings. But Carolina, like other colonies before it, was harder to manage than they expected. The men who had moved south from Virginia didn’t think much of their new landlords, and weren’t interested in being governed from London. In Carolina’s first fifty years, the colony faced violent rebellion, attack by the Spanish, war with Indians, hurricanes, droughts, and pirates.”
Success and Diversification in North Carolina
The colonists were farmers who mainly specialized in the production of rice and sugar cane, along with tobacco due to the humid climate and swampy land. They gave America a rebellious mood when it came to a group supreme to all others but did not revolutionize anything. The ethnic composition was 62% free white persons, 12% all other free persons, and the remaining 26% were slaves. Almost all the free persons were English with a few French, Welsh, and Swiss. All slaves were either from Africa or indentured servants from England. Of the southern colonies, North Carolina had the least amount of slaves. North Carolina was more diverse than the New England colonies with mainly Anglicans, then Quakers, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, and Baptists. North Carolina was not affected with religion during daily life. The entire colony did not evolve around one religion, therefore, making it more religiously tolerable. However, religion did affect the split between the Carolinas because the Quakers were kicked and and the North Carolinians rebelled, (due to their extreme resistance to power) making NC its own colony. (This was not the only reason for the split of the Carolinas)
Momentous Events and Important People
- The Carolina Governor Thomas Cary (appointed by the Lord Proprietors) enforced an oath of allegiance to the Anglican church, forcing the Quakers out of the state legislature. A group of Quakers led by John Porter turned to John Archdale, who commanded Cary be forced out of office. Cary remained in power until the Proprietors, disappointed in the chaotic conditions in the colony, appointed Edward Hyde as the governor of North Carolina, separate from the government of Carolina.
- The Tuscarora War between the North Carolina settlers and the Tuscarora Indians. The Indians were defeated after reinforcements from South Carolina. This gave North Carolina settlers the westward land that had been previously been claimed by the Natives.
- Important people were the Lord Proprietors, Edward Hyde, John Porter, and John Archdale.
Citations
Lewis, J.D.. "The Split." Carolina. University of SC. n.d. Web.
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Hooper, Joseph. "Colonial North Carolina." Learn NC. University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. n.d. Web. 17 Sep 2013.
Elson, Henry. "North Carolina." History of the USA. The MacMillan Company.
n.d. Web. 17 Sep 2013.
Walbert, David. "A Royal Colony." Learn NC. University of South Carolina.
n.d. Web. 17 Sep 2013.
"North Carolina." Info Please. High Beam Research.
n.d. Web. 17 Sep 2013.