The Americas
North Carolina
Where Americas Come Together
Nearly 30 Native American groups settled across the state. Two established colonies attempted by the British both failed, but eventually picked up our first permanent settlers from Virginia in the 1600s which then became part of a British colony known as "Carolina". As one of the 13 colonies, North Carolina was the first to instruct its delegates to vote for independence from the British crown during the Continental Congress. Following the years of being an extensive slave population and contributing to the start of Civil War, in 1903, North Carolina became the site of the first manned self-propelled airplane flight when the Wright brothers took off from a cliff near Kitty Hawk.