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A Royal Colony - Reader
A Royal Colony - Reader
BY DAVID WALBERT The story of Carolinas first fifty years is one of turmoil political conflict, corrupt officials, unpaid taxes, incompetent proprietors, open rebellion, angry Indians, and rapacious pirates. But at the same time, the colonists were building a new society along the coast, with farms, towns, and quietly effecti e local go ernment. In !"#$, %orth Carolina was ta&en o er by the &ing, the turmoil quieted down, and for the next few decades, colonists en'oyed relati e peace and stability.
Two Carolinas
(ince the !))*s, the Proprietors had recogni+ed that one go ernor and one assembly couldnt manage a colony as big as Carolina not when the settlements at ,lbemarle, Cape -ear, and Charles Town were so far apart and transportation up and down the coast was so difficult. In !)$!, the .roprietors appointed a go ernor for all of Carolina and a deputy go ernor for its northern half, and this arrangement pro ided better administration. In !"!#, %orth and (outh Carolina were officially di ided. The /nglish go ernment, though, was unhappy with its proprietary colonies. 0ing and .arliament wanted taxes collected, colonists defended, and order maintained 'ust as most residents of %orth Carolina did and they didnt belie e that the proprietors were running their colonies properly. In !"!$, (outh Carolina, which had more resources than %orth Carolina and was therefore more aluable to /ngland, was ta&en bac& from the .roprietors and made a royal colony. 1hile a proprietary colony was ruled by proprietors or owners in the &ings place, a royal colony was ruled directly by the &ing. The &ing, or his officials, appointed the colonys go ernor and had the right to appro e 2or disappro e3 its laws.
By !"#$, there were settlements on each of %orth In !"#$, se en of the eight 4ords Carolina;s ma'or ri er systems. But the biggest .roprietors agreed to sell their shares of settlements, on the ,lbemarle and .amlico (ounds, %orth Carolina to 0ing 5eorge II, and %orth were a long way from (outh Carolina;s ma'or Carolina, too, became a royal colony. 6ne settlement of Charles Town 2Charleston3. proprietor, though, held out7 8ohn Carteret, the descendant of (ir 5eorge Carteret, one of the original 4ords .roprietors. Carteret continued to own one9 eighth of the colonys land, though he had no say in its go ernment. Carteret would later inherit the title /arl 5ran ille, and the management of his land, &nown as the 5ran ille :istrict, would cause problems for colonists later on.