Colonial Period of South Carolina

The history of the colonial period of South Carolina focuses on the English colonization that created one of the original Thirteen Colonies. Major settlement began after 1712 as the northern half of the British colony of Carolina attracted frontiersmen from Pennsylvania and Virginia, while the southern parts were populated by wealthy English planters who set up large slave plantations. Therefore the Province of South Carolina was separated from the Province of North Carolina in 1729. With its capital city of Charleston becoming a major port for traffic on the Atlantic Ocean, South Carolina produced a large export surplus in the colonial era, making it one of the most prosperous of the colonies. A strong colonial government fought wars with the local Indians, and with Spanish imperial outposts in Florida, while fending off the threat of pirates. Birth rates were high, food conditions were abundant, and offset the diseased environment of malaria to produce rapid population growth. The colony developed a system of laws and self-government and a growing commitment to Republicanism that patriots feared was threatened by the British Empire after 1765. South Carolina joined the American Revolution in 1775, but was bitterly divided between Patriots and Loyalists. The British invaded in 1780 and captured most of the state, but were finally driven out.