BUSINESS BUSINESS
Colonial
South Carolina story by Mark W. Buyck, III
F
rom its inception, the state of South Carolina
has been divided geologically, geographically, and socially into two distinct regions. The Sandhills running roughly from Aiken to Cheraw is generally accepted as the dividing line between the upstate and the low country. The fall line also marks the point where streams and rivers are generally not navigable. Early settlements in South Carolina centered around the seaport of Charleston and the plantations with sailing access to the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. During the 100 or so years between the settlement of Charleston and the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, the colony experienced steady growth both among the white population but especially among the enslaved. Throughout most of the Colonial Period, the South Carolina slave population was second only to Virginia among all of the colonies. It’s estimated that by 1700, the population of the colony was a total of 5700 persons, nearly 2500 of those were slaves. By 1708 enslaved African Americans outnumbered whites in the colony. By 1770 the colony had grown to a population of 130,000 of which 80,000 were enslaved and in 1780 the total population was 180,000. In 1712 the British colony of Carolina was separated into the provinces of South Carolina and North
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September 2021
Carolina. Georgia was later settled in the 1730’s. The South Carolina back country became the “agricultural frontier” for the colonies. The low country’s proximity to St. Augustine and Spanish Florida also caused great angst among the colonists, the vast majority of which identified as British. In Europe the relationship between Protestant England, and Catholic France and Spain continued to fester. These rivalries continued in North America. Throughout the Colonial Period, the colonists engaged in Wars with the Spanish and their Native American allies. In particular, the Yamasee War from 1715-1717 nearly saw the complete annihilation of the colony. So concerned was the Colonial Assembly that it ordered slaves enlisted and equipped to join the whites in the field. The sight of armed slaves marching through Charleston further unnerved many white settlers. By the end of the inconclusive war the colony had lost 7% of its population. The resolution of the Yamasee War also led to further colonists’ fractures with the Lord’s Proprietors. The Proprietors had essentially refused the colonists’ request for aid during the war. Beginning in 1719, the Colonial Assembly began refusing to recognize the Proprietary governor. By 1729 South Carolina officially became a crown colony.
