colony · North America and Oceania

Province of South Carolina

1712 CE – 1776 CE · capital Charles Town

The richest colony in British North America, whose rice and indigo plantations around Charles Town depended on an enslaved African majority.

Origins

The southern settlements of the Province of Carolina, centred on Charles Town, received a separate governor in 1712. After the Yamasee War of 1715 to 1717 nearly destroyed the colony, settlers overthrew proprietary rule in 1719 and asked for royal government, which the Crown formalised in 1729.

Rule and society

Rice grown in tidal swamps, and from the 1740s indigo, developed by Eliza Lucas Pinckney, made the planter elite of the Lowcountry the wealthiest in British America. Enslaved Africans formed the majority of the population, and the Gullah language and culture took shape on the coastal plantations. The Stono Rebellion of 1739 led to harsh new slave laws. Charles Town was a lively port with theatres, libraries and the deerskin trade with the Cherokee and Muscogee.

Decline and legacy

The last royal governor, Lord William Campbell, fled in 1775. In March 1776 South Carolina adopted its own constitution, and in June its defenders repulsed a British fleet at Sullivan's Island. It became a state of the United States.

Lineage

Province of Carolina 1663 CE – 1712 CEProvince of South CarolinaUnited States 1776 CE – present

Connections (1)

More states of North America and Oceania →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Province of South Carolina. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/province-of-south-carolina
MLA
“Province of South Carolina.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/province-of-south-carolina. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Province of South Carolina.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/province-of-south-carolina.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Province of South Carolina’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/province-of-south-carolina (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻