Exploration and Settlement Settling the Coastal Plain

Introduction More than 70 years after the Lost Colony disappeared, the English started a new colony in what is now North Carolina. This colony succeeded by growing cash crops that were sold in Europe. Cash crops are crops grown to be sold for money. Cash crops included tobacco, rice, and cotton. The crops were grown on plantations. Plantations depended on many workers, most enslaved Africans. Plantations helped the new colony grow and prosper.

A Proprietary Colony In 1606, King James I of England gave the Virginia Company a charter to start a colony. A charter is a document that gives certain rights from a government to a person or group of people. In 1607, English colonists settled Jamestown in what is now Virginia. Jamestown Tour Some families eventually moved south of Jamestown into the Albemarle Sound area. Many of these people were tobacco farmers.

King James I Jamestown

A Proprietary Colony In 1663, King Charles II of England decided to start a new colony south of Virginia. The new colony was called Carolina, which means “land of Charles” Carolina stretched from Virginia to what is now Florida.

A Proprietary Colony The new colony underwent many political changes – changes having to do with government. The king divided Carolina among eight wealthy men called Lords Proprietors. A proprietor owns land or a business.

A Proprietary Colony

A Proprietary Colony The Lords Proprietors chose the colony’s governor. The governor chose a council of advisors. The colony also had an assembly, or group of people elected to make laws.

Conflicts in the Colony Beginning in 1651, the English government passed laws to control trade in the colonies. Some of these laws taxed goods shipped from colony to colony. A tax is money that a government collects to pay for services. The new laws made colonists in Albemarle angry.

Conflicts in the Colony In 1677, George Durant and John Culpeper led what became knows as Culpeper’s Rebellion. This was one of the first times colonists rebelled, or turned against, the English government. The rebellion lasted for more than two years.

Conflicts in the Colony The Carolina colony also experienced social changes, or changes in the way people lived. As Carolina grew, more colonists moved onto American Indian lands. In the early 1700s, the towns of Bath and New Bern were built on lands taken from the Pamlico and Tuscarora.

Conflicts in the Colony In 1711, American Indians attacked Bath and New Bern. These attacks led to the Tuscarora War. Colonists defeated the Tuscarora in 1713. As a result, colonists gained more lands to settle.

Dangers at Sea After the Tuscarora War, the colonists faced new problems. In the early 1700s, the British forced pirates out of the Caribbean Islands. Many pirates sailed to the Carolina coast and hid among the islands of the Outer Banks. From there, they could attack ships at sea.

Dangers at Sea Edward Teach was one of the most famous pirates. Teach was also called Blackbeard, because of his long black beard. In 1718, a group of Virginia sailors tracked down Blackbeard and killed him. He was hiding in the Ocracoke Inlet. Blackbeard the Pirate

Dangers at Sea A few pirates were women. Anne Bonny was the daughter of a wealthy farmer. She moved to North Carolina with a pirate when she was 16 years old. Bonny was captured in 1720 and sent to jail.

Dangers at Sea By the 1730s, most pirates had been caught or killed. With fewer threats, even more colonists came to live and work in Carolina.

A Royal Colony The size of Carolina made it difficult to govern. In 1712, the Lords Proprietors divided Carolina into 2 colonies – North Carolina and South Carolina. In 1729, North Carolina became a royal colony, a colony ruled by the king. Throughout its history, North Carolina had many economic changes, or changes having to do with trade and money.

A Royal Colony During the early 1700s, settlers moved into the Cape Fear area, where they founded Wilmington. It became a center for trade and shipping. The area’s forests allowed colonists to make lumber and naval stores. Several rice plantations were located in the Cape Fear area. Enslaved Africans did much of the work. Many workers also came from Europe as indentured servants. Indentured servants agreed to work for a time without pay for the person who paid for their trip to North America.