| Carolina | |
 | |
| Continent | North America |
| Location | East coast |
| Population | British citizens
Slaves |
| Affiliation | British Empire |
The Province of Carolina, also called Carolina Colony, is a colony of the British Empire. The capital of Carolina is Charles Town.
Geography[]
The capital city of Charles Town is located on an inlet formed by the junction of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. The harbor is 12 feet deep. Roughly ten miles north of Charles Town is the settlement of Mount Pleasant. Bath is located over 300 miles north of Charles Town near the mouth of the Pamlico River. To the north, a 200 mile long string of barrier islands and spits called the Outer Banks lies off the coast. One of these islands is Ocracoke Island, a favorite haunt of the notorious pirate, Edward "Blackbeard" Teach. The southern coastline contains many salt marshes and estuaries. Some of the land near the coast is swampy, but other areas are good for farmland. Crops such as tobacco, cotton, rice and indigo are grown in the region and exported.
The Bahamas, an archipelago of 700 islands, are nominally part of the the Province of Carolina. They are located in the West Indies, southeast of Spanish Florida and north of Cuba. The largest city, Nassau, is located on New Providence Island, but it is a pirate den. Legitimate settlements do exist on Harbour Island, and the Abaco and Inagua islands.
People[]
The people of Carolina are largely farmers, growing sugar, cotton, tobacco and other crops. The large plantations are more concentrated in the south near Charles Town.
History[]
Background[]
Sir Robert Heath, attorney-general of King Charles I of England, was granted the Cape Fear region of America, which was incorporated as the Province of Carolina in 1629. The charter was ruled invalid and a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lord Proprietors, on March 24, 1663, which is when the province officially became known as “Carolina.” Charles II granted the land to the eight Lords Proprietors in return for their financial and political assistance in restoring him to the throne in 1660. In 1670, the Proprietors of Carolina were issued a patent for the Bahamas, but had difficulty imposing their authority on the independent-minded residents of New Providence Island. Nonetheless, the Bahama Islands were nominally a part of Carolina Colony.
In early 1670, the Lords Proprietor sent 150 colonists to the province, landing them at a location south of other settlements. Many of them were planters from Barbados. The Charles Town settlement developed more rapidly than other nearby settlements due the advantages of a natural harbor and expanding trade with the West Indies. Charles Town was made the principal seat of government for the entire province. In 1680, a group of settlers under the leadership of Captain Florentia O’Sullivan established the settlement that would become Mount Pleasant. In 1696, 51 new settlers arrived. Each family was allotted several hundred acres. Settlement near the Pamlico river in the 1690s led to the founding of Bath near the river mouth.
In 1705, Lord Proprietor to the Carolina Colony, including the Bahama Islands, Alfred Hamilton, tasks his son, Thomas, with solving the pirate issue in Nassau[1]. The following year, the pirates force Governor Robert Thompson to flee Nassau after killing his wife and son. The pirates create the Republic of Pirates, seceding from the Carolina Colony and the British Empire[2].
During his career as a pirate, Edward Teach frequently used Ocracoke Island as a hideout. His frequent visits allowed the business of a prostitute named Netta to flourish[3].
Shortly after 1705, Lord Peter Ashe was named Governor of Carolina. At the time, raiders routinely attacked their shipping as far north as Mount Pleasant and as far south as the Cumberland Sound. Lord Ashe originally was reasonable about the issue of quelling piracy, but after Lord Proprietor Alfred Hamilton was attacked and murdered by pirates while traveling to Charles Town under an assumed name, Ashe changed his attitude. He and his militia became brutal in the enforcement of laws, Ashe having dedicated himself to eradicating piracy. Ashe also transformed the struggling colony into a commercial success[4].
Season One[]
A sugar merchant from Carolina visitsRichard Guthrie on Harbour Island, where he is entertained lavishly. The man purchases stolen cargo from Richard because he trusts him. After Flint and Billy rescue Richard from being arrested by the Royal Navy, Flint predicts that soon word of Richard’s arrest will reach Charles Town.[5]
Captain James Bridge and his crew of ten men on the Demeter arrive in Nassau after raiding in Carolina. They bring 50 barrels of tobacco and a fluyt’s worth of rare silks[6].
Season Two[]
While sailing to Charles Town, the Good Fortune surrenders to the pirate crew of the Fancy. Their captain, Ned Low, orders the entire merchant crew slaughtered and abducts Abigail Ashe in order to ransom her to her father, the governor[1].
Ned Low begins feuding with Eleanor Guthrie. Meeks is worried that he is jeopardizing the crew’s relationship with her, but Low says that when they return from Carolina, every man on the crew will have his hat filled with gold[7].
Charles Vane takes Abigail Ashe for himself after slaughtering the crew of the Fancy. He tells Eleanor about Abigail and who her father is[8].
Flint, Miranda Barlow and the Guthries decide that to reconcile Nassau with the British Empire, they will court Lord Ashe to back the proposal by returning Abigail to him with no terms or conditions[9].
Flint, Barlow and Abigail travel in the Spanish Man O’ War and arrive in Charles Town. The three go ashore while the crew remains outside Charles Town harbor[4].
Vane and his crew hide in the marshes near the Charles Town Harbor. After nightfall, they board Flint’s ship and kill or subdue his crew. A small group of boats then rows up to the ship and announces that Captain Flint has been arrested, and will be tried and executed. The pirates have until the trial’s conclusion to leave, or their ship will be seized or sunk[10].
Vane resolves to lead some of his men in freeing Flint. They kill many the militia guarding sections of the Battery and turn its cannons on the city, firing on Vane’s signal. Out in the harbor, Flint’s men retake the ship. The pirates sack Charles Town, killing Lord Ashe and leveling the city[11].
Season Three[]
The Lords Proprietor agree to cede the Bahamas to the Crown, and Woodes Rogers is appointed the new governor, with the permission to offer a universal pardon to the pirates. Edward Teach stops in Bath on his journey to Nassau. The three brothers of his ex wife try and threaten him to return to her, but he kills them all on his ship. Flint later sacks the town and kills its magistrate, Hazzard, after he hangs men for piracy in the square[12].
Teach sails the Pirate Fleet to Ocracoke after Nassau falls to Woodes Rogers. There, he is challenged for command of the fleet by Flint, who he defeats[3].
Flint and Jack Rackham discuss the force Woodes Rogers will send to attack them at the Maroon Island. Flint guesses that Rogers has 500 British Regulars at his disposal, but Rackham says from what he saw, it’s closer to 700. Jack adds that this is assuming Rogers doesn’t call in reinforcements from Carolina[13].
Season Four[]
John Silver tells Madi that he deposited Flint at an estate near Savannah that Governor Ashe made use of to humanely incarcerate Thomas Hamilton[14].
Places of Interest[]
- Charles Town, the capital city
- Bath
- Ocracoke Island
- Mount Pleasant
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The splitting of the Province of Carolina into the separate colonies of North and South Carolina actually happened in 1712. The show, taking place in 1715, continues to refer to it as one colony.