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| England's King Charles
II gave the area south of Virginia to some friends in 1663. The friends
named their colony after the king. They became the "Lord Proprietors"
of the Carolinas. These proprietors wanted to make money by renting
and selling land in the Carolinas. The problem was they did not rule
their colony very well. Because of the complaints the King was receiving
about the high rents and poor government in the Carolinas, he decided to
divide it into two colonies - North Carolina and South Carolina.
Farmers from Virginia settled in North Carolina. These farmers had fertile soil and a warm climate. The first settlement in South Carolina is Charles Town, now known as Charlestown. The land here was too wet for tobacco, but was perfect for rice and indigo. Indigo is a plant which makes blue dye. This became South Carolina's first crop which was grown to be sold for a profit (cash crop). |
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