This is a list of colonial governors of South Carolina from 1670 to 1775. Until the beginning of the American Revolution in 1775, South Carolina was a colony of Great Britain. South Carolina was named in honor of King Charles II of England, who first formed the English colony, with Carolus being Latin for "Charles". [1]
Governors of the Proprietary Period were appointed either by the Proprietors or the Grand Council convening in Charles Town. [2] [3] In 1663, Charles II granted the land to eight Lords Proprietors in return for their financial and political assistance in restoring him to the throne in 1660. [4]
No. | Governor (birth-death) | In Office | Notes | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | William Sayle(1590-1671) | March 15, 1670 – March 4, 1671 | Appointed by John Yeamans | Charles II |
2 | Joseph West(?-1691) | March 4, 1671 – April 19, 1672 | 1st time | |
3 | John Yeamans(1611-1674) | April 19, 1672 – August 1674 | ||
Joseph West(?-1691) | August 1674 – October 1682 | 2nd time | ||
4 | Joseph Morton(?-1721) | October 1682 – August 1684 | 1st time | |
5 | Richard Kyrle(1610-1684) | August 1684 – August 30, 1684 | ||
Joseph West(?-1691) | August 30, 1684 – July 1, 1685 | 3rd time | ||
James II | ||||
6 | Robert Quary(1644-1712) | July 1, 1685 – October 1685 | ||
Joseph Morton(?-1721) | October 1685 – November 1686 | 2nd time | ||
7 | James Colleton(?-1706) | November 1686 – 1690 | ||
William III and Mary II | ||||
8 | Seth Sothell(?-1694) | 1690 – April 11, 1692 | ||
9 | Philip Ludwell(1638-1723) | April 11, 1692 – May 1693 | ||
10 | Thomas Smith(1648-1694) | May 1693 – November 16, 1694 | ||
11 | Joseph Blake(?-1700) | November 16, 1694 – August 17, 1695 | 1st time | William III |
12 | John Archdale(1642-1717) | August 17, 1695 – October 29, 1696 | ||
Joseph Blake(?-1700) | October 29, 1696 – September 7, 1700 | 2nd time | ||
13 | James Moore Sr.(1650-1706) | September 7, 1700 – March 1703 | ||
Anne | ||||
14 | Nathaniel Johnson(1644-1712) | March 1703 – November 26, 1709 | ||
15 | Edward Tynte (?-1710) | November 26, 1709 – July 26, 1710 | ||
16 | Robert Gibbes(1644-1715) | June 26, 1710 – March 19, 1712 | ||
17 | Charles Craven(1682-1715) | March 19, 1712 – April 23, 1716 | ||
George I | ||||
18 | Robert Daniell(1646-1718) | April 25, 1716 – 1717 | ||
19 | Robert Johnson(1682-1735) | 1717 – December 21, 1719 | 1st time |
Governors of the Royal Period were appointed by the monarch in name but were selected by the British government under the control of the Board of Trade. Governors served as a viceroy to the British monarch. The governor could appoint provincial officials or suspend their offices on his own authority, except those offices named above that were also appointed by the crown. Legislative bills required royal assent from the governor and could be rejected; he could prorogue or dissolve the Commons House of Assembly on his own authority. [5]
No. | Governor (birth-death | In Office | Notes | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|
20 | James Moore Jr.(1682-1724) | December 21, 1719 – May 30, 1721 | George I | |
21 | Francis Nicholson(1655-1728) | May 30, 1721 – May 7, 1725 | ||
22 | Arthur Middleton(1681-1737) | May 7, 1725 – December 15, 1730 | ||
George II | ||||
Robert Johnson(1682-1735) | December 15, 1730 – May 3, 1735 | 2nd time Died in office | ||
23 | Thomas Broughton(1668-1737) | May 3, 1735 – November 22, 1737 | Died in office | |
24 | William Bull(1682-1755) | November 22, 1737 – December 17, 1743 | ||
25 | James Glen(1701-1777) | December 17, 1743 – June 1, 1756 | ||
26 | William Henry Lyttleton(1724-1808) | June 1, 1756 – April 5, 1760 | ||
27 | William Bull II(1710-1791) | April 5, 1760 – December 22, 1761 | 1st time | |
George III | ||||
28 | Thomas Boone(1730-1812) | December 22, 1761 – May 14, 1764 | Exiled to England | |
William Bull II(1710-1791) | May 14, 1764 – June 12, 1766 | 2nd time | ||
29 | Charles Greville Montagu(1741-1784) | June 12, 1766 – May 1768 | 1st time | |
William Bull II(1710-1791) | May 1768 – October 30, 1768 | 3rd time | ||
Charles Greville Montagu(1741-1784) | October 30, 1768 – July 31, 1769 | 2nd time | ||
William Bull II(1710-1791) | July 31, 1769 – September 15, 1771 | 4th time | ||
Charles Greville Montagu(1741-1784) | September 15, 1771 – March 6, 1773 | 3rd time | ||
William Bull II(1710-1791) | March 6, 1773 – June 18, 1775 | 5th time | ||
30 | William Campbell(1730-1778) | June 18, 1775 – September 15, 1775 | Exiled to England; fled Charleston on HMS Tamar | |
Henry Laurens(1724-1792) | January 9, 1775 – March 26, 1776 | As President of the South Carolina Committee on Safety after Campbell's departure | ||
Monarchy abolished |
The Thirteen Colonies were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America during the 17th and 18th centuries. Grievances against the imperial government led the 13 colonies to begin uniting in 1774, and expelling British officials by 1775. Assembled at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, they appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army to fight the American Revolutionary War. In 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence as the United States of America. Defeating British armies with French help, the Thirteen Colonies gained sovereignty with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a governor may be either appointed or elected, and the governor's powers can vary significantly, depending on the public laws in place locally. The adjective pertaining to a governor is gubernatorial, from the Latin root gubernare. In a federated state, the governor may serve as head of state and head of government for their regional polity, while still operating under the laws of the federation, which has its own head of state for the entire federation.
The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ex officio commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making yearly "State of the State" addresses to the South Carolina General Assembly, submitting an executive budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced.
The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. After the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, the experience under colonial rule would inform and shape the new state constitutions and, ultimately, the United States Constitution.
The Province of New Hampshire was an English colony and later a British province in New England. It corresponds to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America. It was named after the English county of Hampshire in southern England by Captain John Mason in 1629, its first named proprietor. In 1776, the province established an independent state and government, the State of New Hampshire, and joined with twelve other colonies to form the United States.
The Province of Georgia was one of the Southern Colonies in colonial-era British America. In 1775 it was the last of the Thirteen Colonies to support the American Revolution.
The Southern Colonies within British America consisted of the Province of Maryland, the Colony of Virginia, the Province of Carolina, and the Province of Georgia. In 1763, the newly created colonies of East Florida and West Florida would be added to the Southern Colonies by Great Britain until the Spanish Empire took back Florida. These colonies were the historical core of what would become the Southern United States, or "Dixie". They were located south of the Middle Colonies, albeit Virginia and Maryland were also called the Chesapeake Colonies.
The Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of the Kingdom of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies of the British Empire. The monarch of Great Britain was represented by the Governor of South Carolina, until the colonies declared independence on July 4, 1776.
The Province of North Carolina, originally known as Albemarle Province, was a proprietary colony and later royal colony of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776.(p. 80) It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies. The monarch of Great Britain was represented by the Governor of North Carolina, until the colonies declared independence on July 4, 1776.
The Province of Carolina was a province of the Kingdom of England (1663–1707) and later the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until the Carolinas were partitioned into North and South in 1712.
Rawlins Lowndes was an American lawyer, planter and politician who became involved in the patriot cause after his election to South Carolina's legislature, although he opposed independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Lowndes served as president/governor of South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, and after the war opposed his state's ratification of the Constitution of the United States because it would restrict the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Lowndes also served as a state legislator and mayor of Charleston before his death. Two of his sons, Thomas and William Lowndes, would serve in the U.S. Congress.
Proprietary colonies were a type of colony in English America which existed during the early modern period. In English overseas possessions established from the 17th century onwards, all land in the colonies belonged to the Crown, which held ultimate authority over their management. All English colonies were divided by the Crown via royal charters into one of three types of colony; proprietary colonies, charter colonies and Crown colonies. Under the proprietary system, individuals or companies, known as proprietors, were granted commercial charters by the Crown to establish overseas colonies. These proprietors were thus granted the authority to select the governors and other officials in the colony.
A lord proprietor is a person granted a royal charter for the establishment and government of an English colony in the 17th century. The plural of the term is "lords proprietors" or "lords proprietary".
The colonial period of South Carolina saw the exploration and colonization of the region by European colonists during the early modern period, eventually resulting in the establishment of the Province of Carolina by English settlers in 1663, which was then divided to create the Province of South Carolina in 1710. European settlement in the region of modern-day South Carolina began on a large scale after 1651, when frontiersmen from the English colony of Virginia began to settle in the northern half of the region, while the southern half saw the immigration of plantation owners from Barbados, who established slave plantations which cultivated cash crops such as tobacco, cotton, rice and indigo.
A charter is a document that gives colonies the legal rights to exist. Charters can bestow certain rights on a town, city, university, or other institution.
Edward Hyde was a British colonial administrator who served as the first governor of North Carolina from 24 January until 8 September in 1712, when he died in office. He governed during a time of tremendous turmoil, including an internal revolt known as Cary's Rebellion and an American Indian conflict called the Tuscarora War.
Lord William Campbell was a Scottish Royal Navy officer, nobleman and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Nova Scotia from 1766 to 1773.
Charles Craven was the son of Sir William Craven and Margaret Clapham. He held the office of Governor of Carolina between 1711 and 1716.
Nicholas Trott was an 18th-century British judge, legal scholar and writer. He had a lengthy legal and political career in Charleston, South Carolina and served as the colonial chief justice from 1703 until 1719. He came from a prosperous English family; his grandfather Perient Trott having been a husband of the Somers Isles Company and his uncle Sir Nicholas Trott served as the governor of the Bahamas. Like his nephew, the governor was involved in dealings with pirates, and so, to avoid confusion, is often referred to as Nicholas the Elder.
The Revolution of 1719 was a bloodless military coup in the Province of South Carolina which resulted in the overthrow of the Lords Proprietors and the installation of Colonel James Moore, Jr. as the colony's de facto ruler, a post he held until 1721.