The Lords Proprietors of Carolina: A Royal Reward and a Colonial Struggle

The 1600s were a time of fierce European competition for control of North America. Spain held Florida, the Southwest, and much of the Caribbean, establishing forts and missions to defend its claims. France dominated the north and interior regions, trading furs and forging alliances with Native tribes along the St. Lawrence, Great Lakes, and Mississippi River. England planted colonies along the Atlantic seaboard, from New England down to the Carolinas, emphasizing agriculture, permanent settlements, and private landownership. Smaller powers like the Dutch and Swedes carved out brief enclaves, mostly along the Hudson and Delaware Rivers.

Collision in the Carolinas

In the southern reaches, the area that would become the Carolinas sat at the crossroads of these imperial ambitions—claimed by the English through the Lords Proprietors, but neighboring Spanish Florida and French Louisiana meant the colony was always on the edge of conflict and competition. This precarious location shaped the early settlement patterns, Native alliances, and defensive strategies of the Carolina colony, setting the stage for decades of colonial development.

King Charles II, crowned 1660

Picture England in the 1660s. King Charles II had just been restored to the throne after years of exile and civil war. To reward the friends who stood by him through rebellion, defeat, and danger, he offered not just titles or money—but something far larger. In 1663, he signed the Carolina Charter, handing eight men control of a territory that stretched from Virginia to Florida, and westward to lands none of them had ever seen. These men would be remembered as the Lords Proprietors of Carolina.

Eight Men, One Dream

Each of the eight had earned the King’s gratitude:

• Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, his trusted minister.

• George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, the general whose army brought Charles home.

• William Craven, Earl of Craven, wealthy noble and unwavering Royalist.

• John Berkeley, Baron Berkeley of Stratton, a battlefield commander.

• Anthony Ashley Cooper, later the Earl of Shaftesbury, a political mastermind.

• Sir George Carteret, Naval officer from Jersey, England, who defended the King’s cause. He was also Lord Proprietor of New Jersey.

• Sir William Berkeley, veteran governor of Virginia.

• And Sir John Colleton, a Royalist exile who had given up fortune and security to remain loyal. Colleton's holding in the area included:

  • Fairlawn Barony: Situated in St. John's Parish, Berkeley County, South Carolina, this was the main residence of the 3rd Baronet, also named Sir John Colleton. He resided there periodically after 1714 before ultimately returning to England.

    

    Fairlawn Barony

  • Devil's Elbow Barony (also known as Colleton Neck Barony): Situated on Colleton Neck in Beaufort County, South Carolina, this barony was granted to Sir John's second son, Peter Colleton, in 1718. Upon Peter's death without issue, it reverted to Sir John's eldest son, John Colleton, who eventually inherited both baronies.

    

    Colleton's Okeetee/Devils Elbow Barony

To these men, Carolina was not just a colony—it was a canvas. They imagined a new society across the Atlantic, a place where they could rule like princes. With the help of the philosopher John Locke, they drafted the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, a blueprint for a semi-feudal state with nobles, serfs, and grand estates. On paper, it was magnificent. NONE of the original Lords Proprietors EVER visited Carolina. On the ground, it was total chaos.

Sir John Colleton’s Legacy

Of all the proprietors, Sir John Colleton’s story was perhaps the most poignant. Driven from England by war, he had lived in exile in Barbados, clinging to loyalty when loyalty was dangerous. The Carolina grant was his reward. But Sir John enjoyed little of it—he died in 1666, just three years after the charter. His son, Sir Peter Colleton, took up the share, using his family’s wealth and Caribbean connections to promote settlement and trade. For decades, the Colletons held their stake in Carolina, their name eventually woven into the landscape—Colleton County, the Colleton River, Colleton Neck.

The Yamasee War: Limits of Absentee Rule

One of the greatest crises faced by Carolina under the Lords Proprietors was the Yamasee War (1715–1717). The Yamasee, a Native American tribe, had fled Spanish Florida to escape raids, enslavement, and Spanish pressure, seeking protection and trade under the English. Initially welcomed, they became frustrated by exploitative trade, encroachment on their lands, and mounting debts, some of which threatened enslavement. This tension erupted into a devastating war across southern South Carolina and southeastern Georgia, destroying plantations and destabilizing the colony. A good portion of this happened around today's Yemasee, SC. The Lords Proprietors, living thousands of miles away, were powerless to respond effectively, exposing the weaknesses of absentee governance and paving the way for the Crown’s takeover in 1729.

The Great Buyout of 1729

In 1729, the grand experiment ended. The Crown stepped in, purchasing seven of the eight proprietors’ shares—including the Colletons’—for £2,500 each, plus arrears. Only the Carteret family refused, clinging to their portion in what became known as the Granville District of North Carolina. The rest of Carolina passed into royal hands, divided into two new colonies: North Carolina and South Carolina.

Land Transitions After US Independence

The end of the American Revolution in 1783 brought sweeping changes to land ownership across South Carolina and the broader former proprietary colonies. Lands previously held by Lords Proprietors, including the Colletons, Carterets, and other proprietorial families, were largely considered Loyalist property. As a result, many of these estates were confiscated by the state and either sold at auction or granted to patriotic settlers and Revolutionary War veterans. This process broke up the large baronies into smaller, independently owned farms and plantations, reflecting the new republic’s emphasis on property rights for citizens rather than absentee landlords.

Although the original proprietors lost control of their holdings, their names and influence persisted in the region. Examples include Colleton County, Carteret County, and rivers, necks, and towns that retain these family names. The transition highlights a major shift from semi-feudal, proprietary governance to a republican land system, permanently reshaping settlement patterns, local economies, and the social landscape of South Carolina.

This transformation illustrates how independence not only altered political authority but also redefined who owned and controlled the land, setting the stage for a more distributed and locally accountable system of property ownership in the new United States.

What Remains Today

The Lords Proprietors never achieved the feudal paradise they envisioned. Distance, discontent, and danger undid their plans. Yet their mark is still visible. Drive through Colleton County, paddle along the Colleton River, and you’ll find traces of that 17th-century gamble. What began as a royal thank-you became a tale of ambition, mismanagement, and ultimately, the Crown’s takeover.

In the end, the Lords Proprietors dreamed of ruling Carolina like kings. Instead, they became a footnote in the larger story of a colony that would grow, change, and one day help spark a revolution against the very Crown that replaced them.