The Cheraw people , also known as the Saraw or Saura , were a Siouan -speaking tribe of Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands , in the Piedmont area of North Carolina near the Sauratown Mountains , east of Pilot Mountain and north of the Yadkin River . They lived in villages near the Catawba River .
146-694: Their first European and African contact was with the Hernando De Soto Expedition at the site of Joara in 1540. The early English explorer John Lawson included them in the larger eastern-Siouan confederacy, which he called "the Esaw Nation." After attacks in the late 17th century and early 18th century, they moved to the southeast around the Pee Dee River , where the Cheraw name became more widely used. They became extinct as
292-463: A chevron pattern made in Venice for a limited period of time and believed to be indicative of the de Soto expedition. Six metal objects were also found, including a silver pendant and some iron tools. The rarest items were found within what researchers believe was a large council house of the indigenous people whom de Soto was visiting. The expedition continued to present-day South Carolina . There
438-545: A smallpox epidemic decimated both the Cheraw and the Catawba. In 1755, the Cheraw were persuaded by colonizer James Glen to join the Waccamaw , Pedee, and Catawba, led by King Haigler . The remnants of the tribes combined. The tribe was nearly destroyed before the middle of the 18th century and European encroachment on their old territory. They were last noted as a distinct tribe among the Catawba in 1768. They merged into
584-494: A yellow fever outbreak killed about 15% of the remaining inhabitants. Charles Town suffered between five and eight significant yellow fever outbreaks over the first half of the 18th century. It developed a reputation as one of the least healthy locations in the Thirteen Colonies for ethnic Europeans. Malaria was endemic. Although malaria did not have such high mortality as yellow fever, it caused much illness. It
730-679: A Cheraw delegation represented the Catawban tribes in Williamsburg, Virginia and negotiated peace. They were out of the war by October 1715. In 1728, William Byrd conducted an expedition to survey the North Carolina and Virginia boundary, and reported finding two Saura villages on the Dan River, known as Lower Saura Town and Upper Saura Town . The towns had been abandoned by the time of Byrd's visit. He noted in his writing that
876-607: A center for the inland colonization of South Carolina . It remained the southernmost point of the Southern Colonies until the Province of Georgia was established in 1732. As noted, the first settlers primarily came from Europe , Barbados and Bermuda . The Barbadian and Bermudan immigrants were planters who brought enslaved Africans with them, having purchased them in the West Indies . Early immigrant groups to
1022-805: A chapel be erected within the Church of San Miguel in Jerez de Los Caballeros, Spain, where De Soto grew up, at a cost of 2,000 ducats, with an altarpiece featuring the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Conception , that his tomb be covered in a fine black broadcloth topped by a red cross of the Order of the Knights of Santiago , and on special occasions a pall of black velvet with the De Soto coat of arms be placed on
1168-591: A consensus (although not total) to end the expedition and try to find a way home, either down the Mississippi River, or overland across Texas to the Spanish colony of Mexico City . They decided that building boats would be too difficult and time-consuming and that navigating the Gulf of Mexico was too risky, so they headed overland to the southwest. Eventually, they reached a region in present-day Texas that
1314-452: A fever on 21 May 1542, in the native village of Guachoya . Historical sources disagree as to whether de Soto died near present-day Lake Village, Arkansas McArthur, Arkansas , or Ferriday, Louisiana . Louisiana erected a historical marker at the estimated site on the western bank of the Mississippi River. Before his death, de Soto chose Luis de Moscoso Alvarado , his former maestro de campo (or field commander), to assume command of
1460-601: A foreign port, and defend her against any attempt to dispossess the Customs Officers of her custody until all the requirements of law have been complied with." This federal action became known as the Charleston incident. The state's politicians worked on a compromise law in Washington to gradually reduce the tariffs. Charleston's embrace of classical architecture began after a devastating fire leveled much of
1606-409: A fortified city in southern Alabama, to receive the women. De Soto gave the chief a pair of boots and a red cloak to reward him for his cooperation. The Mobilian tribe, under chief Tuskaloosa, ambushed de Soto's army. Other sources suggest de Soto's men were attacked after attempting to force their way into a cabin occupied by Tuskaloosa. The Spaniards fought their way out, and retaliated by burning
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#17327723323051752-410: A governor sent by Parliament . Election districts were organized according to Anglican parishes, and some social services were managed by Anglican wardens and vestries . Charleston adopted its present spelling with its incorporation as a city in 1783. Population growth in the interior of South Carolina influenced the removal of the state government to Columbia in 1788, but Charleston remained among
1898-611: A large town he called "Sara", in the mountains that "receive from the Spaniards the name of Suala". He wrote that the Natives here mined cinnabar to make purple facepaint, and had cakes of salt. James Needham and Gabriel Archer also explored the entire area from Fort Henry in 1671, and described this town as "Sarrah." In 1700, they settled Upper Saura Village and Lower Saura Village along the River Dan. In 1710, due to attacks by
2044-506: A majority of any church's parishioners be white. In June 1818, 140 Black church members at Hampstead Church were arrested, and eight of its leaders were given fines and ten lashes; police raided the church again in 1820 and pressured it in 1821. In 1822, members of the church, led by Denmark Vesey , a lay preacher and carpenter who had bought his freedom after winning a lottery, planned an uprising and escape to Haiti —initially for Bastille Day —that failed when one enslaved person revealed
2190-565: A month resting the horses while his men searched for gold. De Soto next entered eastern Tennessee . At this point, de Soto either continued along the Tennessee River to enter Alabama from the north (according to John R. Swanton ), or turned south and entered northern Georgia (according to Charles M. Hudson ). Swanton's final report, published by the Smithsonian, remains an important resource but Hudson's reconstruction of
2336-593: A night attack on the USS ; Housatonic on February 17, 1864. General Gillmore's land assault in July 1864 was unsuccessful but the fall of Columbia and advance of General William T. Sherman 's army through the state prompted the Confederates to evacuate the town on February 17, 1865, burning the public buildings, cotton warehouses, and other sources of supply before their departure. U.S. soldiers liberated
2482-401: A pitched battle with Inca troops in front of the city, but the battle had ended before Pizarro arrived with the rest of the Spanish party. The Inca army withdrew during the night. The Spanish plundered Cuzco, where they found much gold and silver. As a mounted soldier, de Soto received a share of the plunder, which made him very wealthy. It represented riches from Atahualpa's camp, his ransom, and
2628-422: A population of 510, of which 140 were men and 370 were women and children. South Carolina probably acquired these numbers at least partially through second-hand sources and estimates. In 1768, 50 to 60 surviving Cheraw people lived among the Catawba. In 1835, Cheraw descendants, who had been absorbed into the Catawba tribe, were classified as " free people of color " in local records. The Catawba Indian Nation
2774-469: A port in the coastwise trade, traveling to such ports as Mobile and New Orleans. Enslaving was the primary marker of class, and even the town's freedmen and free people of color typically enslaved people if they had the wealth to do so. Visitors commonly remarked on the sheer number of Blacks in Charleston and their seeming freedom of movement, though in fact—mindful of the Stono Rebellion and
2920-573: A separate mosque . Enlavers sometimes provided them with beef rations instead of pork in recognition of religious traditions. The registered tonnage of Charleston shipping in 1829 was 12,410. In 1832, South Carolina passed an ordinance of nullification , a procedure by which a state could, in effect, repeal a federal law; it was directed against the most recent tariff acts. Soon, U.S. soldiers were dispensed to Charleston's forts, and five United States Coast Guard cutters were detached to Charleston Harbor "to take possession of any vessel arriving from
3066-523: A slave society: it had a majority-Black population from the colonial period until after the Great Migration of the early 20th century, when many rural Blacks moved to northern and midwestern industrial cities to escape Jim Crow laws . At the foundation of the town, the principal items of commerce were pine timber and pitch for ships and tobacco . The early economy developed around the deerskin trade, in which colonists used alliances with
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#17327723323053212-477: A tribe, although some descendants survived as remnant peoples. Originally known as the "Saraw", they became known by the name of one of their villages, Cheraw. They are also known as the Charáh, Charrows, Charra, Charaws, Charraws, Chara, Joara, Juada, Sara, Saraw, Saura, Suali, Sualy, Xualla, Xualae, and Xuala. Xuala and Xualla were Spanish and Portuguese spellings of their name. The name they called themselves
3358-500: A violent hurricane passed over Charles Town. The Circular Congregational Church manse was damaged during the storm, and church records were lost. Much of Charles Town was flooded as "the Ashley and Cooper rivers became one." At least seventy people died in the disaster. From the 1670s, Charleston attracted pirates. The combination of a weak government and corruption made the city popular with pirates, who frequently visited and raided
3504-640: A violent incident in Cainhoy at an October joint discussion meeting. Violent incidents occurred throughout the Piedmont of the state as white insurgents struggled to impose white supremacy in the face of social changes after the war and the granting of citizenship to freedmen by amendments to the U.S. Constitution. After former Confederates were allowed to vote again, election campaigns from 1872 on were marked by violent intimidation of blacks and Republicans by conservative Democratic paramilitary groups, known as
3650-455: Is disputed only in minor details. His route beyond Mabila is contested. Swanton reported the de Soto trail ran from there through Mississippi , Arkansas , and Texas . Historians have more recently considered archeological reconstructions and the oral history of the various Native American peoples who recount the expedition. Most historical places have been overbuilt and much evidence has been lost. More than 450 years have passed between
3796-521: Is lost to history, but the Cherokee called them Ani-Suwa'li . The DeSoto Expedition traveled through the Xuala province in 1540. James Mooney identified this as Cheraw territory. Their site Joara was in western North Carolina. They were later recorded as living east of present-day Asheville, North Carolina . In 1670, German explorer John Lederer encountered the Cheraw further east, possibly along
3942-497: Is not known. According to one source, de Soto's men hid his corpse in blankets weighted with sand and sank it in the middle of the Mississippi River during the night. De Soto's expedition had explored La Florida for three years without finding the expected treasures or a hospitable site for colonization. They had lost nearly half their men, and most of the horses. By this time, the soldiers were wearing animal skins for clothing. Many were injured and in poor health. The leaders came to
4088-704: Is now a federally recognized tribe in South Carolina. Today, two state-recognized tribes , the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina of Robeson County, North Carolina , and the Sumter Tribe of Cheraw Indians in Sumter County, South Carolina , claim descent from the Cheraw. Cheraw, South Carolina , is named for the tribe. Cheraw, Colorado was named by an early settler who was born in Cheraw, South Carolina, and migrated west. Cheraw, Mississippi
4234-461: Is now the southeastern United States , searching both for gold, which had been reported by various Native American tribes and earlier coastal explorers, and for a passage to China or the Pacific coast. De Soto died in 1542 on the banks of the Mississippi River; sources disagree on the exact location, whether it was what is now Lake Village, Arkansas , or Ferriday, Louisiana . Hernando de Soto
4380-484: The Atlantic slave trade , first as indentured servants and then as enslaved people . In the early 1700s, Charleston's largest slave trader, Joseph Wragg , pioneered the settlement's involvement in the slave trade. Of the estimated 400,000 captive Africans transported to North America to be sold into slavery, 40% are thought to have landed at Sullivan's Island off Charlestown. Free people of color also migrated from
4526-586: The Caddo River , where they clashed with a Native American tribe called the Tula in October 1541. The Spaniards characterized them as the most skilled and dangerous warriors they had encountered. This may have happened in the area of present-day Caddo Gap, Arkansas (a monument to the de Soto expedition was erected in that community). Eventually, the Spaniards returned to the Mississippi River. De Soto died of
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4672-532: The Cherokee and Creek peoples to secure the raw material. At the same time, Native Americans kidnapped and enslaved each other in warfare. From 1680 to 1720, approximately 40,000 native men, women, and children were sold through the port, principally to the West Indies such as ( Bermuda and the Bahamas ), but also to other Southern colonies. The Lowcountry planters did not keep enslaved Native Americans, considering them too prone to escape or revolt. They used
4818-638: The Continental Congress were elected in 1774, and South Carolina declared its independence from Britain on the steps of the Exchange . Slavery was again an important factor in the city's role during the Revolutionary War . The British attacked the settlement three times, assuming that the settlement had a large base of Loyalists who would rally to their cause once given some military support. The loyalty of white Southerners towards
4964-526: The First and Second banks were also located in Charleston. Throughout the Antebellum Period , Charleston continued to be the only major American city with a majority-slave population. The city's widespread use of enslaved people as workers was a frequent subject of writers and visitors: a merchant from Liverpool noted in 1834 that "almost all the working population are Negroes, all the servants,
5110-518: The Gulf of Mexico to meet two ships bearing fresh supplies from Havana . De Soto demanded women and servants, and when Tuskaloosa refused, the European explorers took him hostage. The expedition began making plans to leave the next day, and Tuskaloosa gave in to de Soto's demands, providing bearers for the Spaniards. He informed de Soto that they would have to go to his town of Mabila (or Mauvila ),
5256-1009: The Juan Pardo Expedition visited a Cherah town. Their villages were adjacent to those of the Pedee and Catawba peoples. In 1600 CE, they may have numbered 1,000. In 1670, they left their homes near present-day Asheville to settle on the lower Yadkin River , then the Dan River in Rockingham County . By 1672, they may have moved to the Stokes County region, near the Saura Mountains . In 1670, John Lederer, departing from Fort Henry in Virginia Colony , explored deep into North Carolina and described
5402-563: The New World with Pedro Arias Dávila , appointed as the first Governor of Panama . In 1520 he participated in Gaspar de Espinosa 's expedition to Veragua , and in 1524, he participated in the conquest of Nicaragua under Francisco Hernández de Córdoba . There he acquired an encomienda and a public office in León, Nicaragua . Brave leadership, unwavering loyalty, and ruthless schemes for
5548-581: The Pánuco River and the Spanish frontier town of Pánuco . There they rested for about a month. During this time many of the Spaniards, having safely returned and reflecting on their accomplishments, decided they had left La Florida too soon. There were some fights within the company, leading to some deaths. But, after they reached Mexico City and the Viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza offered to lead another expedition to La Florida , few of
5694-739: The Reconstruction era . The war had shattered the city's prosperity. Still, the African-American population surged (from 17,000 in 1860 to over 27,000 in 1880) as freedmen moved from the countryside to the major city. Blacks quickly left the Southern Baptist Church and resumed open meetings of the African Methodist Episcopal and AME Zion churches. They purchased dogs, guns, liquor, and better clothes—all previously banned—and ceased yielding
5840-512: The Red Shirts . Violent incidents occurred in Charleston on King Street on September 6 and nearby Cainhoy on October 15 in association with political meetings before the 1876 election. The Cainhoy incident was the only one statewide in which more whites were killed than blacks. The Red Shirts were instrumental in suppressing the black Republican vote in some areas in 1876 and narrowly electing Wade Hampton as governor, and taking back control of
5986-784: The Seneca of the Haudenosaunee from the north, the Cheraw moved southeast and joined the Keyauwee Indians tribe. The Cheraw were recorded in The Journal of Barnwell as maintaining a village on the east bank of the upper branches of the Pee Dee River circa the Tuscarora War in 1712. Some Cheraw fought with colonizers in the Tuscarora War. In 1712, John Barnwell led a force of 400 to 500 troops against
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6132-576: The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire . He was admitted into the prestigious Order of Santiago and "granted the right to conquer Florida". His share was awarded to him by the King of Spain, and he received 724 marks of gold, and 17,740 pesos. He married Isabel de Bobadilla , daughter of Pedrarias Dávila and a relative of a confidante of Queen Isabella . De Soto petitioned King Charles to lead
6278-504: The Tuscarora in North Carolina. Almost all his forces were Indians, organized into four companies, based in part on tribal and cultural factors. The 1st and 2nd companies were made up of Indians with strong ties to South Carolina. The 3rd company was of "northern Indians" who lived farther from Charles Town and whose allegiance was not as strong. They included the Catawba, Waxaw , Wateree , and Congaree , among others. The 4th company
6424-810: The Upper South to the Deep South in the antebellum years, as cotton plantations were widely developed through what became known as the Black Belt . Many enslaved people were transported in the coastwise slave trade , with slave ships stopping at ports such as Charleston. Charleston was significant in the American Civil War . As a pivotal city, the U.S. Army and Confederate States Army vied for control of it. The rebellion began in Charleston Harbor in 1861 and ended mere months after
6570-596: The Uzita while searching for the lost Narváez expedition ; he later escaped to Mocoso . Ortiz had learned the Timucua language and served as an interpreter to de Soto as he traversed the Timucuan-speaking areas on his way to Apalachee . Ortiz developed a method for guiding the expedition and communicating with the various tribes, who spoke many dialects and languages. He recruited guides from each tribe along
6716-467: The West Indies , being descendants of white planters and their Black consorts and unions among the working classes. In 1767, Gadsden's Wharf was constructed at the city port on the Cooper River; it ultimately extended 840 feet and could accommodate six ships at a time. Many enslaved people were sold from here. Devoted to plantation agriculture that depended on enslaved labor, South Carolina became
6862-595: The Yadkin River in central North Carolina. In 1700, the Cheraw lived along the River Dan at the Virginia border. By the early 18th century, the Cheraw lived in present-day Chesterfield County in northeastern South Carolina . This region, which now encompasses present-day Chesterfield, Marlboro , Darlington , and parts of Lancaster counties, was known later in the 18th and 19th centuries as "The Cheraws",
7008-441: The anthropologist John R. Swanton published The Final Report of the United States De Soto Expedition Commission in 1939. Among other locations, Manatee County, Florida , claims an approximate landing site for de Soto and has a national memorial recognizing that event. In the early 21st century, the first part of the expedition's course, up to de Soto's battle at Mabila (a small fortress town in present-day central Alabama ),
7154-413: The cotton gin sped the processing of the crop over 50 times. Britain 's Industrial Revolution —initially built upon its textile industry —took up the extra production ravenously and cotton became Charleston's major export commodity in the 19th century. The Bank of South Carolina, the second-oldest building in the nation to be constructed as a bank, was established in 1798. In 1800 and 1817, branches of
7300-521: The slave revolution that established Haiti —the whites closely regulated the behavior of both enslaved and free people of color. The town fixed wages and hiring practices, sometimes required identifying badges, and sometimes censored work songs. Punishment was handled out of sight by the city's workhouse , whose fees provided the municipal government with thousands a year. In 1820, state law mandated that each act of manumission (freeing an enslaved person) required legislative approval, effectively halting
7446-443: The "Cheraw Hills", and later the "Old Cheraws." Their main village was near the site of present-day Cheraw , close to the North Carolina border. Cheraw was one of the earliest inland towns which European Americans established in South Carolina. Few historical references to the Cheraw exist. Spanish explorer De Soto likely passed through Cheraw towns, especially Joara located in present-day western North Carolina in 1540. In 1567,
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#17327723323057592-676: The Americas (he called it the "South Sea" on the south coast of Panama ); and Ferdinand Magellan , who first sailed that ocean to East Asia . In 1530, de Soto became a regidor of León, Nicaragua . He led an expedition up the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula searching for a passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean to enable trade with the Orient, the richest market in the world. Failing that, and without means to explore further, de Soto, upon Pedro Arias Dávila 's death, left his estates in Nicaragua. Bringing his own men on ships which he hired, de Soto joined Francisco Pizarro at his first base of Tumbes shortly before departure for
7738-438: The Barcarrota claim can be traced to Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and is probably incorrect, having been written down 45 years after De Soto's death. According to Lamb, his birthplace is most likely Jerez de los Caballeros. Although he spent time as a child at each place, De Soto stipulated in his will that his body be interred at Jerez de los Caballeros, where other members of his family were buried. A few years before his birth,
7884-431: The Caribbean showed the planter George Lucas's daughter Eliza how to raise and use indigo for dyeing in 1747. Throughout this period, enslaved people were sold aboard the arriving ships or at ad hoc gatherings in the town's taverns. Runaways and minor slave rebellions prompted the 1739 Security Act , which required all white men to carry weapons at all times (even to church on Sundays). Before it fully took effect,
8030-403: The Catawba over time, while some descendants joined the Native people living near the Lumber River . During the Revolutionary War , they and the Catawba removed their families to the same areas near Danville, Virginia , where they had lived earlier. Their warriors served the Patriot cause under General Thomas Sumter . In 1715, South Carolinian John Barnwell conducted a census of Indians in
8176-467: The Cato or Stono Rebellion broke out. The white community had recently been decimated by a malaria outbreak, and the rebels killed about 25 white people before being stopped by the colonial militia. As a result of their fears of rebellion, whites killed a total of 35 to 50 Black people. The planters attributed the violence to recently imported Africans and agreed to a 10-year moratorium on slave importation through Charlestown. They relied for labor upon
8322-407: The Crown had largely been forfeited, however, by British legal cases (such as the 1772 Somersett case which marked the prohibition of slavery in England and Wales , a significant milestone in the abolitionist struggle) and military tactics (such as Dunmore's Proclamation in 1775) that promised the emancipation of people enslaved by Patriot planters; these efforts did, however, unsurprisingly win
8468-483: The Gulf of Mexico. From their winter location in the western panhandle of Florida, having heard of gold being mined "toward the sun's rising", the expedition turned northeast through what is now the modern state of Georgia . Based on archaeological finds made in 2009 at a remote, privately owned site near the Ocmulgee River , researchers believe that de Soto's expedition stopped in Telfair County . Artifacts found here include nine glass trade beads , some of which bear
8614-436: The Inca Empire in Peru, but is best known for leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States (through Florida , Georgia , Alabama , North Carolina , South Carolina , Mississippi , and most likely Arkansas ). He is the first European documented as having crossed the Mississippi River . De Soto's North American expedition was a vast undertaking. It ranged throughout what
8760-409: The Indian slave trade. The area's unsuitability for growing tobacco prompted the Lowcountry planters to experiment with other cash crops . The profitability of growing rice led the planters to pay premiums for enslaved people from the "Rice Coast" who knew its cultivation; their descendants make up the ethnic Gullah who created their own culture and language in this area. Slaves imported from
8906-423: The Kingdoms of Castille and Aragon conquered the last Islamic kingdom of the Iberian Peninsula . Spain and Portugal were filled with young men seeking a chance for military fame after the defeat of the Moors . With Christopher Columbus 's discovery of new lands (which he thought to be East Asia ) across the ocean to the west, young men were attracted to rumors of adventure, glory and wealth. De Soto sailed to
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#17327723323059052-437: The Market Hall and Sheds, where fresh meat and produce were brought daily, became a hub of commercial activity. The slave trade also depended on the port of Charleston, where ships could be unloaded and enslaved people bought and sold. The legal importation of enslaved Africans had ended in 1808, although smuggling was significant. However, the domestic trade was booming. More than one million enslaved people were transported from
9198-422: The Napituca Massacre, the first large-scale massacre by Europeans in the current United States. One of Soto’s most important battles with the natives, along his conquest of Florida, was a 1539 battle with Chief Vitachuco. Unlike other native chiefs who entered into peace with the Spanish, Vitachuco did not trust them and had secretly plotted to kill Soto and his army, but he was betrayed by interpreters who told Soto
9344-418: The Revolutionary War and the Civil War, Charleston experienced an economic boom, at least for the top strata of society. Expanding cotton as a cash crop in the South led to massive wealth for a small segment of society and funded impressive architecture and culture. However, it also escalated the economic importance of enslaving people and led to greater and greater restrictions on Black Charlestonians. By 1783,
9490-411: The Richardson/UF Village site (8AL100) in Alachua County , west of Orange Lake , appears to have been accepted by archaeologists as the site of the town of Potano visited by the de Soto expedition. The 17th-century mission of San Buenaventura de Potano is believed to have been founded here. Many archaeologists believe the Parkin Archeological State Park in northeast Arkansas was the main town for
9636-409: The Saura had been attacked and nearly destroyed by the Seneca 30 years before, who had been raiding peoples on the frontier from their home in present-day New York. The Saura were known to have moved south to the Pee Dee River area. In 1726 and 1736, the Cheraw moved near the Catawba. When the Council of Virginia offered tribes protection in 1732, the Cheraw asked to join the Saponis . In 1738,
9782-400: The U.S. soldiers retook control of Charleston in 1865. Following the election of Abraham Lincoln , the South Carolina General Assembly voted on December 20, 1860, to declare secession from the United States , becoming the first state to do so. On December 27, the U.S. Army garrison of Castle Pinckney surrendered to the state militia. On January 9, 1861, Citadel cadets opened fire on
9928-427: The USS Star of the West as it entered Charleston Harbor. The first full battle of the war occurred on April 12, 1861, when shore batteries under the command of General P. G. T. Beauregard fired upon the US Army - held Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. After a 34-hour bombardment, Major Robert Anderson surrendered the fort. On December 11, 1861, an enormous fire burned over 500 acres (200 ha) of
10074-415: The United States arrived in Charleston. In 2018, the city formally apologized for its role in the American slave trade . King Charles II granted the chartered Province of Carolina to eight of his loyal friends, known as the Lords Proprietors , on March 24, 1663. In 1670, Governor William Sayle arranged for several shiploads of settlers from Bermuda and Barbados . These settlers established what
10220-559: The United States to quash the practice; free Blacks were banned from returning to the state if they left for any reason; enslaved people were given a 9:15 pm curfew; the city razed Hampstead Church to the ground and erected a new arsenal . This structure later was the basis of the Citadel 's first campus. The AME congregation built a new church, but in 1834, the city banned it and all Black worship services following Nat Turner's Rebellion in Virginia in 1831. The estimated 10% of enslaved people who came to America as Muslims never had
10366-403: The allegiance of thousands of Black Loyalists . The Battle of Sullivan's Island saw the British fail to capture a partially constructed palmetto palisade from Col. Moultrie 's militia regiment on June 28, 1776. The Liberty Flag used by Moultrie's men formed the basis of the later South Carolina flag , and the victory's anniversary continues to be commemorated as Carolina Day . Making
10512-632: The altar; that a chaplain be hired at the salary of 12,000 maravedis to perform five masses every week for the souls of De Soto, his parents, and wife; that thirty masses be said for him the day his body was interred, and twenty for our Lady of the Conception, ten for the Holy Ghost , sixty for souls in purgatory and masses for many others as well; that 150000 maravedis be given annually to his wife Isabel for her needs and an equal amount used yearly to marry off three orphan damsels...the poorest that can be found," to assist his wife and also serve to burnish
10658-542: The antebellum free black community, historian Melinda Meeks Hennessy described the community as "unique" in being able to defend themselves without provoking "massive white retaliation", as occurred in numerous other areas during Reconstruction . In the 1876 election cycle, two major riots between black Republicans and white Democrats occurred in the city, in September and the day after the election in November, as well as
10804-647: The area under a kind of siege. British Army officer Alexander Leslie , commanding Charlestown, requested a truce in March 1782 to purchase food for his garrison and the town's inhabitants. Greene refused and formed a brigade under Mordecai Gist to counter British forays. The British finally evacuated Charlestown in December 1782. Greene presented the British leaders of the town with the Moultrie Flag . Between
10950-442: The battles of Monck's Corner and Lenud's Ferry , Lincoln's surrender on May 12, 1780, became the greatest American defeat of the war . The British continued to hold Charlestown for over a year following their defeat at Yorktown in 1781. However, they alienated local planters by refusing to restore full civil government. Nathanael Greene had entered the state after Cornwallis's pyrrhic victory at Guilford Courthouse and kept
11096-484: The boats. They survived through the winter, and the spring floods delayed them another two months. By July they set off on their makeshift boats down the Mississippi for the coast. Taking about two weeks to make the journey, the expedition encountered hostile fleets of war canoes along the whole course. The first was led by the powerful paramount chief Quigualtam , whose fleet followed the boats, shooting arrows at
11242-455: The capture of Charlestown their chief priority, the British sent Sir Henry Clinton , who laid siege to Charleston on April 1, 1780, with about 14,000 troops and 90 ships. Bombardment began on March 11, 1780. The Patriots, led by Benjamin Lincoln , had about 5,500 men and inadequate fortifications to repel the forces against them. After the British cut his supply lines and lines of retreat at
11388-521: The carmen & porters, all the people who see at the stalls in Market, and most of the Journeymen in trades". American traders had been prohibited from equipping the Atlantic slave trade in 1794 and all importation of enslaved people was banned in 1808 , but American merchantmen frequently refused to permit British inspection for enslaved cargo, and smuggling remained common. Much more important
11534-619: The city included the Huguenots , Scottish , Irish , and Germans , as well as hundreds of Jews , predominately Sephardi from London and significant cities of the Dutch Republic , where they had been given refuge. As late as 1830, Charleston's Jewish community was the most prominent and wealthiest in North America . By 1708, most of the colony's population were Black Africans. They had been brought to Charlestown via
11680-570: The city within the month. The War Department recovered what federal property remained. Also, it confiscated the campus of the Citadel Military Academy and used it as a U.S. Army garrison for the next 17 years. The facilities were finally returned to the state and reopened as a military college in 1882 under the direction of Lawrence E. Marichak. After the defeat of the Confederacy, U.S. soldiers remained in Charleston during
11826-472: The city's growth had reached a point where a municipal government became desirable; therefore, on August 13, 1783, an act of incorporation for Charleston was ratified. The act originally specified the city's name as "Charles Ton", as opposed to the previous Charlestown, but the spelling "Charleston" quickly came to dominate. Although Columbia had replaced it as the state capital in 1788, Charleston became even more prosperous as Eli Whitney 's 1793 invention of
11972-588: The city. U.S. Navy control of the North Atlantic coastline permitted the repeated bombardment of the city, causing vast damage. Although Admiral Du Pont's naval assault on the town's forts in April 1863 failed, the U.S. Navy's blockade shut down most commercial traffic. Throughout the war, some blockade runners got through, but not a single one made it into or out of Charleston Harbor between August 1863 and March 1864. The early submarine H.L. Hunley made
12118-450: The city. Charles Town was besieged by the pirate Blackbeard for several days in May 1718. Blackbeard released his hostages and left in exchange for a chest of medicine from Governor Robert Johnson . Around 1719, the town's name began to be generally written as Charlestown and, excepting those fronting the Cooper River, the old walls were largely removed over the next decade. Charlestown was
12264-399: The city. On April 27, 1838, Charleston suffered a catastrophic fire that burned more than 1000 buildings and caused about $ 3 million (equivalent to $ 84,910,000 in 2023) in damage at the time. The damaged buildings amounted to about one-fourth of all the businesses in the main part of the city. A great cultural awakening occurred when many homes and businesses were rebuilt or repaired. Before
12410-538: The confluence of the Ashley , Cooper , and Wando rivers. Charleston had a population of 150,227 at the 2020 census . The population of the Charleston metropolitan area, comprising Berkeley , Charleston , and Dorchester counties, was estimated to be 849,417 in 2023. It ranks as the third-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the state, and the 71st-most populous in the United States. Charleston
12556-551: The conversion of the United States Arsenal into the Porter Military Academy, an educational facility for former soldiers and boys left orphaned or destitute by the war. Porter Military Academy later joined with Gaud School and is now a university-preparatory school , Porter-Gaud School . In 1875, blacks made up 57% of the city's and 73% of the county's population. With leadership by members of
12702-613: The enslaved Africans brought to North America between 1700 and 1775, and about half up until the end of the African trade. The plantations and the economy based on them made this the wealthiest city in the Thirteen Colonies and the largest in population south of Philadelphia . In 1770, the city had 11,000 inhabitants—half enslaved—and was the 4th-largest port in the colonies, after Boston , New York City , and Philadelphia. The elite began to use their wealth to encourage cultural and social development. America's first theater building
12848-513: The events and current history tellers, but some oral histories have been found to be accurate about historic events that have been otherwise documented. The Governor Martin Site at the former Apalachee village of Anhaica , located about a mile east of the present Florida capital in Tallahassee , has been documented as definitively associated with de Soto's expedition. The Governor Martin Site
12994-487: The expedition recorded being received by a female chief ( The Lady of Cofitachequi ), who gave her tribe's pearls, food and other goods to the Spanish soldiers. The expedition found no gold, however, other than pieces from an earlier coastal expedition (presumably that of Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón .) De Soto headed north into the Appalachian Mountains of present-day western North Carolina , where he spent
13140-468: The expedition. At the time of death, de Soto owned four Indian slaves, three horses, and 700 hogs. De Soto had deceived the local natives into believing that he was a deity, specifically an "immortal Son of the Sun ," to gain their submission without conflict. Some of the natives had already become skeptical of de Soto's deity claims, so his men were anxious to conceal his death. The actual site of his burial
13286-482: The extortion of native villages for their captured chiefs became de Soto's hallmarks during the conquest of Central America . He gained fame as an excellent horseman, fighter, and tactician. During that time, de Soto was influenced by the achievements of Iberian explorers: Juan Ponce de León , the first European to reach Florida ; Vasco Núñez de Balboa , the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean coast of
13432-443: The fire, few homes were styled as Greek Revival; many residents decided to construct new buildings in that style after the conflagration. This tradition continued, making Charleston one of the foremost places to view Greek Revival architecture. The Gothic Revival also made a significant appearance in the construction of many churches after the fire that exhibited picturesque forms and reminders of devout European religion. By 1840,
13578-775: The government of Guatemala , with "permission to create discovery in the South Sea." He was granted the governorship of Cuba instead. De Soto was expected to colonize the North American continent for Spain within 4 years, for which his family would be given a sizable piece of land. Fascinated by the stories of Cabeza de Vaca , who had survived years in North America after becoming a castaway and had just returned to Spain, de Soto selected 620 Spanish and Portuguese volunteers, including some of mixed-race African descent known as Atlantic Creoles, to accompany him to govern Cuba and colonize North America. Averaging 24 years of age,
13724-445: The indigenous province of Casqui , which de Soto had recorded. They base this on similarities between descriptions from the journals of the de Soto expedition and artifacts of European origin discovered at the site in the 1960s. Theories of de Soto's route are based on the accounts of four chroniclers of the expedition. Milanich and Hudson warn that older translations of the chronicles are often "relatively free translations in which
13870-497: The interior of present-day Peru . Pizarro quickly made de Soto one of his captains. When Pizarro and his men first encountered the army of Inca Atahualpa at Cajamarca , Pizarro sent de Soto with fifteen men to invite Atahualpa to a meeting. When Pizarro's men attacked Atahualpa and his guard the next day (the Battle of Cajamarca ), de Soto led one of the three groups of mounted soldiers. The Spanish captured Atahualpa. De Soto
14016-525: The land as Espíritu Santo after the Holy Spirit . The ships carried priests, craftsmen, engineers, farmers, and merchants; some with their families, some from Cuba, most from Europe and Africa. Few of the men had traveled before outside of Spain, or even away from their home villages. Near de Soto's port, the party found Juan Ortiz , a Spaniard living with the Mocoso people. Ortiz had been captured by
14162-593: The late 1870s, industry was bringing the city and its inhabitants back to a renewed vitality; new jobs attracted new residents. As the city's commerce improved, residents worked to restore or create community institutions. In 1865, the Avery Normal Institute was established by the American Missionary Association as the first free secondary school for Charleston's African American population. Gen. Sherman lent his support to
14308-477: The memory of De Soto as a man of charity and substance. Historians have worked to trace the route of de Soto's expedition in North America, a controversial process over the years. Local politicians vied to have their localities associated with the expedition. The most widely used version of "De Soto's Trail" comes from a study commissioned by the United States Congress . A committee chaired by
14454-463: The men embarked from Havana on seven of the King's ships and two caravels of de Soto's. With tons of heavy armor and equipment, they also carried more than 500 head of livestock, including 237 horses and 200 pigs, for their planned four-year continental expedition. De Soto wrote a new will upon arriving in what is now the Tampa Bay area of Florida. On 10 May 1539, he wrote in his will: That
14600-598: The moratorium expired and Charlestown reopened to the slave trade in 1750, the memory of the Stono Rebellion resulted in traders avoiding buying enslaved people from the Congo and Angola , whose populations had a reputation for independence. By the mid-18th century, Charlestown was the hub of the Atlantic slave trade in the Southern Colonies . Even with the decade-long moratorium, its customs processed around 40% of
14746-507: The natural geography has not changed much since de Soto's time, scholars have analyzed those journals with modern topographic intelligence , to develop a more precise account of the De Soto Trail. In May 1539, de Soto landed nine ships with over 620 men and 220 horses in an area generally identified as south Tampa Bay . Historian Robert S. Weddle has suggested that he landed at either Charlotte Harbor or San Carlos Bay . He named
14892-480: The original Charles Town in 1680. (The original site is now commemorated as Charles Towne Landing .) The second location was more defensible and had access to a fine natural harbor. The new town had become the fifth largest in North America by 1690. A smallpox outbreak erupted in 1698, followed by an earthquake in February 1699. The latter caused a fire that destroyed about a third of the town. During rebuilding,
15038-490: The plan. So, Soto struck first and, in the process, killed thousands of natives. Those that survived were surrounded and cornered by woods and water. Thousands were killed during the 3 hours battle and 900 survivors took refuge in the pond, specifically Two-mile Pond in Melrose, where they continued to fight, while swimming. Most eventually surrendered, but after 30 hours in the water, 7 men remained and had to be dragged out of
15184-589: The plot to his enslaver. Over the next month, the city's intendant (mayor) James Hamilton Jr. organized a militia for regular patrols, initiated a secret and extrajudicial tribunal to investigate, and hanged 35 and exiled 35 or 37 enslaved people to Spanish Cuba for their involvement. Hamilton imposed more restrictions on both free and enslaved Blacks: South Carolina required free Black sailors to be imprisoned while their ships were in Charleston Harbor, although international treaties eventually required
15330-532: The plunder from Cuzco. On the road to Cuzco, Manco Inca Yupanqui , a brother of Atahualpa, had joined Pizarro. Manco had been hiding from Atahualpa in fear of his life, and was happy to gain Pizarro's protection. Pizarro arranged for Manco to be installed as the Inca leader. De Soto joined Manco in a campaign to eliminate the Inca armies under Quizquiz , a general who had been loyal to Atahualpa. By 1534, de Soto
15476-460: The practice. The effects of slavery were pronounced on white society as well. The high cost of enslaving people in the 19th century and their high rate of return combined to institute an oligarchic society controlled by about ninety interrelated families, where 4% of the free population controlled half of the wealth, and the lower half of the free population—unable to compete with enslaved or rented people—held no wealth at all. The white middle class
15622-575: The proceeds of their sale to purchase enslaved Black Africans for their own plantations . The slave raiding—and the European firearms it introduced—helped destabilize Spanish Florida and French Louisiana in the 1700s during the War of the Spanish Succession . But it also provoked the Yamasee War of the 1710s that nearly destroyed the colony. After that, South Carolina largely abandoned
15768-490: The process of the Columbian Exchange . For instance, some of the swine brought by de Soto escaped and became the ancestors of feral razorback pigs in the southeastern United States . De Soto was instrumental in contributing to the development of a hostile relationship between many Native American tribes and Europeans. When his expedition encountered hostile natives in the new lands, more often than not it
15914-656: The region the tribe inhabited, are named for the Saura. Hernando De Soto (explorer) Hernando de Soto ( / d ə ˈ s oʊ t oʊ / ; Spanish: [eɾˈnando ðe ˈsoto] ; c. 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula . He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro 's conquest of
16060-460: The region. The Cheraw were grouped with the "northern" or "Piedmont" peoples. This group had relatively fewer ties to South Carolina and were not counted as accurately as were the Muscogee , Cherokee, Yamasee , and others. Other "northern" Piedmont peoples named in the 1715 census include the Catawba, Waccamaw, Santee Congaree, Wereaw, and others. The Saraw are listed as living in one village with
16206-562: The river, the expedition continued traveling westward through modern-day Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. They wintered in Autiamique , on the Arkansas River . After a harsh winter, the Spanish expedition decamped and moved on more erratically. Their interpreter Juan Ortiz had died, making it more difficult for them to get directions and food sources, and generally to communicate with the Natives. The expedition went as far inland as
16352-401: The river, which in his view was an obstacle to his mission. There has been considerable research into the exact location where de Soto crossed the Mississippi River. A commission appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 determined that Sunflower Landing, Mississippi , was the "most likely" crossing place. De Soto possibly traveled down Charley's Trace , which had been used as a trail through
16498-532: The route was conducted 40 years later and benefited from considerable advances in archaeological methods. De Soto's expedition spent another month in the Coosa chiefdom a vassal to Tuskaloosa , who was the paramount chief , believed to have been connected to the large and complex Mississippian culture , which extended throughout the Mississippi Valley and its tributaries. De Soto turned south toward
16644-431: The route. A chain of communication was established whereby a guide who had lived in close proximity to another tribal area was able to pass his information and language on to a guide from a neighboring area. Because Ortiz refused to dress as a hidalgo Spaniard, other officers questioned his motives. De Soto remained loyal to Ortiz, allowing him the freedom to dress and live among his native friends. Another important guide
16790-540: The rumored army. While de Soto was gone, the Spanish in Cajamarca decided to kill Atahualpa to prevent his rescue. De Soto returned to report that he found no signs of an army in the area. After executing Atahualpa, Pizarro and his men headed to Cuzco , the capital of the Incan Empire. As the Spanish force approached Cuzco, Pizarro sent his brother Hernando and de Soto ahead with 40 men. The advance guard fought
16936-642: The settlers declared war in October 1671. The settlers initially allied with the Westo , a northern indigenous tribe that traded in enslaved Indians. The settlers abandoned their alliance with the Westo in 1679 and allied with the Cusabo instead. The initial settlement quickly dwindled and disappeared while another village—established by the settlers on Oyster Point at the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers around 1672 —thrived. This second settlement formally replaced
17082-612: The ships at Mobile Bay , de Soto led them away from the Gulf Coast. He moved into inland Mississippi , most likely near present-day Tupelo , where they spent the winter. In the spring of 1541, de Soto demanded 200 men as porters from the Chickasaw . They refused his demand and attacked the Spanish camp during the night. On 8 May 1541, de Soto's troops reached the Mississippi River . De Soto had little interest in
17228-482: The sidewalks to whites. Despite the efforts of the state legislature to halt manumissions , Charleston had already had a large class of free people of color as well. At the onset of the war, the city had 3,785 free people of color, many of mixed race, making up about 18% of the city's black population and 8% of its total population. Many were educated and practiced skilled crafts; they quickly became leaders of South Carolina's Republican Party and its legislators. Before
17374-425: The slave communities they already held. The 1740 Negro Act also tightened controls, requiring a ratio of one white for every ten Blacks on any plantation (which was often not achieved) and banning enslaved people from assembling, growing personal food, earning money, or learning to read. Drums were banned because Africans used them for signaling; enslaved people were allowed to use string and other instruments. When
17520-450: The soldiers for days as they drifted through their territory. The Spanish had no effective offensive weapons on the water, as their crossbows had long since ceased working. They relied on armor and sleeping mats to block the arrows. About 11 Spaniards were killed along this stretch and many more wounded. On reaching the mouth of the Mississippi, they stayed close to the Gulf shore heading south and west. After about 50 days, they made it to
17666-563: The survivors volunteered. Of the recorded 700 participants at the start, between 300 and 350 survived (311 is a commonly accepted figure). Most of the men stayed in the New World, settling in Mexico, Peru, Cuba, and other Spanish colonies. The Spanish believed that de Soto's excursion to Florida was a failure. They acquired neither gold nor prosperity and founded no colonies. But the expedition had several major consequences. It contributed to
17812-730: The swamps of the Mississippi Delta , to reach the Mississippi River. De Soto and his men spent a month building flatboats, and crossed the river at night to avoid the Native Americans who were patrolling the river. De Soto had hostile relations with the native people in this area. In the late 20th century, research suggests other locations may have been the site of de Soto's crossing, including three locations in Mississippi: Commerce , Friars Point , and Walls , as well as Memphis, Tennessee . Once across
17958-529: The ten largest cities in the United States through the 1840 census . Charleston's significance in American history is tied to its role as a major slave trading port. Charleston slave traders like Joseph Wragg were the first to break through the monopoly of the Royal African Company and pioneered the large-scale slave trade of the 18th century; almost one-half of enslaved people imported to
18104-633: The town to the ground. During the nine-hour encounter, about 200 Spaniards died, and 150 more were badly wounded, according to the chronicler Elvas. Twenty more died during the next few weeks. They killed an estimated 2,000–6,000 Native Americans at Mabila, making the battle one of the bloodiest in recorded North American history. The Spaniards won a Pyrrhic victory , as they had lost most of their possessions and nearly one-quarter of their horses. The Spaniards were wounded and sickened, surrounded by enemies and without equipment in an unknown territory. Fearing that word of this would reach Spain if his men reached
18250-581: The translators took considerable liberty with the Spanish and Portuguese text." The chronicles describe de Soto's trail in relation to Havana , from which they sailed; the Gulf of Mexico , which they skirted while traveling inland then turned back to later; the Atlantic Ocean , which they approached during their second year; high mountains, which they traversed immediately thereafter; and dozens of other geographic features along their way, such as large rivers and swamps, at recorded intervals. Given that
18396-497: The war, men who had been free people of color comprised 26% of those elected to state and federal office in South Carolina from 1868 to 1876. The Pacific Guano Company , established in 1861, opened a plant in Charleston which consumed immense quantities of menhaden scrap brought from the water by the vessels which carried on their return trip a supply of South Carolina phosphates for the Woods Hole, Massachusetts factory. By
18542-599: The war. Gallay described the approximate location of the Saura homeland as "about 60 miles upriver from the Peedees", whose home is described as "on the Peedee River about 80 miles west of the coast". This puts the Saura in the general vicinity of the upper Dan and Yadkin rivers. In 1715, Cheraw warriors joined other Southeastern tribes in the Yamasee War to fight against European enslavement of Indians , mistreatment, and encroachment on their territory. On July 18, 1715,
18688-530: The water by the Spanish. De Soto's first winter encampment was at Anhaica , the capital of the Apalachee people. It is one of the few places on the route where archaeologists have found physical traces of the expedition. The chroniclers described this settlement as being near the "Bay of Horses" . The bay was named for events of the 1527 Narváez expedition , the members of which, dying of starvation, killed and ate their horses while building boats for escape by
18834-403: The way. Hernando de Soto's army seized the food stored in the villages, captured women to be used as slaves for the soldiers' sexual gratification, and forced men and boys to serve as guides and bearers. The army fought two battles with Timucua groups, resulting in heavy Timucua casualties. After defeating the resisting Timucuan warriors, Hernando de Soto had 200 executed, in what was to be called
18980-455: Was a major health problem throughout most of the city's history before dying out in the 1950s after the use of pesticides cut down on the mosquitoes that transmitted it. Charles Town was fortified according to a plan developed in 1704 under Governor Nathaniel Johnson . Both Spain and France contested Britain's claims to the region. Various bands of Native Americans and independent pirates also raided it. On September 5–6, 1713 (O.S.),
19126-498: Was born around the late 1490s or early 1500s in Extremadura , Spain, to parents who were both hidalgos , nobility of modest means. The region was poor and many people struggled to survive; young people looked for ways to seek their fortune elsewhere. He was born in the current province of Badajoz. Three towns— Badajoz , Barcarrota and Jerez de los Caballeros —each claim to be his birthplace. Historian Ursula Lamb writes that
19272-405: Was constructed in 1736; today's Dock Street Theater later replaced it. St Michael's was erected in 1753. Benevolent societies were formed by the Huguenots , free people of color, Germans, and Jews. The Library Society was established in 1748 by well-born young men who wanted to share the financial cost of keeping up with the scientific and philosophical issues of the day. Delegates for
19418-633: Was discovered by archaeologist B. Calvin Jones in March 1987. It has been preserved as the DeSoto Site Historic State Park . The Hutto/Martin Site, 8MR3447, in southeastern Marion County, Florida , on the Ocklawaha River , is the most likely site of the principal town of Acuera referred to in the accounts of the entrada , as well as the site of the seventeenth-century mission of Santa Lucia de Acuera. As of 2016,
19564-439: Was dry. The native populations were made up mostly of subsistence hunter-gatherers. The soldiers found no villages to raid for food, and the army was still too large to live off the land. They were forced to backtrack to the more developed agricultural regions along the Mississippi, where they began building seven bergantines , or pinnaces . They melted down all the iron, including horse tackle and slave shackles, to make nails for
19710-523: Was founded in 1670 as Charles Town, honoring King Charles II , at Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River (now Charles Towne Landing ) but relocated in 1680 to its present site, which became the fifth-largest city in North America within ten years. It remained unincorporated throughout the colonial period; its government was handled directly by a colonial legislature and
19856-538: Was his men who instigated the clashes. Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina , the county seat of Charleston County , and the principal city in the Charleston metropolitan area . The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor , an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by
20002-400: Was minimal: Charlestonians generally looked down upon hard work, considering it as labor meant for enslaved people. All the enslavers taken together held 82% of the city's wealth and almost all non-enslavers were poor. Olmsted considered their civic elections "entirely contests of money and personal influence" and the oligarchs dominated civic planning: The lack of public parks and amenities
20148-672: Was named by a contingent of passported Cheraw to Bogue Chitto Neshoba District of Choctaw land in 1810 from Dimery Settlement. Chief of Churrah, Thomas Parker, was the recipient of the re-reserve land at Honey Island Swamp on the Little PeDee and he willed that land to his nephew, John Parker. Located in Walnut Cove, North Carolina, South Stokes High School's team mascot name honors the Native American Indian Saura tribe. The Sauratown Mountains , located in
20294-408: Was never ratified, however, Charles Town was never incorporated during the colonial period. Instead, local ordinances were passed by the provincial government, with day-to-day administration handled by the wardens and vestries of St Philip's and St Michael's Anglican parishes . At the time of European colonization , the area was inhabited by the indigenous Cusabo , on whom
20440-613: Was noted, as was the abundance of private gardens in the wealthy's walled estates. In the 1810s, the town's churches intensified their discrimination against their Black parishioners, culminating in Bethel Methodist 's 1817 construction of a hearse house over its Black burial ground. 4,376 Black Methodists joined Morris Brown in establishing Hampstead Church , the African Methodist Episcopal church now known as Mother Emanuel . State and city laws prohibited Black literacy, limited Black worship to daylight hours, and required
20586-552: Was of northern Indians who lived even farther away and whose allegiance was still weaker. Among this group were the Saraw, Saxapahaw, Pedee , Cape Fear , Hoopengs, and others. This 4th company was noted for high levels of desertion. Historian Alan Gallay has speculated that the Saura and Saxapahaw people deserted Barnwell's army because their villages were likely to be attacked by the Tuscarora in vengeance for assisting colonizers in
20732-568: Was sent to the camp of the Inca army, where he and his men plundered Atahualpa's tents. During 1533, the Spanish held Atahualpa captive in Cajamarca for months while his subjects paid for his ransom by filling a room with gold and silver objects. During this captivity, de Soto became friendly with Atahualpa and taught him to play chess . By the time the ransom had been completed, the Spanish became alarmed by rumors of an Inca army advancing on Cajamarca. Pizarro sent de Soto with 200 soldiers to scout for
20878-585: Was serving as lieutenant governor of Cuzco while Pizarro was building his new capital on the coast; it later became known as Lima . In 1535 King Charles awarded Diego de Almagro , Francisco Pizarro's partner, the governorship of the southern portion of the Inca Empire. When de Almagro made plans to explore and conquer the southern part of the Inca empire (now Chile ), de Soto applied to be his second-in-command, but de Almagro turned him down. De Soto packed up his treasure and returned to Spain. De Soto returned to Spain in 1536, with wealth gathered from plunder in
21024-614: Was the domestic slave trade, which boomed as the Deep South developed into new cotton plantations. As a result of the trade, there was a forced migration of more than one million enslaved people from the Upper South to the Lower South in the antebellum years. During the early 19th century, the first dedicated slave markets were founded in Charleston, mostly near Chalmers and State streets. Many domestic slavers used Charleston as
21170-455: Was the seventeen-year-old boy Perico , or Pedro, from what is now Georgia . He spoke several of the local tribes' languages and could communicate with Ortiz. Perico was taken as a guide in 1540. The Spanish had also captured other Indians, whom they used as slave labor. Perico was treated better due to his value to the Spaniards. The expedition traveled north, exploring Florida's West Coast, and encountering native ambushes and conflicts along
21316-600: Was then called Charles Town at Albemarle Point, on the west bank of the Ashley River, a few miles northwest of the present-day city center. Charles Town became the first comprehensively planned town in the Thirteen Colonies . Its governance, settlement, and development were to follow a visionary plan known as the Grand Model prepared for the Lord's Proprietors by John Locke . Because the Carolina's Fundamental Constitutions
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