LORDS PROPRIETORS

Story by Jani

e Cole Ho kin

John Berkeley, Baron Berkeley of Stratton

52

Many of the place names in North Carolina stem from the early days of settlement. Do you know how the first settlement took place in North Carolina after it was initially explored and the first attempts at colonization failed? To fully understand what took place, let’s consider some background material.

When the New World was first colonialized by the British, the most common way of obtaining land was through a trading company, such as the East India Company.

That changed in 1632, however, when King Charles I gave George Calvert proprietary rights to a large area of land east of the Potomac River in exchange for a portion of the incomes gained from it. This became the colony of Maryland, and similar grants would follow.

These Lords Proprietors were to govern the land and had immense power. The land grant or license normally spelled out their exact responsibilities and powers.

In 1629, King Charles I had given Sir Robert Heath the southern half of the English property in the New World between 36 degrees and 31 degrees north latitude from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and it was named Carolina, meaning “land of Charles.”

Did you know Carolina once included part of California and everything in between? Yes, it stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

But Sir Heath didn’t succeed in settling the land, and he fell out of favor during the English Civil War when he was deemed a Royalist supporter. He was therefore stripped of all his holdings, and in 1663, eight English noblemen were granted a charter from King Charles II to establish the colony of Carolina. The eight Lord Proprietors were: George Monck, the Duke of Albemarle; Baron Berkeley of Stratton; the Earl of Clarendon; Edward Hyde, the Earl of Craven; Anthony Ashley Cooper, the Earl of Shaftesbury; Sir William Berkeley; Sir John Colleton, and Sir George Carteret.

Albemarle County became the first government in Carolina in 1664 when William Sayle was appointed governor. The Lords Proprietors saw that their authority was weaker near the Virginia border, so they divided Carolina into North and South. This was completed in 1712.

Besides attracting colonists, they were to protect Carolina against the Spanish in Florida. In order to be successful this time, the king and proprietors developed incentives.

The Lords Proprietors were the eight Englishmen to whom King Charles II granted, by the Carolina charters of 1663 and 1665, the joint ownership of a tract of land in the New World called “Carolina.”

53

54

Any religious affiliation was tolerated, except for atheists. Each family member was granted 150 acres, and a male servant who worked out his indenture also received one hundred acres from the Lords Proprietors. To attract more investments, property owners also received 150 acres for each slave he brought into the colony.

By 1700, Carolina had 6,600 colonists compared to only 1,500 in Florida. Mainly the British, French Huguenots and a few planters from the Caribbean came in the first waves of settlers. However, the proprietors failed to protect Carolina during Queen Anne’s War against pirates who raided the coast and against Indian attacks.

Colonists petitioned the king to replace the proprietorship with direct royal administration in 1719. Therefore, King George appointed royal governors for both North and South Carolina. England supposedly would be in charge but would allow the people to basically govern themselves. In 1729, the king bought out the New World holdings of seven of the Lords Proprietors. John Carteret, Lord Granville, refused to sell and kept his property rights in a northern third of North Carolina.

At the time the royal coffers bought the Lords Proprietors’ interests, some other gentlemen had inherited or come into possession of the property. In 1729, Albemarle was being held in trust for Henry Somerset, the third Duke of Beaufort and his brother, Lord Charles Somerset. Clarendon’s had gone to James Bertie. Joseph Blake had taken possession of John Berkeley’s. William Craven had inherited his grandfather’s portion. William Berkeley’s had gone to Henry Bertie and two widows. Colleton’s had gone to his grandson. And Shaftesbury’s was being held in trust for John Cotton.

Carteret’s interests continued until the colonists won the Revolutionary War. At that time, the Crown paid him the compensation for losing his holdings.

One need only to look at a map of North Carolina to see how these Lord Proprietors and their heirs influenced names in the state. Albemarle is the name of a large sound, the county seat of Stanly County, and a former county. The county of Albemarle was done away with in 1739, and other counties emerged from it.

Bertie, Carteret, and Hyde are counties, and Clarendon is a town in Columbus County. Shaftesbury County became Chowan County, and Berkeley County became Perquimans.

A survey of the state will also reveal these eight names among communities within cities, street and road names, precincts, developments and more. Whether the Lords Proprietors were a good or poor beginning might be up for debate, but there is no denying that they’ve left a lasting legacy.

Janice Cole Hopkins is a professional writer with numerous published books, and is a regular contributor to Eastern North Carolina Living.

56