Settling South Carolina's
Backcountry
| Colonization of the backcountry of South Carolina was slow to develop. The first European immigrants largely confined themselves to the coast. Europeans who did venture into the backcountry concentrated their energies more on trade with the Native Americans than on building homes. This began to change when the colonial government under Governor Robert Johnson began plans to establish towns in the backcountry. To encourage people to settle in the towns and surrounding areas, the government offered settlers land through a head right system. Through this system a man could claim 50 acres of land for every member of his family and they did not have to pay rent for ten years. For settlers in colonies where the best land was already taken, South Carolina's offer of land was an opportunity to start over. What would you do? |