| South Carolina's hot humid climate was very different from that of England and Virginia. The colony earned a reputation of being an unhealthy place to be at certain times of the year, especially during the heat of the hot southern summers. Not only did the people suffer from the familiar, and deadly, illness of small pox, they also suffered from "fevers and agues" more commonly known today as malaria. The presence of the malaria-carrying mosquitos was made worse by the colonists' habit of building their homes close to swamps and stagnant water ways. It was not uncommon for families to lose young children, mothers, and fathers during the height of fever season.
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