History of Charleston, South Carolina

The history of Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the longest and most diverse of any community in the United States, spanning hundreds of years of physical settlement beginning in 1670 through modern times. Charleston was the leading city in the South from the colonial era down to the Civil War. It grew wealthy through the export of rice and, later, sea island cotton, and it was the base for many wealthy merchants and landowners.

The devastation of the Civil War, and the ruin of the Charleston's hinterland, lost the city its regional dominance. However it remained the center of the South Carolina economy, while in politics the upstate politicians routinely attacked its aristocratic and undemocratic tone. Starting in World War II, Charleston became a major naval base. In recent decades, tourism and service industries have led the economy to a new level of prosperity.

Restored to the throne following Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate, King Charles II granted the chartered Carolina territory to eight of his loyal friends, known as the Lords Proprietors, in 1663. It took seven years before the Lords could arrange for settlement, the first being that of "Charles Town," the original name for the city. The community was established in 1670 by English colonists from Bermuda, under the first Governor of South Carolina, William Sayle, on the west bank of the Ashley River a few miles northwest of the present city. It was soon designated by Anthony Ashley Cooper, leader of the Lords Proprietor, to become a "great port towne", destiny which the city fulfilled. By 1681, the settlement had grown, joined by settlers from England, Barbados, and Virginia; and it was moved to the current peninsular location. As the capital of the Carolina colony, Charles Town was a base for colonial expansion and was the southernmost point of English settlement during the late 17th century.

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