The development of Charleston
British settlers arrived in Charleston in 1670 followed shortly after by the first black slaves from Bermuda and the West Indies. Barbadians such as the Allston, Gibbes, Moore, and Middleton families were partly responsible for giving Charleston a reputation for boisterous leisure time, excess of food and drink, and ostentatious furnishing, sport-hunting, and the heavy meal at midday.
Charleston was planned with an eye to avoiding the "irregularities" of European cities. Streets were to be wide on a regular grid and buildings were regulated by the Proprietors, to insure that hovels would not stand side-by-side with fine structures. By 1680 there were around 1000 residents, just fewer than 100 wooden structures and Charles Town had become Charleston.
The first church was built in 1683 but Roman Catholics were not included in Charleston's religious tolerance in this period because of the continued threat of Spanish invasion.
Until the 1690s, money was to be made mostly in the business of pirating or "freebooting." Around 1700, rice began to make early Charleston very rich.
By 1740 Charleston was wooing the immigration of Europeans to offset the considerable African-American majority. A preference for hiring slaves instead of white labourers led to several laws to protect the prospects of these new immigrants. But the white poor remained poor and benevolent organizations came into being to assist them.
In 1739, during a Yellow Fever, Smallpox, and Whooping Cough epidemic, the Stono Rebellion was staged by a group of slaves. A new slave Act was passed, limiting free movement about the city, prohibiting the sale of alcohol and the teaching of reading and writing, and limiting the granting of freedom to a power of the Assembly.
In a rush to beat the impending import duties, slaves were imported at an increased rate in the 1760s. The relationship between the merchant class and the planter class, based on their mutual interaction with slaves and the products they made, were cemented with "alliance marriages" between members of each class. Incomes for this group were in the £3000 range, while the income for a physician was something like £400.
Social organization of white Charlestonians was reinstated after the Civil War based on class (money) and family. Charleston's prominent white elite included the families of, DeSaussure, Grimball, Heyward, Huger, Laurens, Manigault, Pringle, Ravenal, Rutledge, and Vanderhorst and their presence then is evident in the City today.
We have visited Charleston many times over the years and sampled some of its history with visits including Patriot's Point Naval War Museum, Fort Sumter and the Ashley River plantations. There really is something for everyone.
See our overview of some of the many historic attractions or visit our things to do page for a more complete list.
