Welcome to the history of the Americans podcast episode a hundred and 57. I'm your host, Jack Hen, and I'm recording this episode on 07/17/2024 in Austin, Texas. We are telling the history of the lands now encompassed by the United States from the beginning without intentional present. We believe there's dignity in our national story, along with tragedy, triumph, brilliance hypocrisy, magnificent to p, corruption, v, inspiration, oppression, genius, defeat and glory.
The history of North Carolina originally part of a territory called Carolina, CAR0LANA. Get short drift in most surveys of American history. After a fast start, both the Spanish and the English had short lived settlements there and the 6 century before anywhere to the north of the future Tar heel state had been settled by Europeans. A long period of failure followed until the late 16 fifties. When it became a favored destination for a hat Ego Le Rural society of free thinkers.
Democratic inclined veterans of the new model army. And Quaker. Before English no would arrive on the scene in force. In this overview, episode we'll bring together those long decades of failure, which are often the fun and interesting parts. Long standing and attentive of listeners will be familiar with a good deal of this, having heard it in bits and pieces since very nearly the beginning of this podcast. But since I benefited from reviewing it, I thought you might too.
My main source for this episode is a history of North Carolina in the proprietary era. 16 29 to 17 29. By Lin S Butler, published only in 20 21. North Carolina listeners will enjoy it, I think, and there is the usual link to Amazon and the show notes on the website. Butler is North Carol. So in arguing the case for studying the early years of the region. He sounds as if his feelings are a bit hurt that it is received so little attention, quote.
In the national story, North Carolina, an exception that simply doesn't fit has been largely disregard. A reader looks in vain in American history surveys to find more than a paragraph or 2 about early North Carolina. Nevertheless, the settlements early years, in fact may shed more light on what the country became. In the nascent colony, there was an alternative, branded in a self governing po and religious freedom.
It was more like the future United States than we're New England's P in, the Chesapeake auto plant. Both of which suppressed religious and political freedom. More than any other early colonists, Early North Carol, were in a remote and peripheral settlement soon cut loose by their riot and left to themselves.
There's no better illustration among the American colonies of a free society maturing through the creative tension of practical social economic and political experiences, fostered by their anglo, celtic, culture heritage and centuries of participatory English governance and judicial practice. The British and other European immigrants cope with a challenging frontier setting. Before they and their sister colonies realized it over time they became something new. Americans.
Back to me. Over this and at least the next episode 1 never knows where my muse might lead We will see how well that assessment holds up. The earliest European incur into the land that would become North Carolina are familiar to those of you have listened from the beginning. The first was the expedition of Gi giovanni Da in 15 24. Arizona sailed for France the first of France on and reached Cape fear and near today's wilmington North Carolina. On 03/01/1524.
We covered Journey with characteristic attention to detail in our episode. Gi giovanni, Dev and the exploration of the Atlantic Coast, long standing listeners with memory yet green, may recall that he recorded several encounters with Indians along the outer banks from friendly to not so much. And in the last, the crew kidnapped a young Indian boy whose ultimate fate is lost to history. So went the first known encounter between Europeans and the indigenous people of North Carolina.
The year before Arizona voyage. Lucas Vas to Ae, a judge on Cuba and a political ally of Cortez had secured a patent from the king of Spain to explore and settle the lands of the East Coast of la Florida to the Chesapeake. He dispatched a couple of slave traders. Francisco, Go, and Pedro a kay to explore his territory. Chaos sailed the coast at least from Cape Fear to Cape Hat.
His report of dangerous waters, treacherous s and Marsh land turned ae young attention to South Carolina as long standing and attentive listeners recall, that did not go well. Fernando Des came next. His en ent of 600 spaniards accumulated Indians, 200 horses and hundreds of pigs having moved north by Northeast from Tallahassee, crossed into western North Carolina and May 15 40. Now to Butler summary, which you can, of course, confirm by listening to our series on, quote.
The Spanish entered North Carolina Western Piedmont in late May 15 48 days journey brought them to swell. A sizable town in the foot hills of the blue ridge that archaeologists consider the regional center of the Mississippi. Surrounding the central village of Swell we're a council house, an earth in temple mound, and nearby Mo. The whole town was protected by a log pal.
Although settle in an earlier period, the reconstruct town Creek Indian mount at North Carolina historic site in the Pe River Basin conveys a sense of the sixteenth century towns.
Back to me, finding no gold or other valuables to loot, so would leave North Carolina, uneven, and then rom through the rest of the Sec conference before dying on the West bank of the Mississippi in the fall of 15 41. 20 years later, in 15 61, the new governor of the Spanish territory la, Florida, held Da villa explored the coast of North Carolina again. He landed at the peninsula at the end of the Cape Fear River and crossed over to today's Wilmington.
Bill eventually made it as far north as hat where he recorded dangerous sc far out from shore. Per butler. Report to the king described the coast below 35 degrees north. That's roughly at. As poor, uninhabited, not suitable for a colony and not likely to be en crushed upon. This last prediction of Villa was quickly revealed as a fail.
In 15 62, French Eu under Jean Re repo set up Charles Fort on Paris Island near Hilton Head in South Carolina, and 2 years later would bring hundreds of settlers to Jacksonville. Neither, of course, were in North Carolina, but they were soon relevant. After Charles Fort failed in Pedro, Da the founder of Saint Augustine, wiped out for Caroline and slaughtered 471 French people. The Spanish built a ford. He called San Felipe on the ruins of Charles fort it.
You named the area, Para Island and its byron, Santa Elena. The next expedition in the North Carolina came in 15 66, led by Captain 1 part which we described in July 20 21, in the episode, the Spanish on the Atlantic Coast and the strange astoria, Don Luis. Let's go to Butler account, which does a better job of describing Part invasion from the perspective of North Carolina. Quote.
Man melinda established friendly relations with the local indians and constructed Fort Sand Felipe on the ruins of Charles Fort it. Reduced by mutiny and desert diversion. The Santa Elena colony was in jeopardy until Captain Juan part stabilized it. Man melinda vision was to settle the interior, require the allegiance of the North American population. And discover an overland route from Santa Elena to the Silver mines in Z, Mexico. Which was much farther away than the Spanish realized.
Given these orders, Part sit forth with a hundred and 25 men in 12/01/1566, marching north a largely unknown country. It was heavily populated with intact indigenous cultures. In recent memory, the inhabitants it had violent encounters with duh so incur and were no longer odd by these grasping and violent strangers, except for trade possibilities, the Indians had no reason to tolerate the intruders. And knew they could be easily entice away by fan tales of riches lying deeper in the heartland.
Part intercepted the route, Des so had taken a quarter of a century earlier and followed his trail up the watery River into the Blue Ridge Mountain. In January 15 67, the spaniards reached the town of w to set us swell. Facing snow covered mountains to the west. For secure winter quarters, they constructed Fort san juan north of the town central mound. Equip it with adequate powder, shot, match cord, cross bows and tools.
Ongoing Archaeological excavation at the site of War have uncovered burned remains of 5 buildings. Log pal aid and sixteenth century Spanish metal and ceramic artifacts. Over the next month, part of visited other native towns and built the imposing Fort Santiago at Gu and the Y river where he left a few soldiers and a priest to defend a mission. Recalled the Santa Elena to repel an anticipated french attack, part left a garrison of 30 men under sergeant Fernando Mo.
Intended to be a permanent outpost of La Florida and supported by other fortified garrison, Fort San juan, thus has the first European settlers in North America. Pre dating by 18 years, the celebrated Roanoke oak Island settlement of Captain Ralph Lane. 4 and juan would be occupied for 18 months, Lanes, English colony lasted less than a year before being abandoned. Sergeant Mu cannot be fault for initiative, but as actions led directly to the failure of the spanish outposts.
My imp involved his garrison and in tribal conflicts, supporting the war chief against his enemies and spear raids in into Southwestern Virginia and Tennessee. Finally, he moved to garrison west to Chia. And constructed a fort where he awaited reinforcements from his captain. When Part returned to Fort San Juan in September 15 67. He was alarmed to find that the horns were em by the Arrogant Spanish demands and seizures of women and supplies. After play locating the indians, I wonder how
you do that. He increased the garrison in at san juan. Marched into the mountains to rescue Mo men narrowly escaped a trap and retreated to warren. There part ordered back to Santa Elena left My. Again, well supplied with arms and provisions. Through their greed unless, however Spanish had ensured their own doom. In the spring of 15 68, the natives throughout the region finally rose up massacred most of them and burn their forwards.
The European presence in North Carolina back country was violently erased forgotten and held at bay for over a century. An unintended consequence of the Spanish expeditions. Was the dozens of Spanish and African desert and captive were scattered across the southeast. Lost to their country into history. But living with the Indians. First enslaved and then gradually by marriage or adoption incorporated into the tribes and nations.
Those sons of Ib, North Africa are likely ancestors over the mixed race people called. Down throughout the Southeast, especially in the Mountains and back country. Back to me, the Are themselves an interesting story, nearly as I can tell. I hope to do an episode on them in the future with all the usual caveats, muse, intervention, that kind of thing. The first attempt to put a permanent settlement on the coast of North Carolina would come 60 years after Arizona visit.
A period of time that seems ridiculously long until 1 remembers that the last time a person walked on the moon was in December 19 72. And the next time will be if all goes well in September 20 26. Almost 54 years later. Exploration not only takes money. It carries tremendous risks. Sailing to the new world in the 15 hundreds was on the numbers, far more likely to end in tears, then going to the moon even in the 19 seventies. We covered the Roanoke out colonies extensively on this podcast.
Check out the 5 episodes we did in September and October 20 21. Which you can find most easily by going to the website and searching for Roanoke. So we will indulge in only the bare summary here. In the 15 eighties, Walter Raleigh, not then a knight. Had risen a prominence in Elizabeth the first court. He was learning, handsome capable, ambitious. And sheet may or may not have had a thing for him. Elizabeth kept people guessing about that sort of thing.
Raleigh had set up an incubator for exploration at his huge mansion durham house and gathered the Elizabeth and Brain trust study navigation and colonization. Men whose names are very familiar at a long standing and attentive of listeners. Thomas Harriet. A Portuguese navigator named Simon Fernandez, Thomas Cave and so Richard G. Raleigh secured a 6 year patent to settle Virginia in 15 and 84 and said about putting together an expedition. He selected 2 leaders.
Philip Modest and Arthur Barlow, both a youthful 34 years old. They left Plymouth with Thomas Har and the pilot for Fernandez in 2 small bark on 04/27/1584. And arrived at the outer bags on July fourth. There they spent several weeks exploring the area and enjoyed good relations with the local indians. They returned to England in September with 2 Indians, Monte and wine chiefs. They seem to have come along at the direction of the local chiefs.
These 2 young men along with Thomas Harriet right up of his scientific and cultural observations, made such a splash that Elizabeth knight Raleigh. And endorsed a bigger expedition. In 15 85, Ralph Lane led a second expedition of 7 ships. With Elizabeth supplying the flagship Tiger, and hundreds of settlers. G, a modest, barlow, cave Tar and the artist, John White came along in various capacities with Ama modest, now the admiral of Virginia.
They brought back Monte and wan cheese and arrived on 06/26/1585. Planes expedition would struggle, the Tiger ran a underground just as they arrived, and while the people survived, many of the supplies were lost. They negotiated with the local indians to settle on Roanoke oak Island just inside the At banks at the junction of Alba mar and Pamela sounds. Relations with some of the local tribes soured, however, when Ama modest retaliate with great violence for the theft of a silver cup.
G and most of the rest of the fleet, sailed home at the end of August, leaving lane, Harriet White and the Colonists. G short on food to make it through the winner surrounded by increasingly hostile indians. In the spring of 15 86, Lane explored the area had more than 1 bloody encounter with the locals. By May, the settlers were running short on food that lane dis disperse them in groups to improve their chances of survival by hunting and for.
So On June 8, Sir Francis drake and his fleet arrived off the outer banks, hot off of sack Saint Augustine. Intending to res resupply the settlement. At first, the resupply settlers were willing to stay, but then an early hurricane damage both traits fleet and the settlement. Since a hurricane will harsh just about anybody's mellow. Lien settlers decided to accept drake offered to take them back to England. Shortly after Drake fleet departed, G arrived with more settlers and supplies.
He was stunned to find the colony abandoned. So he left 15 men to hold the fort as it were and returned to England hot on Drake wake. Notwithstanding the disappointment of the lane expedition, Raleigh and wrote a third smaller voyage in 15 87 led by John White and the pilot. Fernandez. Having learned that Roanoke oak Island wasn't a great place to plan a colony And having spoiled relations with the locals.
The goal was to pick up the men left by G and proceed to the Chesapeake which a ama modest and lane had determined was a better place for settlement. On 07/26/1587, the 3 shit, in this final expedition, with a hundred and 17 colonists, including 17 women and 2 children. Arrived at Rowan out to look for Lanes men or not evidence. Simon Fernandez is probably eager to get on with private hearing refused to take them to the Chesapeake and abandon the settlers at Roanoke oak Island.
After a couple of difficult months, which included the birth of white granddaughter, Virginia dare. The settlers prevailed on white to go back to England to get help. As he did with great reluctance, only to find himself stranded there by Elizabeth who ordered that all English ships stay at home to prepare the island's defense against the Spanish Arm armada. When white was finally able to return in 15 90. The the settlers had disappeared leaving behind the faint clue as to their destination.
It is believed that at least some of them survive for some years, integrating with local tribes, but nobody knows for sure where they lived or for how long they survived. So began the legend of the lost colony of Roanoke. There you have it 5 episodes, the podcast, summarized in around 700 words. After the debacle at Roanoke, no European is known to have visited North Carolina until 16 o 8. The lost colonists had remained very much in the mind of the advocates for exploration in London.
And when the Virginia company dispatched the expedition of the Chesapeake in 16 071 of its objectives was to search for some evidence of them. Company In 16 o 8, John Smith ordered search parties to explore the And Roanoke Rivers in North Carolina. But they returned without having picked up so much as a rumor of surviving English in the region. Smith concluded they were all dead. Jamestown famously struggled through famine and war in its first 15 years,
around 80 percent of the settle... Who came there and those years would not survive. But by early 16 22, John Ro had perfect the cultivation of tobacco from seeds smuggled from the Caribbean. And it looked briefly as though, prosperity was at hand. That would all, of course change on 03/22/1622. When Can ka men would kill hundreds of English in a regional ambush.
Just before that attack, John Por, the secretary of state for the colony traveled some 60 miles south of the James in the North Carolina and explored the C river, Not a butler, quote. Po observations were widely circulated in England and a sermon and pamphlet in John's smith's general history of 16 24, and in a promotional track in 16 49.
But Por reported extensive stands of pine trees that could provide England the strategic naval stores of ships masks, tar, that'll come up again in North Carolina history. Pitch. On the river, he was impressed by large... Fields of may that produced 2 harvest a year. Por was welcome, probably at the principal town of the, which the largest in the region, where the great king entertained him, expressed interest in a with the English, and regal him with tales of copper farther west.
Soon after Por returned to Virginia, the Peloton salt and war q any immediate interest in settling deeper in Indian country. Back to me. With a devastation and expense of the second anglo Pow war. James the first revoked to the Virginia company's charter in 16 24, and turned the region into a crown colony. James died in 16 25, and his son, Charles the first was more hawk towards Spain with him his father had maintained an uneasy peace. Charles considered North America a front in his war.
And handed up proprietary grants in the region to build up the English presence and secure forward bases for private years In 16 31, he rather famously granted George Cal, the Lord Baltimore, the proprietary colony of Maryland. You guys know more than most people about that. Even before that, an October 30 at 16 29, Charles granted a proprietary colony for the land south of Virginia to sir Robert Heath.
The Heath proprietary, named Car in honor of Charles, covered the territory between 31 and 36 degrees. Which extends from just north of Florida and today's Georgia to the southern Bank of Alba sound, It included Roanoke Island, but did not include the territory in the north investigated by Por or John Smith's 2 expeditions. On paper, the territory was vast and so insofar as it extended in the west all the way to the Pacific ocean. And he's powers over it were equally vast.
The proprietary included the famous bishop of durham clause. Which is familiar to those of you listen to our episodes and the founding of Maryland. Maryland Charter also had a bishop of durham clause. Get 1 of those if you're able. Heath was a mover and shaker on both sides of the Atlantic. He was attorney general for England and Wales under Charles the first from 16 25 to 16 31, and he'd been an investor in the Virginia company.
Sat on the council of a company, an un landed Virginia from which he collected rents. A staunch royal Had supported the conversion of the Virginia company to a crown colony in 16 24. He was active in the tobacco trade and supported a scheme never adopted to turn tobacco into a royal monopoly. In the end, is fragrant royal would hurt
him. He fled to England in 16 45, and parliament stripped him of all his possessions, including anything remaining of his property in Carolina, as if he were a dead man. Heath must have been much less effective than the Cal of Maryland and pretending loyalty to both sides sense that they obviously avoided losing their property during the same period. The Heath proprietary, which was executed 2 years earlier than the Maryland charter
was obviously its precursor. In addition to the bishop of durham clause, Heath was empowered to confer favors, races and honors upon deserving citizens. With a caveat that any titles of nobility so bestowed had to be different from those in use in England. It would simply not do for colonial to wander around claiming they were dukes and earl and stuff. You get.
There must have been some notion that Charles might 1 day visit Carolina and that heath was directed to have ready in his province for the use of the king a 20 ounce circle of gold formed in the fashion of a crown with this inscription engraved upon it. Da Corn Opus Sum, pardon my Latin, or God will crown his work. In the vernacular, at least according to the Google's. The bull value alone of that circle of gold would be almost 50000 dollars at today's prices.
Sadly, there's no evidence it ever actually existed. He's proprietary of Carolina would go nowhere. He brought in partners, including a p who'd been in on the founding of the Massachusetts Bay company named Samuel Vas, and they negotiated with French Eu to move a couple of hundred and then potentially thousands of them to Carolina.
Sadly for Heath, He couldn't raise the money to support the voyage and the privy council didn't help matters by ordering that all his colonists adhere to the church of England. For the summer of 16 32, the only 1 of he's partners who had any real interest in Carolina was vas. Who cut a deal to bring 60 settlers and 2 voyages. To prepare he sent Henry Ta to map the coast of Virginia and Carolina down to
Saint. Elena. Based on Ta findings, vas requested rights to settle in the southern end of the proprietary. Comprising the coast of today's Georgia South Carolina to 33 degrees, which is a bit north of Charleston. That would have taken Vas out of the North Carolina story except that fate Intervened. He sent around 70 colonists in the fall of 16 33. But when they stopped in Virginia to pick up supplies, most of the settlers defected and took land in Virginia instead.
There is however, a faint clue, but some of vas settlers may have pushed on by land in North Carolina at least briefly. And 16 36, a party from Virginia went, quote, advent venturing in the Country for tar and resin. At a butler, quote, there they met a group from Bermuda, also seeking naval stores who were discouraged by the, quote, over plus of men already there.
Although Carolina pine forests were well known from John Po report, This curious reference to over crowding in the is puzzling as explores a decade later and encountered no 1 of European descent.
Back to me, This is an interesting example of something that I've mentioned before that there was a huge amount of European exploration, trade and other encounters in early North America that we just don't know about because the people who experience them did not think they were important enough to write about or they could not write where a record they wrote was lost.
We tend to read about expeditions like this little trip to Carolina that ran into Bermuda and give them great significance because, wow, we have a document that describes it. But that doesn't mean that others such adventures weren't as important or more so. We just don't see them as such because we haven't found a historical record of them. And therefore, historians haven't written about them.
This may seem obvious, but it's an easy thing to forget if you up in a world in which almost everything that matters is not only written down, but is instantaneously published everywhere. There was 1 other attempt to establish a settlement in the early 16 forties, but it never got off the ground either. The next time we know of that English went to North Carolina I came toward the end of the third Anglo Pow war in 16 46. Not a butler, quote.
2 military incur south of the James in 16 46 were described by a militia henry rep plump of Na sam county. 1 was an over overland strike commanded by major general Richard Bennett that targeted the bitter W oaks with earlier in the war and Har south from their home on the James river. A planter of isle of White and na sam onto to counties. General Bennett was a council member and a p leader.
Apparently bennett its foray drove the Way oaks farther south, so deep a swamp wasteland that the Militia could not safely pursue them. To complete the suppression of the Wan oaks, a second campaign was organized and led by Colonel Thomas Jew. Also at P and planter of Na County, who was under the command of general Bennett, probably using shall ups tennis and other small craft. The Militia forest sailed from Chesapeake Bay, C tuck inlet across the sounds.
And some 25 miles up, the C River to Way Oak Creek with a tribe had reset. Cl mentioned a fight there with a loss of 1 man. Native tribal elders years later remembered that the W oaks moved to the Roanoke oak river after this attack. Although contemporary maps are confusing, Wayne oak Creek was either the River or its tri, put a cass Creek. Sure North Carol know all about that stuff.
For the first time, these frontier military campaigns introduced a number of Virginia to a little known land as far south as Roanoke River and it's a vast est. They found a country centered on a broad sound whose wide and deep tri were lined with abandoned Indian fields, an extensive pine, cedar and cyprus forests. In the face of armed invaders, the natives surely remain hidden, making the land appear virtually uninhabited.
After accompanying Colonel Do in 16 48, Henry Blu, Thomas took a vial of white and others acquired from local Indians a huge tract on the West bank of the River. From the mouth of the Roanoke north some 40 miles to Wan Creek. This is the earliest record of a land purchase by Virginia in the region. Well no settlement occurred at that time. Within a decade, the area would attract some of the first colonists to the Roanoke out country.
Back to me, the third anglo Pat war would greatly expand the area open For english settlement. With eventual implications for North Carolina as well as Virginia. Fort Mc built during the war on the fall line of the App maddox river roughly today's Petersburg, Virginia would become the central line of defense on the southwest frontier of Virginia settlement of the time.
Who would also become the center of the fur trade coming out of Western Virginia and Northern Carolina is even recent and barely a attentive of listeners know. The parliament won the English civil war had executed Charles the first in early 16 49. So began a period of enormous creativity and ambition, which was necessary because England had been impoverished by 7 long years of war.
Oliver Cro would aggressively expand England's written Ireland and the Caribbean, go to war with Spain and the Dutch Republic. And support the expansion of English and North America. As in all such moments, promoter stepped up to public size their schemes. So it was with Carolina. No less than 3 accounts of the region were published in 16 49, and none of them were even slightly pessimistic notwithstanding claims of objectivity.
An anonymous newspaper account in the spring of 16 49 by a well will of Carolina, encouraged adventurers, planter and servants to join an unnamed governor who was organizing a venture of many gentlemen of quality in their families. The author portrayed land that in butler, words, quote, would make adam and eve weep with envy. And Carolina, the deer and elk were bigger and tasted better.
Turkeys roost in large flock and rep repeatedly topped the scales at 40 pounds, the state open pine far us were filled with a pharma of herbs and drugs that would provide tar, resin and Tu. For those who farmed abandoned Indian fields of black soil, 2 feet deep, return 2 corn crops a season. And would increase the yield of English grains and fruits back to me. We've never learned who either the author was or the prospective governor.
No specific expedition emerged notwithstanding the alleged fertility of the land. Then in 16 51, Edward Bland published the most important of these tracks. The discovery of new Britain apparently, deciding that referring to Carolina would not be a smart move in those heavy early days of the commonwealth. Lands account was important because he'd actually been
there. He'd gone to Virginia 16 46 to oversee family interests and in 16 50, obtain governor William Barclay permission to explore South Indian in search of trade. Plan did make contact with the Tu aurora, The immensely powerful tribe that would figure prominently in the history of North Carolina for the next 65 years but the understandably angry W oaks harassed his expedition, and that actually dampened enthusiasm for settling the region in the near term.
So by the second half of the 16 fifties, 90 years after 1 part debacle. 65 years after the disappearance the lost colony of Roanoke. 50 years after the fanning of James 35 years after plymouth, and more than 30 years after the purchase of Manhattan by Peter We. There still was no known English or other European permanent settled in North Carolina. All that would change with the arrival of a man in the Indian trade named Nathaniel Bats.
A morally challenged, financially adept and diplomatic talented speaker of coastal el. Bats and others would lay the foundation for a very different sort of American colony, which is the topic of the next episode. With all the usual caveats. Thank you again for listening to the history of the Americans podcast. Your email has have been very encouraging. Please keep them coming. You can reach me with questions, corrections, eruptions of dictation or pat on the back on the contact page for the
website. The history of the americans dot com or by email. At the history of the americans at gmail dot com. And please do me the great favor. But giving the podcast a 5 star rating on apple and following me on the Facebook page for the podcast an x Twitter for my crank mu on mostly history related topics. Until next time.