Revolution of 1719

Between 1663 and 1665, Charles II of England granted the Province of Carolina to eight non-resident proprietary lords.[1] European settlement of the area, however, was limited to Charleston and what later was called Albemarle County, the two places being geographically non-contiguous.[1] By 1710 the two regions had effectively ceased operating as a single political entity, resulting in the creation of the Province of North Carolina – composed of the area centered around Albemarle County – and the Province of South Carolina.[1]

By 1719, South Carolinian legislative authority was vested in a bicameral body composed of the popularly elected Commons House of Assembly sitting as a lower chamber, and the Grand Council of the Lords Proprietors, which functioned both as an upper chamber and as a collegiate executive, though its day-to-day powers were exercised by a governor it appointed.[1] Governance of South Carolina by the proprietary lords has been characterized as ineffective and erratic.[1] Their failure to adequately prepare for defense of the colony during the Yamasee War created further strain between the people and the London-based proprietors.[1]

In November 1719 word arrived in Charleston of an approaching Spanish fleet; the colonial militia was ordered mobilized to repel an anticipated invasion.[2]

On November 17, prior to the militia muster, several prominent residents of South Carolina – among them militia officer Colonel James Moore, Jr. and Arthur Skeene, the Speaker of the Commons House of Assembly – met and formed a committee for the purpose of the overthrow of the government.[2][3] The committee made contact with senior officers of the militia and secured their support.[2] Upon learning of the unfolding conspiracy, Governor Robert Johnson ordered the Commons House of Assembly dissolved.[2] On December 21 the coup occurred; following the assembly's formal dissolution, its members reconvened in a tavern and declared themselves a "convention of the people" with penultimate political authority in South Carolina.[2] Moore was elected to the office of provisional governor and the legislative role of the Grand Council replaced with a new chamber appointed by the revolutionary committee.[2] Johnson, deposed as governor, was unable to resist as the whole of the militia ultimately sided with the plotters.[2] As a result, the coup passed without fighting or bloodshed.[2]

Among the revolutionary government's first orders of business was to petition the Crown to withdraw the proprietary charter of South Carolina and recreate it as a royal colony instead.[4] By the following year, the revolutionary government's wishes were granted and direct, royal rule established.[4] While the revolutionary government requested that Moore continue as royal governor, Francis Nicholson was instead installed by royal appointment.[4]

After surrendering the government to Nicholson, Moore served as Speaker of the Commons House of Assembly until his death in 1724.[3]

Royal rule effectively ended in South Carolina on March 26, 1776, when the colony unilaterally declared itself a republic and elected John Rutledge as the first President of South Carolina.[5][6] The following July it ratified the United States Declaration of Independence.[5]

The governor of the neighboring North Carolina would continue to be appointed by the Lords Proprietor until 1729.

• History of South Carolina
• Proprietary colony
• South Carolina National Guard
• Sword of State of South Carolina