Beaufort History....continued.
Hilton Head Island is named for the English sea captain William Hilton who was hired by
a syndicate of Barbadian planters. He sighted the high bluffs of the island in August of 1663,
while exploring the Port Royal Sound, and named it for himself, "Hilton Head,"
referring to the headlands visible as they sailed the uncharted waters.
Within a few years, the English had established the first permanent European settlement
of South Carolina at Albemarle Point, near present-day Charleston, on the Ashley River in 1670.
The proprietors' first settlers included many Barbadians, and South Carolina came to resemble
more closely the plantation economy of the West Indies than did the other mainland colonies.The Scots arrived in the area in 1686. The first trade was with the Indians for deer skins, a valuable commodity back in England, but indigo became the first cash crop. The climate and soil on the Sea Islands were favorable for its growth, and England was a great market for indigo. Carolina was divided in 1710 into South Carolina and North Carolina Indian attacks, sponsored by the Spanish, continued to harrass the settlers in the area. The Yemassee Indians were particularly fierce. Settlement of Savannah and the colony of Georgia was encouraged so as to set up a buffer from the Indians --in particular the area around Beaufort where indigo was thriving. Indians last significantly threatened the colony's existence in the Yemassee War of 1715. .........(continued) |
