How Did the People of the Colony of South Carolina Make a Living?
South Carolina's colonial economy was based on trade and agriculture. The earliest settlers traded with Native Americans. After the British settled Charleston, its seaport became one of the busiest in North America. The flourishing shipping industry spurred the growth of global trade and slave trafficking, which led to the plantation-based agricultural system.
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Early Trade
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In the late 1600s, Native Americans traded fur and deerskin with the colonials who sold the goods to Europeans. The settlers also traded lumber, rosin, turpentine and salted meats with ship merchants.
Maritime Trade
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South Carolinians prospered from the shipping route between the Colonies, the British West Indies and Europe. Stores and businesses developed around Charleston's busy seaport to support the growing maritime trade industry.
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Rice
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Rice was brought to South Carolina in the late 1600s and flourished in the coastal tidewaters. With the influx of slave labor, the crop became the colony's leading export and generated massive wealth for plantation owners.
Indigo
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Indigo was South Carolina's second most prosperous crop and was often grown in tandem with rice. It cost less to ship than rice and often produced greater profits.
Farming and Ranching
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Colonials who settled in the interior, or backcountry, of South Carolina earned their living raising cattle and food crops.
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