Who owned Carolina?

The Carolina colony was first granted by King Charles II of England to eight Lords Proprietors in 1663, who were awarded the land "in consideration of their care, trouble and expense ... in settling the said Province of Carolina." The Lords Proprietors were:

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury

George Carteret, 1st Baronet of Hawnes

William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven

John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton

Maurice Berkeley, 3rd Viscount Fitzhardinge

William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia

James Stuart, Duke of York (later King James II)

Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon

The Lords Proprietors established the colony in 1670, granting land to settlers and establishing a representative government. In 1712, the colony became a crown colony, directly under the British government, after the Lords Proprietors surrendered their charter to the Crown due to financial difficulties and disputes with the settlers.