a province of North America, comprehending the most westerly part of Florida, and lying between 29 and 36 degrees of N. Lat. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic, and on the west by the river Mississippi, on the north by Virginia, on the south by Georgia, and to the south of Georgia by the Floridas.

This country is seated between the extremities of heat and cold, though the heat is more troublesome in summer than the cold in winter; their winters being very short, and the frosty mornings frequently succeeded by warm days. The air is generally serene and clear the greatest part of the year; but in February and March the inhabitants have a custom of burning the woods, which causes such a smoke as to strangers would seem to proceed from a fog or thickness in the air. The smoke of the tar-kilns likewise deceives strangers, and gives them an ill opinion of the air of Carolina; to which also conduces a custom of the Indians of setting fire to the woods in their huntings, for many miles round. The great rains are in winter, though they are not without heavy showers at midsummer; add to these the constant dews that fall in the night, which refresh the ground and supply the plants with moisture. In North Carolina, the northwest winds in the winter occasion very pinching weather; but they are not of long continuance. Westerly winds bring very pleasant weather; but the southerly are hot and unwholesome, occasioning fevers and other disorders. But this must be understood of summer, for in winter they are very comfortable. The depth of winter is towards the latter end of February, and then the ice is not strong enough to bear a man's weight. In August and September there are sometimes great storms and squalls of wind, which are so violent as to make lanes of 100 feet wide, more or less, through the woods, tearing up the trees by the roots. These storms generally happen once in about seven years; and are attended with dreadful thunder, lightning, and heavy rains. They commonly happen about the time of the hurricanes which rage so fatally among the islands between the tropics; and seem to be occasioned by them, or to proceed from the same cause; but by the time they reach Carolina, their force is much abated; and the farther north they proceed, so much the more do they decrease in fury. The soil on the coast is sandy; but farther up, the country is so fruitful that they have not yet been at the trouble to manure the land. The grains most cultivated are Indian corn and rice, though any sort will thrive well enough; they have also pulse of several sorts, little known in England. All kinds of garden stuff usual in England are cultivated here, and may be had in great plenty. They export large quantities yearly of rice, pitch, tar, turpentine, deer-skins, and timber for building; cypress, cedar, sassafras, oak, walnut, and pine. Besides these, they also send out beef, pork, tallow, hides, furs, wheat, pease, potatoes, honey, bees-wax, myrtle-wax, tobacco, snakeroot, cotton, several sorts of gum and medicinal drugs. Indigo is also cultivated in this province, but of an inferior quality to that which comes from the Caribbee islands. It hath been attempted in vain to cultivate vines, and produce silk, in this country; for though the frosts here do not continue long without intervals of warmer weather, they are sufficient to check the growth of the vine, as well as olives, dates, oranges, &c. The Univ. His. furs are bought of the Indians with vermilion, lead, xxvi. 88, gunpowder, coarse cloth, iron, and spirituous liquors. As yet they have not a sufficient number of handicraftsmen; which renders labour very dear, and a supply of clothes from Europe necessary. The aspect of the country is very fine, being adorned with beautiful rivers and creeks, and the woods with lofty timber, which afford delightful and pleasant seats for the planters, and render the fencing their lands very easy. And as they have plenty of fish, wild-fowl, and venison, besides other necessaries which this country produces naturally, they live easy and luxuriously.

Their rivers are large, and navigable a great many miles up the country. They rise near the mountains, and abound with delicate fish, beside water-fowl of different kinds. In some there are islands which yield good pasture, without the annoyance of wild beasts. The chief mountains are the Cherokee or Alleghany mountains, which are situated north and northwest, five or six hundred miles distant from the sea. They are very high; and abound with trees, plants, stones, and minerals, of different kinds.

This country is divided into North and South Carolina, and Georgia; each of which, before the late revolution, was under a particular governor. The North is subdivided into four counties, Granville, Clinton, Berkeley, and Craven; and South Carolina into two, Clarendon and Albemarle. This last is also divided into 14 parishes or townships, each of which has a brick or timber church. The former likewise has the same number of parishes. Charlestown is the capital of the whole country.

Carolina was discovered by Sebastian Cabot about the year 1500, in the reign of Henry VII. But the settling of it being neglected by the English, a colony of French Protestants, by the encouragement of Admiral Coligny, were transported thither; and named the place of their first settlement Arx Carolina, in honour of their prince, Charles IX., of France; but in a short time that colony was destroyed by the Spaniards; and no other attempt was made by any European power to settle there till the year 1664, when 800 English landed at Cape Fear in North Carolina, and took possession of the country. In 1672, Cha. II. of Britain granted Carolina to the lords Berkeley, Clarendon, Albemarle, Craven, and Ashley, Sir George Carteret, Sir William Berkeley, and Sir John Colliton.

The plan of government for this new colony was drawn up by the famous Mr Locke, who very wisely proposed a universal toleration in religious matters. The only restriction in this respect was, that every person claiming the protection of that settlement, should, at the age of 17, register himself in some particular communion. To civil liberty, however, our philosopher was not so favourable; the code of Carolina gave to the eight proprietors who founded the colony, and to their heirs, not only all the rights of a monarch, but all the powers of legislation. The court, which was composed of this sovereign body, and called the Palatinate Court, was invested with the right of nominating to all employments and dignities, and even of conferring nobility; but with new and unprecedented titles. They were, for instance, to create in each county two casiques, each of whom was to be possessed of 24,000 acres of land; and a landgrave, who was to have 80,000. The persons on whom these honours should be bestowed were to compose the upper house, and their possessions were made unalienable. They had only the right of farming or letting out a third part of them at most for three lives. The lower house was composed of the deputies from the several counties and towns. The number of this representative body was to be increased as the colony grew more populous. No tenant was to pay more than about a shilling per acre, and even this rent was redeemable. All the inhabitants, however, both slaves and freemen, were under an obligation to take up arms upon the first order from the Palatine court.

It was not long before the defects of this constitution became apparent. The proprietary lords used every endeavour to establish an arbitrary government; and, on the other hand, the colonists exerted themselves with great zeal to avoid servitude. In consequence of this struggle, the whole province, distracted with tumults and dissensions, became incapable of making any progress, though great things had been expected from its particular advantages of situation. Though a toleration in religious matters was a part of the original constitution, dissensions arose likewise on that account. In 1705, Carteret, now Lord Granville, who, as the oldest of the proprietors, was sole governor of the colony, formed a design of obliging all the non-conformists to embrace the ceremonies of the church of England; and this act of violence, though disavowed and rejected by the mother-country, inflamed the minds of the people. In 1720, while this animosity was still subsisting, the province was attacked by several bands of savages, driven to despair by a continued course of the most atrocious violence and injustice. These unfortunate wretches were all put to the sword; but, in 1728, the lords proprietors having refused to contribute towards the expenses of an expedition, of which they were to share the immediate benefits, were deprived of their prerogative, except Lord Granville, who still retained his eighth part. The rest received a recompense of about 24,000l. The colony was taken under the immediate protection of the crown, and from that time began to flourish. The division into North and South Carolina now took place, and the settlement of Georgia commenced in 1732. See GEORGIA.