Abstract:
English settlements in America were organized through charters, a legal document granting private individuals to own and govern pieces of land until the Lords of Trade recognized this did not serve England and began dissolving these charters. For North Carolina, the author looks at the history of charters within the state in two distinct periods; the first from 1706-1726 when charter owners were persuaded to give up their claims either by law or voluntarily and the second from 1726-1729 when charters were purchased out right from their proprietors.