History of North Carolina

The history of North Carolina traces Indigenous societies, European colonization, statehood, slavery and emancipation, and the state’s changing political, economic, and social life.

Roanoke Colony: An English settlement on Roanoke Island, founded in 1587 and later abandoned under uncertain circumstances. Its failure preceded England’s successful colonization of the region.
North Carolina Indigenous peoples: The Native nations and communities that have lived in the region now called North Carolina since before European colonization. Their societies predated and shaped the colonial history that followed.
North Carolina in the American Revolution: North Carolina’s political and military experience during the American Revolution and the creation of the United States. The war ended royal rule and established the state’s independent government.
Halifax Resolves: A 1776 resolution by North Carolina’s Provincial Congress authorizing its delegates to support independence from Britain. It made North Carolina the first colony to authorize its delegates to vote for independence.
Eno people: An Indigenous people historically associated with the Piedmont region of what is now North Carolina. Their history represents Native communities encountered during early English expansion.
Tuscarora War: A war from 1711 to 1715 between Tuscarora people and British colonists and their allies in northeastern Carolina. The conflict reshaped Indigenous power and colonial settlement in the region.
Catawba people: A Native American people whose historic homeland lies in the Carolina Piedmont. Catawba communities negotiated with colonial authorities while defending their homeland.
North Carolina Constitution of 1776: The constitution that established North Carolina’s state government after independence from Britain. It defined the institutions and voting rules of the new state.
North Carolina secession: North Carolina’s 1861 decision to leave the United States and join the Confederate States of America. The state moved from resistance to secession after the attack on Fort Sumter.
John Lawson: An English explorer and writer whose early eighteenth-century accounts described Carolina’s geography and Indigenous peoples. His writings preserve colonial observations of the region’s people and environment.

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History of South CarolinaCompared with: The neighboring state shared colonial origins but developed a distinct political and economic profile.