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Reading guide: A Declaration and Proposals of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina (1663)

These questions will help to guide students' reading of "A Declaration and Proposals of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina" and encourage them to think critically about the text.

A lesson plan for grade 8 Social Studies

By Pauline S. Johnson

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These questions will help to guide students’ reading of “A Declaration and Proposals of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina” and encourage them to think critically about the text.

Worksheet — A Declaration and Proposals of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina (1663)

General information

You may need to answer these out of order as you read through the document.

  1. Who wrote this document?
  2. When was it published?
  3. What was the purpose of this document?
  4. Who was the audience for this document (who is it written for)?

Document questions

  1. According to the authors of this document, what were the three reasons that the king gave them Carolina?
  2. Where was the first settlement to be located?
  3. In what ways could the colony set up its defense (there are two different sections describing this)?
  4. How did the authors propose to set up a form of government for the colony?
  5. What did the authors promise about religion?
  6. What items, both imports and exports, would not be taxed for seven years after settlers had come to this area?
  7. How much land would each settler who provided his own travel receive according to the headright system? How could he get even more land?
  8. What did the authors expect to receive from granting these lands and other concessions?

Analysis

  1. What do you think the authors hoped to gain from their ownership of Carolina?
  2. What was attractive for settlers in this document?
  3. What would have been of concern for settlers?
  4. Would you have become a settler under the terms of this proposal? (Remember when this was written.) Why or why not?
  5. Which parts of this document surprised you?

Worksheet: Teacher’s guide

General information

You may need to answer these out of order as you read through the document.

  1. Who wrote this document?
    Lords Proprietors
  2. When was it published?
    August 25, 1663
  3. What was the purpose of this document?
    To set up a settlement in Carolina
  4. Who was the audience for this document (who is it written for)?
    Potential settlers (undertakers)

Document questions

  1. According to the authors of this document, what were the three reasons that the king gave them Carolina?
    Spreading the Christian faith among the Indians, enlarging his empire, and allowing his subjects to make money
  2. Where was the first settlement to be located?
    Cape Fear River area (Charles River)
  3. In what ways could the colony set up its defense (there are two different sections describing this)?
    Build fortifications, have one armed man for each fifty acres of land granted
  4. How did the authors propose to set up a form of government for the colony?
    The Lords Proprietors would choose a governor (and his successors) and council out of 13 men who are going, the settlers would be allowed to establish a legislature in the colony.
  5. What did the authors promise about religion?
    There would be freedom of religion
  6. What items, both imports and exports, would not be taxed for seven years after settlers had come to this area?
    Tools, wine, oil, raisins of all sorts, olivers, capers, wax, currants, almonds, and silks.
  7. How much land would each settler who provided his own travel receive according to the headright system? How could he get even more land?
    One hundred acres; men-servants, fifty acres; women-servants, thirty acres
  8. What did the authors expect to receive from granting these lands and other concessions?
    They were getting quitrent — a real estate tax.

Analysis

  1. What do you think the authors hoped to gain from their ownership of Carolina?
    Students should understand that the Lords Proprietors hoped to prosper from their land grant.
  2. What was attractive for settlers in this document?
    Answers will vary, but students may indicate that the lure of free land, a seven-year freeze on certain taxes, their own legislature, and religious freedom would be important issues for settlers.
  3. What would have been of concern for settlers?
    Answers will vary, but students may mention the need for defense — primarily against Indians, although some students may be aware of the threat from the Spanish, too; other students may indicate that the trip from England to Carolina would have been dangerous; some students may indicate that they would not like to pay a quitrent.
  4. Would you have become a settler under the terms of this proposal? (Remember when this was written.) Why or why not?
    Answers will vary.
  5. Which parts of this document surprised you?
    Answers will vary.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 8

  • Goal 1: The learner will analyze important geographic, political, economic, and social aspects of life in the region prior to the Revolutionary Period.
    • Objective 1.05: Describe the factors that led to the founding and settlement of the American colonies including religious persecution, economic opportunity, adventure, and forced migration.
    • Objective 1.06: Identify geographic and political reasons for the creation of a distinct North Carolina colony and evaluate the effects on the government and economics of the colony.