From the beginning, the Lords Proprietors had difficulty in managing their new colony. There were border disputes with Virginia, Indian wars with the Tuscarora and the Yamassee, and piracy at the hands of the notorious Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet.A portion of Carolina had emerged as its own organizational unit and became the royal colony of South Carolina in 1719. Advisors to the British king recommended direct royal control of the colonies.
In 1729 seven of the eight Lord Proprietors sold their colonial holdings in Carolina to the Crown. The lone Proprietor was John Carteret, Earl Granville, who retained the Granville Tract in North Carolina without governing control until the American Revolution.
In South Carolina the last Governor appointed by the Lord Proprietors ended his term in 1719, whereas the last Governor appointed by the Lords Proprietors in North Carolina ended his term in 1731. In 1719, the new Governor of South Carolina was "elected by the people," and was considered to be the first governor of South Carolina in the "Royal Period," that is - after "the Split."
