South Carolina is one of the 13 original colonies of the United States. European exploration of the area began in April 1540, with the Hernando de Soto expedition, who unwittingly introduced new Eurasian diseases that decimated the local Indian population, because they lacked any immunity. In 1663 the English Crown granted land to eight proprietors of what became the colony. The first settlers came to the Province of Carolina at the port of Charleston in 1670; they were mostly wealthy planters and their slaves coming from the British Caribbean colony of Barbados. They started to develop their commodity crops of sugar and cotton. Pushing back the American Indians in the Yamasee War (1715-1717), colonists next overthrew the proprietors' rule, seeing more direct representation. In 1719 the colony was officially made a crown colony; North Carolina was split off and made into a separate colony in 1729.

In the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765, South Carolina banded together with the other colonies to oppose British taxation and played a major role in resisting Britain. It became independent in March 1776 and joined the United States of America. The Revolution was bloody and hard fought in 1780-81, as the British invaded, captured the American army and were finally driven out. Wikipedia