Governor of the Colony of North Carolina

Map of the Carolina Colony

Governor of the Colony of North Carolina was the top executive of the government of the British colony of North Carolina. The Carolina colony which comprised all of the land below Virginia and north of Spanish Florida was founded in 1663. It was controlled by the Lords Proprietors, a group of eight English noblemen led informally by member Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury. Dissent over governance of the province led to the appointment of a deputy governor to administer the northern half of the colony in 1691.

The office of Governor of the separate colony of North Carolina was first recognized in 1712 when Edward Hyde received his commission from the Lords Proprietors.

In 1729, seven of the Lords Proprietors sold their interests in Carolina to The Crown, and North Carolina became a royal colony. From 1729 until 1776, when the Colony declared its independence from Britain, the Governors were appointed by the King.

See also

List of Governors of North Carolina

Governors of the Province of North Carolina Governors under the Lords Proprietary 1711–31 Edward Hyde Thomas Pollock Charles Eden William Reed George Burrington Richard Everard Royal Governors 1731–76 George Burrington Gabriel Johnston Arthur Dobbs William Tryon Josiah Martin