Carolana, "land of Charles," referred to the area south of
Virginia granted on 30 Oct. 1629 by King Charles I to his
attorney general, Sir Robert Heath. The grant was part of the
Crown policy to expand England's overseas empire at little royal
expense or effort by distributing Proprietary charters to
individuals who were then obligated to develop their holdings.
Carolana included the territory between 31° and 36° north
latitude, and Heath was given broad authority for self-
government under the Bishop of Durham clause, although his
legislative power was limited by requiring "the counsel, assent
& approbation of the Freeholders." The Carolana grant apparently
was motivated by the inquiries into colonization by French
Huguenot refugee M. de Belavane, an agent of the Baron de Sancé.
Also involved in the venture was a Puritan merchant of Huguenot
ancestry, Samuel Vassall, who began the Vassall family's
interest in colonization of the region that extended into the
Carolina Proprietary of 1663. The Sancé group recei