The Emergence and Evolution of Charleston, South Carolina’s (U.S.A.) Colonial Economy

The emergence and evolution of Charleston, South Carolina’s (U.S.A.) economy is approached through two nodes in that economy: urban Charleston and rural production centers. The focus is on commodity production and landscape history associated with cattle (Bos taurus). Bone-chemistry data clarify cattle management strategies and trade networks, suggesting Charleston drew cattle from a wide area, but that rural production centers used local livestock. Sediment cores document multiple cycles of fire activity, some probably of anthropogenic origin, and an increase in grazing pressure. Both might be linked to the cattle industry. Dung from grazing animals also increases. Enslaved Africans applied knowledge of small-stream floodplains obtained while herding cattle to build extensive water-management systems designed to produce rice for global markets. This evidence highlights interconnected roles of cattle, fires, timbering, drainage projects, demographic changes, and commodity trade in Carolina’s cultural and physical landscapes between 1670 and 1820.