Province of North Carolina

The Province of North Carolina was formally established on January 24, 1712, when the lords proprietor, meeting in London in December 1710, partitioned the original Province of Carolina into northern and southern provinces, with Edward Hyde installed as the first separate governor. North Carolina remained a proprietary colony until 1729, when the British government purchased out most of the lords proprietor and it became a crown colony. Its capital moved to Newbern, its final colonial capital, around 1770. The province's royal government ended with the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776; its last royal governor, Josiah Martin, had already dissolved the General Assembly in April 1775, and the provincial council met for the final time aboard the warship HMS Cruizer that July. North Carolina was succeeded by the state of the same name. As a colony governed first by proprietors and then the crown, it is grouped here among Kingdoms and Principalities, the closest available classification for a monarchical dependency pending a dedicated colonial-provinces category.