This early historical map shows 1584’s east coast of North Carolina.
Courtesy photo from North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
This early historical map shows 1584’s east coast of North Carolina.
Courtesy photo from North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
North Carolina History
On March 24, 1663, King Charles II granted a charter for land in America to the Lords Proprietors, who were eight of his closest supporters during the Restoration of 1660. Since a permanent English settlement in the new world was important, the king gave broad powers to the proprietors.
The powers guaranteed political and religious freedoms to the inhabitants of Carolina, which stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Seas, encompassing an area roughly from the middle of Albemarle Sound to what is now the Georgia/Florida border. Inhabitants of the new colony claimed many of the same rights as English citizens, the right to import and export goods, the right to be tried in Carolina for a crime committed there, personal and property rights and a basic form of religious freedom.
In 1665, another charter was issued which amended the 1663 document and moved the northern boundary to include the prosperous and more populous Albemarle region. It is likely that no more than two of the proprietors ever saw any of their Carolina lands, and their control over the colony was unstable. Regardless, many of the charter’s provisions became the basic principles upon which American freedom is based.
Nation and World History
On April 22, 1944, during World War II, U.S. forces began invading Japanese-held New Guinea with amphibious landings at Hollandia and Aitape.
On April 23, 1954, Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit the first of his 755 major-league home runs in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. (The Braves won, 7-5.)
On April 23, 2005, the recently created video-sharing website YouTube uploaded its first clip, “Me at the Zoo,” which showed YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo.
On April 25, 1862, during the Civil War, a Union fleet commanded by Flag Officer David G. Farragut captured the city of New Orleans.
On April 26, 1986, an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused radioactive fallout to begin spewing into the atmosphere. (Dozens of people were killed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster while the long-term death toll from radiation poisoning is believed to number in the thousands.)
This Week in History is compiled by Executive Editor David Kennard from the Robesonian archives, the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and Associated Press reports.