The Regulators of North Carolina

The history of colonial North Carolina is bombarded with frequent strife and


  turmoil.   The people of North Carolina, because of a lack in supervision from


  the British monarchy, learned to possess an independent spirit.   The colony remained


  isolated from the rest of the country because of several geographical


  conditions such as poor harbors, the abscence of navigable rivers, numerous


  swamps, and bad road conditions.   Due to these conditions, communities


  throughout North Carolina became widely seperated.   The colony was initially


  set up by the Lords Proprietors, an English founding company that helped


  finance early American exploration.   When North Carolina was freed from


  British proprietorship, the Granville family, descendants from the original


  Lords Proprietors, con-tinued to hold their land rights.   This area, which


  became known as the "Granville District," was the scene of many disputes over


  land grants, taxes, British support, and a great deal of lesser issues.


      Settlers in the back country (Piedmont) felt particularly oppressed by the laws


  drawn up by an assembly largely composed of eastern landowners.   "Local"


  officials in many counties, particularly in the western segment of the back


  country were not local men at all, but friends of the royal governor, William


  Tryon.   These so-called "friends" often collected higher fees than authorized


  by the law while obtaining tax money or divided a single service into many


  services and charged fees for each.   Lawyers who followed the judges around


  the colony also fell into the same habit.


 


  The citizens of Anson, Orange, and Granville counties were the first to make


  themselves heard.   In 1764, this band of citizens, referred to as the "mob," created a


  number of local disturbances until Governor Arthur...