The
Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were adopted in March 1, 1669 by the eight Lords Proprietors of the
Province of Carolina, which included most of the land between what is now
Virginia and
Florida. It replaced the
Charter of Carolina and the
Concessions and Agreements of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina (1665). The date March 1, 1669 was the date that proprietors confirmed the Constitutions and sent them to the Colony, but later on two other versions were introduced in 1682 and in 1698. Moreover, the proprietors suspended the Constitutions in 1690. Despite the claims of proprietors on the valid version of the Constitution, the colonists officially recognized the July 21, 1669 version, claiming that six proprietors had sealed the Constitutions as “the unalterable form and rule of Government forever” on that date. The earliest draft of this version in manuscript is believed to be the one found at
Columbia, South Carolina archives.