An Historical Account of the Rise and Progress Of the Colonies of South Carolina and Georgia (Volume I)

First edition. Volume One (of two) only. Half bound in leather over speckled boards, six panelled spine with raised bands, red morocco title label (drying, rubbed at edges and corners, frayed at spine head, boards chipped at edges, spine gilding rubbed away). xxvi, 348pp. Mild spotting and hint of toning. A few marks, especially on endpapers. Front endpaper carries two bookplates, one rubbed away; the other indicating that the book once belonged to James Brougham (1780-1833), the younger brother of Henry Brougham, Baron of Brougham and Vaux and one time Member of Parliament representing the Tregony, Winchelsea and Kendal constituencies. An inscription on the rear endpaper indicates the volume was purchased in London in April 1795. Hewatt (1739-1824) was a Scottish-born Presbyterian who served as a minister in a Charleston, South Carolina church between 1763 and 1777, when his property was seized and he was expelled for being a loyalist. Considered the earliest and best account of Colonial South Carolina and Georgia, Hewatt’s work remains important – it is based on his own observations, a first-hand source as well as his personal research. He discusses the arrival of British, French and other European migrants, often fleeing religious persecution in their own countries, and the lives and economy they created in the Carolinas. He also describes in detail the customs and lives of Native Americans of the region and addresses the introduction of African slaves and the institution of slavery, which he strongly opposed. An important and still attractive volume.