"C" is for Cooper, Anthony Ashley (1621-1683)

"C" is for Cooper, Anthony Ashley (1621-1683). Lord Proprietor. Ashley Cooper was initially a royalist during the English Civil War but twice changed sides. King Charles II rewarded Cooper, by raising him to the peerage, naming him Chancellor of the Exchequer, and granting him (and seven others) the joint proprietorship of Carolina. With John Locke, Lord Ashley wrote the Fundamental Constitutions for the colony and oversaw arrangements for the expedition that brought the first permanent English settlers to South Carolina. In 1772, King Charles II made him Lord High Chancellor—the highest officer in the government—and elevated his rank in the nobility by naming him the first earl of Shaftsbury. In addition to being a founder of South Carolina Anthony Ashley Cooper is also considered a founder of the Whig Party in England.