Seth Sothel

Seth Sothel
8th Colonial Governor of Albemarle Sound (North Carolina)
In office 1678–1678
Preceded by	Thomas Miller
Succeeded by	John Harvey
12th Colonial Governor of Albemarle Sound (North Carolina)
In office 1682–1689
Preceded by	John Jenkins
Succeeded by	John Gibbs
9th Colonial Governor of South Carolina
In office 1690–1692
Preceded by	James Colleton
Succeeded by	Philip Ludwell
Personal details
Died	1691 North Carolina
Occupation	colonial administrator

Seth Sothel (also spelled Sothell and Southwell, d. c. 1694) was a colonial proprietor and governor of the Province of Carolina. He ruled the northern portion, Albemarle Sound (future North Carolina), in 1678 and the southern portion (future South Carolina) from 1690 to 1692. He died in North Carolina in about 1694.^[1][2]

Biography

Sothel purchased a propriety from Edward Hyde, which made him become a Lord Proprietor. The Lord Proprietors decided to send Sothel to Albemarle with the order to occupy the charge of governor of the colony. This was based on the fact that Sothel was not partisan of any faction of the Culpeper's Rebellion, which was still in development. However, after leaving England, he was captured by Algerian pirates. During the time he waited be released, Albemarle was governed by John Harvey and, upon Harvey's death, by John Jenkins. After Sotel was released, he governed Albemarle.

During his governance of the colony, he caused many crimes. According a historian, Sothel prohibited the trade between the settlers and the Amerindians, but he kept the benefits. He imprisoned people who opposed against him (among them Thomas Pollock and George Durant) and stayed his lands. In addition, he also confiscated "merchant ships and their cargoes", stole slaves, cattle and farmlands and accepted bribes from criminals in exchange for releasing them without prosecution.

However, in 1689, after he established in the Salmon Creek plantation, the residents of the colony caused a revolt against him and captured him. They had Sothel sent back to England for trial. In England, he was punished by the decree that he could no longer hold an office in North Carolina again. He was expelled from the government of the colony on December 2, 1689, and exiled for a year.

Sothel fled to South Carolina, occupying the charge of governor of the colony in 1690, but was also suspended from the charge in November 8, 1691. After this, he returned to Albemarle, to Salmon Creek, where he died just a year later, in about 1694.^[3]

Personal life

Sothel was a landowner and he married Anna Willix. They had no children. ^[2]

References

• McCrady, Edward. The History of South Carolina during the Proprietary Period (covers Sothel's governance of South Carolina)
• Powell, William. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Volume 5 (contains a biographical sketch)