Charleston, South Carolina Population (Demographics, Maps, Graphs).Charleston-North Charleston Metro Area Population | MacroTrends

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- Charleston Population - Population Data I Charleston County, SC

 

Charleston is the largest city in the U. Charleston had a population of , as of the U. Charleston was founded in as Charles Town, honoring King Charles II , at Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River now Charles Towne Landing but relocated in to its present site, which became the fifth-largest city in North America within ten years.

It remained unincorporated throughout the colonial period; its government was handled directly by a colonial legislature and a governor sent by Parliament. Election districts were organized according to Anglican parishes, and some social services were managed by Anglican wardens and vestries. Charleston adopted its present spelling with its incorporation as a city in Population growth in the interior of South Carolina influenced the removal of the state government to Columbia in , but Charleston remained among the ten largest cities in the United States through the census.

Charleston's significance in American history is tied to its role as a major slave trading port. Charleston slave traders like Joseph Wragg were the first to break through the monopoly of the Royal African Company and pioneered the large-scale slave trade of the 18th century; almost one half of slaves imported to the United States arrived in Charleston.

The incorporated city fitted into 4—5 sq mi 10—13 km 2 as late as the First World War , [14] [15] but has since greatly expanded, crossing the Ashley River and encompassing James Island and some of Johns Island. The city limits also have expanded across the Cooper River, encompassing Daniel Island and the Cainhoy area. The present city has a total area of North Charleston blocks any expansion up the peninsula, and Mount Pleasant occupies the land directly east of the Cooper River.

Charleston Harbor runs about 7 mi 11 km southeast to the Atlantic with an average width of about 2 mi 3. Sullivan's Island lies to the north of the entrance and Morris Island to the south. The entrance itself is about 1 mi 2 km wide; it was originally only 18 ft 5 m deep but began to be enlarged in the s. There is a submerged river delta off the mouth of the harbor, and the Cooper River is deep.

Summer is the wettest season; almost half of the annual rainfall occurs from June to September in the form of thundershowers. Fall remains relatively warm through the middle of November.

Winter is short and mild, and is characterized by occasional rain. Downtown Charleston's climate is considerably milder than the airport's due to stronger maritime influence.

This is especially true in the winter, with the average January low in downtown being The dewpoint from June to August ranges from As defined by the U. Office of Management and Budget, for use by the U. Census Bureau and other U. As of the U. Census, the metropolitan statistical area had a total population of , people. North Charleston is the second-largest city in the metro area and ranks as the third-largest city in the state; Mount Pleasant and Summerville are the next-largest cities.

These cities combined with other incorporated and unincorporated areas along with the city of Charleston form the Charleston-North Charleston urban area with a population of , as of [update]. The traditional parish system persisted until the Reconstruction Era , when counties were imposed.

When the city of Charleston was formed, it was defined by the limits of the Parish of St. Philip and St. Michael, now also includes parts of St. James' Parish, St. George's Parish, St. Andrew's Parish, and St. John's Parish, although the last two are mostly still incorporated rural parishes.

In , Governor William Sayle arranged for several shiploads of settlers from Bermuda and Barbados. Its governance, settlement, and development was to follow a visionary plan known as the Grand Model prepared for the Lords Proprietors by John Locke.

Instead, local ordinances were passed by the provincial government, with day-to-day administration handled by the wardens and vestries of St Philip's and St Michael's Anglican parishes. At the time of European colonization , the area was inhabited by the indigenous Cusabo , whom the settlers declared war on in October The settlers initially allied with the Westo , a northern indigenous tribe that traded in enslaved Indians.

The settlers abandoned their alliance with the Westo in and allied with the Cusabo instead. The initial settlement quickly dwindled away and disappeared while another village—established by the settlers on Oyster Point at the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers around [25] —thrived. This second settlement formally replaced the original Charles Town in The second location was more defensible and had access to a fine natural harbor.

The new town had become the fifth largest in North America by A smallpox outbreak erupted in , followed by an earthquake in February The latter caused a fire that destroyed about a third of the town. Charles Town suffered between five and eight major yellow fever outbreaks over the first half of the 18th century. It developed a reputation as one of the least healthy locations in the Thirteen Colonies for ethnic Europeans. Malaria was endemic. Although malaria did not have such high mortality as yellow fever, it caused much illness.

It was a major health problem through most of the city's history before dying out in the s after use of pesticides cut down on the mosquitoes that transmitted it.

Charles Town was fortified according to a plan developed in under Governor Nathaniel Johnson. Both Spain and France contested Britain's claims to the region. Various bands of Native Americans and independent pirates also raided it. On September 5—6, O. The Circular Congregational Church manse was damaged during the storm, in which church records were lost. Much of Charles Town was flooded as "the Ashley and Cooper rivers became one.

From the s Charleston attracted pirates. The combination of a weak government and corruption made the city popular with pirates, who frequently visited and raided the city. Charles Town was besieged by the pirate Blackbeard for several days in May Blackbeard released his hostages and left in exchange for a chest of medicine from Governor Robert Johnson. Around , the town's name began to be generally written as Charlestown [25] and, excepting those fronting the Cooper River, the old walls were largely removed over the next decade.

Charlestown was a center for the inland colonization of South Carolina. It remained the southernmost point of the Southern Colonies until the Province of Georgia was established in As noted, the first settlers primarily came from Europe , Barbados and Bermuda. The Barbadian and Bermudan immigrants were planters who brought enslaved Africans with them, having purchased them in the West Indies.

Early immigrant groups to the city included the Huguenots , Scottish , Irish , and Germans , as well as hundreds of Jews , predominately Sephardi from London and major cities of the Dutch Republic , where they had been given refuge.

By , the majority of the colony's population were Black Africans. They had been brought to Charlestown via the Atlantic slave trade , first as indentured servants and then as slaves. In the early s, Charleston's largest slave trader, Joseph Wragg , pioneered the settlement's involvement in the slave trade. Free people of color also migrated from the West Indies , being descendants of white planters and their Black consorts, and unions among the working classes.

In Gadsden's Wharf was constructed at the city port on the Cooper River; it ultimately extended feet and was able to accommodate six ships at a time. Many slaves were sold from here. At the foundation of the town, the principal items of commerce were pine timber and pitch for ships and tobacco. The early economy developed around the deerskin trade, in which colonists used alliances with the Cherokee and Creek peoples to secure the raw material.

At the same time, Indians took each other as captives and slaves in warfare. From to , approximately 40, native men, women, and children were sold through the port, principally to the West Indies such as Bermuda and the Bahamas , but also to other Southern colonies. They used the proceeds of their sale to purchase enslaved Black Africans for their own plantations. After that, South Carolina largely abandoned the Indian slave trade.

The area's unsuitability for growing tobacco prompted the Lowcountry planters to experiment with other cash crops. The profitability of growing rice led the planters to pay premiums for slaves from the "Rice Coast" who knew its cultivation; their descendants make up the ethnic Gullah who created their own culture and language in this area. Throughout this period, the slaves were sold aboard the arriving ships or at ad hoc gatherings in town's taverns.

Before it had fully taken effect, the Cato or Stono Rebellion broke out. The white community had recently been decimated by a malaria outbreak, and the rebels killed about 25 white people before being stopped by the colonial militia. As a result of their fears of rebellion, whites killed a total of 35 to 50 Black people. The planters attributed the violence to recently imported Africans and agreed to a year moratorium on slave importation through Charlestown.

They relied for labor upon the slave communities they already held. The Negro Act also tightened controls, requiring a ratio of one white for every ten Blacks on any plantation which was often not achieved , and banning slaves from assembling together, growing their own food, earning money, or learning to read. Drums were banned because Africans used them for signaling; slaves were allowed to use string and other instruments. By the midth century, Charlestown was the hub of the Atlantic slave trade in the Southern Colonies.

The plantations and the economy based on them made this the wealthiest city in the Thirteen Colonies [46] and the largest in population south of Philadelphia. In , the city had 11, inhabitants—half slaves—and was the 4th-largest port in the colonies, after Boston , New York , and Philadelphia.

The elite began to use their wealth to encourage cultural and social development. America's first theater building was constructed here in ; it was later replaced by today's Dock Street Theater.

The Library Society was established in by well-born young men who wanted to share the financial cost to keep up with the scientific and philosophical issues of the day.