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

“C” is for Cooper, Anthony Ashley (1621-1683).  Lord proprietor. Born in Dorset, England, Cooper attended Exeter College, Oxford. In 1661, for his role in the restoration of the monarchy, he was elevated to the peerage and named Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1663 the king granted the joint proprietorship of Carolina to Lord Ashley and seven other English noblemen. With the aid of 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 1672 the king made him Lord High Chancellor and elevated his rank in the nobility by titling him the first Earl of Shaftesbury. As Anthony Ashley Cooper's political fortunes plummeted, he considered moving to Carolina but instead in 1682 went into exile in Amsterdam, where he died.