Final answer:
South Carolina was settled primarily by English colonists who established a plantation economy that relied heavily on African slave labor. Their socio-political structure made a profound impact on the state's history.
Step-by-step explanation:
The region now known as South Carolina was settled primarily by English colonists. The colony of Carolina was founded in 1670 by eight English nobles with a Royal Charter from King Charles II. These settlers, and the ones that followed, had a significant impact on how the colony, and later the state, would be run. They established a plantation economy that was heavily reliant on African slave labor. This set the stage for a socio-political structure that would ultimately lead to South Carolina being one of the first states to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy in the American Civil War.
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