Robert Sandford was an English explorer of the
Province of Carolina
Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...
in the 17th century on behalf of the eight
Lords Proprietor
A lord proprietor is a person granted a royal charter for the establishment and government of an English colony in the 17th century. The plural of the term is "lords proprietors" or "lords proprietary".
Origin
In the beginning of the European ...
of the Province of Carolina. He followed
Captain William Hilton in the search for sites on the Carolina coast for establishing English settlements after the charter of 1663.
Both Sandford and Hilton's expeditions were based in
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
, and Sandford was patronized by English
planters in Barbados, including
James Drax
Sir James Drax ( – 1662) was an English planter in the colonies of Barbados and Jamaica. Born in England, Drax travelled to the English colony of Barbados, acquiring ownership of several sugar plantations and a number of enslaved Africans. Drax ...
.
Youth and early career
Sandford was born in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
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, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
in 1632, the son of merchant adventurer Thomas Sandford and his wife Elizabeth Kingsland. He and his brother,
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, moved to Barbados as children around 1642, and Sandford stated he was ignorant of English ways in a pamphlet he wrote called Suriname Justice. His uncle was Major Nathaniel Kingsland, settler of Barbados. In 1661-1662 Robert ran afoul of Governor William Byam and was manacled, fined and exiled from
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
without trial. Byam accused Sandford that under the cover of a mission to recover runaway slaves he threatened to go to St Vincent with the soldiers and native-born Americans. Sandford accused Byam and his associate, George Marten, of crimes against the rights of the settlers as Englishmen, and of "atheism, license, and abuse of due process". In November 1664, he was created agent and secretary for Clarindon County, Carolina for Lord Proprietor Sir John Colleton.
Exploration of Carolina Coast
As an explorer following William Hilton, Robert Sandford was responsible for the first footing expedition from the Caribbean to the Carolinas. Hilton's voyage took place in 1663, and Sandford's in 1666. Both explored the Port Royal area, and Sandford gave the name of one of the Lords Proprietors,
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury PC FRS (22 July 1621 – 21 January 1683; known as Anthony Ashley Cooper from 1621 to 1630, as Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Baronet from 1630 to 1661, and as The Lord Ashley from 1661 to 1 ...
, to the
Ashley River
The Ashley River is a blackwater and tidal river in South Carolina, rising from the Wassamassaw and Great Cypress Swamps in western Berkeley County. It consolidates its main channel about five miles west of Summerville, widening into a ti ...
on his exploration in 1666. Hilton and Sandford both praised the area for it fertility and suitability, Sandford saying, "
e doe assure Our selves that a Colony of English here planted, with a moderate support in their Infant tendency, would in a very short time improve themselves to a perfect Common Wealth … which for its Scite and produccons would be of more advantage to …
ngland andthe King … the any (wee may say all) his other Dominions in America".
In his 1666 expedition, Sandford was sent to explore the Carolina coast. He met with
Kiawah people
The Kiawah were a constituent group of the Cusabo people,["Cusabo"](_blank)
South Carolina Indians, South Carolina Inf ...
Chief Shadoo and a Cusabo chief on
Edisto Island
Edisto Island is one of South Carolina's Sea Islands, the larger part of which lies in Charleston County, with its southern tip in Colleton County. The town of Edisto Beach is in Colleton County, while the Charleston County part of the island is ...
who guided him to
Port Royal
Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...
and who introduced him to the chief there. Proceeding to
St. Helena Island, Sandford was presented with a nephew of the chief there to be taught the English language and customs on July 7, 1666. In return he left Dr.
Henry Woodward with the St. Helena chief to study the language and customs of the
Native Americans there. Sandford's voyage included 17 members other than himself, including Captain George Cary, Lieutenant Samuel Hardy, Lieutenant Joseph Woory, Ensign Henry Brayne, Ensign Richard Abrahall, Mr. Thomas Giles
Later Years
Barbados Governor Willoughby banished Sanford from Barbados in 1668. He may have moved to the Carolinas, but not necessarily to settle there.
[Barber, Sarah, "Power in the English Caribbean: the Proprietorship of Lord Willoughby of Parham" in Roper, LH and Van Ruymbeke, B. "Constructing Early Modern Empires: Proprietary Ventures in the Atlantic World, 1500-1750, Leiden: Brill 2007 p. 210]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandford, Robert
English explorers of North America
Explorers of the United States
Colony of Barbados people
German emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
Year of death missing
People from Hamburg
1632 births
Date of death unknown