South Carolina was first discovered by Spanish and English explorers in in the sixteen hundreds. The first settlement attempts failed, but in sixteen seventy a permanent settlement succeeded near what is now Charleston. At this time the Carolinas were one colony, but in seventeen ten the colony was split into present day North and South Carolina. Slaves were brought into South Carolina to work on rice and indigo plantations. After the Revolutionary War, South Carolina ratified as the eighth state. After the cotton gin was made, cotton became the main industry in South Carolina. In the late seventeen hundreds, South Carolina founded a new capitol called Columbia. The slaves in South Carolina were the main reason the state was so prosperous, so when the Civil War started South Carolina sided with the Confederates. The Civil War hit South Carolina very hard and many of the men in South Carolina died of were injured. The economy of South Carolina was very unstable during this time, because of all the African Americans that were the main work force of South Carolina were freed and the price of cotton was low. Even though the African American were free people, they were very segregated and belittled by white people. The peace movements during the nineteen sixties gave African American's equal rights as white's. Tourism is now a major industry in South Carolina, were lots of people travel to every year.