James Colleton was a governor of the English proprietary Province of Carolina

Province of Carolina

The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...

 from 1686 to 1690. Son of Sir John Colleton

John Colleton

Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet served Charles I during the English Civil War. He rose through the Royalist ranks during the conflict, but later had his holdings seized when the Cavaliers were finally defeated by Parliamentary forces...

, one of the colony's founders, he took over some of the family's landholdings in Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

 before being appointed governor by the colony's proprietors. Upon his arrival in the colony he put a stop to a planned expedition against Spanish St. Augustine

St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...

, organized in retaliation for an earlier attack against Charles Town

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

. Since England and Spain were then at peace, the proprietors approved his action, much to the annoyance of the local leaders. He furthered angered the colonists by maintaining the government according the colony's Fundamental Constitutions

Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina

The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were adopted in March 1669 by the eight Lords Proprietor of the Province of Carolina, which included most of the land between what is now Virginia and Florida. It replaced the Charter of Carolina and the Concessions and Agreements of the Lords Proprietors...

 in the face of popular opposition. By 1690 Colleton and the provincial assembly were at loggerheads, and Colleton attempted to rule without the assembly. This resulted in open resistance to his rule, prompting him to declare martial law

Martial law

Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...

, although he quickly retracted this when he could not even control the militia. He was turned out of office by the arrival in 1690 of Seth Sothel

Seth Sothel

Seth Sothel was a colonial proprietor and governor of the Province of Carolina, ruling the northern portion in 1678 and 1682–1689, and the southern portion from 1690 to 1692. He died in North Carolina in about 1694.- References :* McCrady, Edward...

, one of the proprietors.