Immigrant+Groups

The Scots-irish are noted for being the first group of people to settle in the North Carolina backcountry. They were protestants who left Northern Ireland in search of religious freedom. After settling in Pennsylvania and finding it too crowded, the Scots-Irish carried their search for land farther south. Most of the settlers lived near the Yadlin and Catawba rivers.
 * SCOTS-IRISH**

Not too long after the Scots, Germans began to settle in the back country. They were called the Pennsylvania Dutch, because of a mix up with how they pronounced the name of their own language, Deutsch. They too headed south because of crowding and to find new homes. Some settled in what would later be Cabarrus county.
 * GERMANS**

In the 1760's, English Quaker families began to move into the backcountry. They had begun a religious movement in which they rebelled against English customs of worship. The families had taken refuge in North Carolina either joining German communities or settling north west of Hillsborough.
 * ENGLISH QUAKERS**

Some early settlers carried slaves with them to North Carolina, including the Scots-Irish, and the Germans.
 * AFRICAN SLAVES**

The Moravians were a tightly organized people who practiced brotherhood and sisterhood very seriously. They spoke German and came from an area called Moravia ( now part of the Czech republic). This people group lived very similarly to how they had in their home country. They first came to Pennsylvania, then moved south to find more land. Lord Granville gave the Moravians a land grant that later became known as Wacovia, which means little meadow.
 * MORAVIANS**

Located in the sandhills, the Highland Scots were the last people group to come the North Carolina backcountry. Their land had been distroyed by the British, as punishment for a rebellion they had caused in 1745. To get rid of them, the British promised them great land in North Carolina, and tricked them into coming.
 * HIGHLAND SCOTS**

During the 1760's some Native American groups still lived in the backcountry. These groups were the Catawba. the Saura, and the Cherokee. The Catawba, while much smaller than before, was the largest indian group. While the Cherokee was smaller, they were fiercely protective of their hunting grounds.
 * NATIVE AMERICANS**