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In the Affairs of the World: Women, Patriarchy, and Power in Colonial South Carolina (Contributions in American History)

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As a British colony, South Carolina (or Carolina as it was then known) swiftly took on an agrarian, conservative, patriarchal form. Traits that would arguably endure well into the twentieth century. Heere, Anzilotti concerns herself with that early era. She describes how women were able to carve out power in the planter elite. In part due to the higher death rate amongst the male planters. Their lifestyles, involving hunting, drinking and duelling, no doubt contributed to this shortened longevity.

Invariably, some women would by default assume the senior role in a plantation. The irony was that many chauvinistic men had to accept this reality. That if their wives outlived them, the wives would need authority to run the estates. If only to ultimately pass these onto the sons.

Anzilotti recaps this wretched society in detail. All the while being played out against the racial backdrop of slavery. This combination would form an inescapable part of Carolina's history.