North Carolina was one of the last colonies to publish local newspapers. The first being established in New Bern in 1751. James Davis of Virginia came to New Bern in 1749 to print currency and official documents. He started the No'th Carolina Gazette (original name) in 1751 from New Bern and published in various forms until his death in 1785.
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| The magazine version of Davis' North Carolina Gazette c. 1764 View at NCDigital |
Mr. Davis' paper was followed shortly by two Wilmington papers. The North Carolina and Weekly Post-boy published by Andrew Steuart from October 1764. Next was the Cape Fear Mercury published by Adam Boyd from October 1769.
Raleigh finally entered the newspaper game in October 1799 when William Boylan relocated his Fayetteville Minerva to the capital city and rechristened it the Raleigh Minerva. It was joined that same year by the Raleigh Register published by Joseph Gales. Both of these local papers started well after the end of the Revolution in 1783. Wake County denizens were still forced to get their Revolutionary news from other places whenever it happened to become available.
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| Boylan's Raleigh Minerva View at NC Digital |
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| Gales' Raleigh Register View at NC Digital |
It is interesting to note that the formation of many of the new papers, especially the eastern ones, followed the irritants of new British Declaration and Acts, such as the Currency Act (September 1764) and Stamp Act (March 1765). These measures were imposed by the Crown on already distressed colonists. Britain was eager to recover its war debts incurred during the French and Indian War. The need of the colonists to vent their frustration was great. More harsh measures were on the horizon and the need for a common media close to home was increasing.
The Currency Act prohibited American colonies from issuing new paper money or reissuing existing currency and forced them to use the British pound sterling. This slowed the colonial economy and placed all opportunity in the control of Britain, far removed from day-to-day colony life.
The Stamp act marked the first true tax imposed on the colonists. It required the purchase of a tax stamp on all paper goods—legal documents, newspapers, playing cards, and pamphlets—to fund troop protection. It is easy to see why the early newsmen and other colonists were against this measure. That was true in North Carolina and other colonies as well.
This transcribed excerpt from the North-Carolina Gazette (of New Bern), Nov. 27, 1765 pretty clearly sets out the mood of the colonists on learning of the new tax on all paper goods!
[Extract.]
C O N T I N U A T I O N O F
(November 27.) T H E (Numb. 59.)
NORTH-CAROLINA GAZETTE.
[The following is taken from the SOUTH-CAROLINA GAZETTE, of Oc-
tober 31st; being the last Paper intended to be printed in that Province, till
an Alteration of Affairs in AMERICA.]
CHARLES-TOWN, OCTOBER 30.
FRIDAY the 18th instant, late in the evening arrived, and came to
an anchor under the cannon of Fort Johnson, the ship Planter’s Ad-
venture, Capt. Miles Lowley, from London. It having been some
time before reported, that a Distributor of STAMPS for this province
was coming over in this ship, and it being suspected, from the circumstance of
her not coming up to town that night, that there was on board either a stamp
officer, stamps, or stampt paper,
Early on Saturday morning, (October 19th) in the middle of Broad street
and Church street, near Mr. Dillon’s (being the most central and public part of
the town) appeared suspended on a gallows twenty feet high, an effigy, designed
to represent a distributor of stampt paper, with a figure of the devil on his right
hand, and on his left a Boot, with a head stuck upon it, distinguished by a blue
bonnet; to each of which were affixed labels, expressive of the sense of a peo-
ple, unshaken in their loyalty, but tenacious of just liberty, who had conceived,
“that all internal duties imposed upon them without the consent of their imme-
diate, or even virtual, representatives, was grievous, oppressive, and unconstitu-
tional; and that an extension of the powers and jurisdictions of admiralty courts in
America, tended to subvert one of their most darling legal rights and privileges,
that of trials by juries.”—On the gallows, in very conspicuous characters, was
written, “ LIBERTY, and no STAMP-ACT;” and on the back of the principal
figure these words, viz. “Whoever shall dare attempt to pull down these effigies,
had better been born with a mill-stone about his neck, and cast into the sea.” * ...
*This portion was transcribed by Google Gemini 3. Line breaks of the original printing were preserved. Italics were added (by me) to the quote for emphasis. This discussion goes on for most of this issue of the newspaper. It can be viewed at this link -
https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn83025835/1765-11-27/ed-1/seq-1/
Do you hear the early murmurings of "taxation without representation" threading its way through this quote?
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