King Charles II of England granted the Carolina charter in 1663 for land south of Virginia Colony and north of Spanish Florida. Because the northern half of the colony differed significantly from the southern half, and because transportation and communication between the two settled regions was difficult, a separate deputy governor was named to administer the northern half of the colony starting in 1691. The division of the colony into North and South was completed at a meeting of the Lords Proprietors held at Craven House in London on December 7, 1710, although the same proprietors continued to control both colonies.{citation needed|date=April 2013} Unrest against the proprietors in South Carolina in 1719 led to the appointment of a royal governor in that colony by King George I, but the Lords Proprietor continued to appoint the governor of North Carolina.
In 1729, after nearly a decade-long attempt by the British government to locate and buy out seven of the eight Lords Proprietors, both Carolinas became royal colonies. The remaining one-eighth share of the Province (part of North Carolina known as the Granville District) was retained by members of the Carteret family until 1776.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Carolina