It is interesting that Horne notes that colonists can count slaves as members of their household when it comes to claiming land grants. This contrasts with the strict racial hierarchy at the time, where black men and women were not seen as family members or even people, but instead property. While Englishmen and women were able to make the choice to move to the Carolina colony, thousands of black men and women were not granted the same choice. Instead, they were displaced from their homes and sold into slavery against their will, with a destination of the New World. This casual mention of slaves, while laws had just recently been created to allow for the legal enslavement of black men and women, speaks to the strong belief among many Englishmen that white skin was superior.

According to Merriam-Webster, a cooper is defined as a person who makes or repairs wooden casks or tubs. In the context of the letter, coopers are listed as one of the skilled trades that is in high demand in the Carolina colony.

This primary document is a persuasive letter published by Robert Horne. Horne wanted to recruit English men and women alike to relocate to the new Carolina colony. He promised economic opportunity and religious freedom to prospective colonists, two things that many English people did not feel were afforded to them in England. Horne sought to recruit without concerns for class or status, desiring just as much to recruit wealthy aristocrats as to recruit lower class indentured servants. Based on the cultural turmoil happening at the time in England, it's easy to understand why this letter may have been quite effective as a recruitment tool.

This is a somewhat romanticized view of the life of colonists in the Carolina colony. While the new colony did provide opportunity for many, claiming that colonists "may be assured of a most comfortable subsistence" is certainly exaggerated. We know that the colonists faced many hardships due to weather, disease, food insecurity, and even threat of violence. According to Chapter 3 of The American Yawp, "In 1715, the Yamasee, Carolina’s closest allies and most lucrative trading partners, turned against the colony and nearly destroyed it entirely." This violence between the settlers and native tribes is a stark contrast from the comfortable life promised by Horne.

This section appears to speak to a mandatory time of military or militia service, or at least a requirement that each man is armed. As a new colonist in the Carolina colony, you would be granted land - conditionally. This land was contingent on each man being armed and possibly performing military-like service, likely due to the lack of a large organized military presence in the Carolina colony. The requirement of providing a firearm and food was likely to ensure that each colonist can be self-sufficient and not reliant on others.

This section unintentionally makes a statement about the cultural norms and gender hierarchy present at the time. This section discusses the granting of land to colonists at the conclusion of their mandated military/militia service. Men would be granted 100 acres of land, while women would be granted 50 acres. This discrepancy speaks to the strict gender hierarchy and generally patriarchal society that was the norm in colonial America.

This letter ends with a clear call to action. Any man or woman, whether aristocrat or servant, was welcome in the Carolina colony. If they felt moved by Horne's description of the colony, and felt the desire to relocate, this section provides steps and the contact information for one to inquire about relocating to the Carolina colony. The specificity of this conclusion speaks to Horne's true desire for more people to relocate to the colony.

This section highlights the religious freedom you could expect in the Carolina colony according to Robert Horne. This is notable, as England in the 1660s was not a place where religious liberty was experienced. According to Chapter 3 of The American Yawp, "Queen Elizabeth cemented Protestantism as the official religion of the realm". Due to the presence of an official state religion, many of Catholic faith or of different sects of Protestantism experienced persecution and conflict for their faith. For many, the New World was an opportunity for newfound religious freedom.

This section lays out the form of government that was planned for the Carolina colony. At face value it appears to be a democratic form of government, with the men choosing among themselves members for the General Assembly. This section notably leaves out women when discussing who chooses the members of the Assembly, which is unsurprising given the time this letter was written. One question I have regarding this form of government is how this is similar to, and how it differs to the prevailing form of government in England at the time.

Genteel is defined as having an aristocratic quality or being elegant or graceful in manner, free from vulgarity of rudeness. In the context of this letter, "Genteel blood" likely means that Horne desired for aristocratic or higher status Englishmen to join the Carolina colony rather than Englishmen of lower status.