In ancient times, the Eastern half of the state was underwater, and giant megladon sharks roamed the waters. On land, there were woolly mammoths and mastodons. Eventually, nearly 30 Native American groups settled across the state.
In the 1580s, the British established two colonies in North Carolina, both of which failed. In the 1600s permanent settlers from Virginia began to move to North Carolina, and it eventually became part of a British colony known as "Carolina".
Many people believe that in 1775 North Carolina became the first colony to declare independence from Great Britain. After the American Revolution, North Carolina became the twelfth state of the Union.
In 1861, North Carolina seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy in the Civil War. In 1865 North Carolina troops surrendered, and in 1868 the state was brought back into the Union.
The 20th century has seen North Carolina transformed into a modern state, a transformation that began when the Wright Brothers flew the first airplane in Kitty Hawk, NC in 1903.
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