John Lawson (± 1674 - 1711) was a British explorer, adventurer and writer. He played an important role in the colonial history of North Carolina, especially at the foundation of the first two permanent European sites, Bath and New Bern. biography
About Lawson's youth is little known. Presumably, he enjoyed a lot of social perception. All young man sailed to the British colonies in North America, where he arrived in Charleston on August 15, 1700. On December 28, 1700, he began a small canoe expedition along the Santee River, observing the environment and the many indigenous tribes accurately. He drove a few hundred miles through the wilderness and ended his journey at the mouth of Pamlico River, where he settled as a land surveyor. In 1705 he was appointed as Deputy Lord Proprietor. In 1708 he succeeded Edward Moseley as Surveyor-General.
In 1709, Lawson published a report of his explorations, entitled A New Voyage to Carolina. This book was immediately a great success, and was reprinted several times and translated into German and French.
In September 1711, Lawson, together with his companion Christopher von Graffenried, was imprisoned by Tuscarora as she raised the nose. Von Graffenried was released, but Lawson was tortured and killed. The tension that arose between the settlers and the indigenous people as a result soon led to a bloody conflict, known as the Tuscarora war.
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