Located in the southeastern part of South Carolina and the seat of Charleston County, it is situated as a major port on the Atlantic coast and was considered to be a historic center of the Southern United States culture. The city settles on a peninsula between the estuaries of the Ashley and Cooper rivers that are facing the deepwater harbor. The town was mainly established by the British colonists and was the start of the colonization in the state. The city was the seat of the provincial Congress, and that was when the state of South Carolina was established in 1775. During the American Revolution, the town was primarily controlled by the British and ceased to become the state capital as the title was transferred to Columbia. The city has the most significant trade in the Caribbean and with the importation of cotton and rice.