- The most significant source of income was agriculture.
- Tobacco.
- Rice
- Indigo
- Crops were farmed in large fields and plantations and cultivated by enslaved Africans.
Trade
- Merchants purchased North Carolina goods and then sold them in the Caribbean, Europe or other colonies for profit.
Naval stores
- Tar, pitch, and turpentine were used in shipbuilding.
- North Carolina forests were rich in pine trees, which were the primary source of these natural resins.