"B" is for Bull, William (1683-1755)

"B" is for Bull, William (1683-1755). Planter, lieutenant governor. Bull had a long political career that began in the proprietary era and continued for thirty-five years after South Carolina became a royal colony. He served continuously on the Grand Council from 1719-1755 and he was lieutenant governor from 1738-1755. From 1737 until the arrival of Governor James Glen in 1743, Bull was acting governor. During that time he led provincial forces in suppressing the Stono Rebellion. As a long-serving, native-born Council member, Bull’s attachments to colonial prerogative increased the power of the Commons House. During a 1730s controversy over fiscal policy, Bull sided with the Commons House and asserted that body’s right to create money bills—an important element of colonial independence. William Bull was the progenitor of a political dynasty of interconnected families.