Seth Sothel was born in England and became a Proprietor of Carolina in 1677. In 1678, while en route to North Carolina to become the governor there, Sothel was captured by pirates and held for ransom in Algiers. After being released in September 1681, Sothel arrived and assumed office by February 1683. During his governorship, several colonists made complaints to the Proprietors in England, claiming that Sothel was a disorderly force in North Carolina, and that he exploited the governorship for his own profit. Eventually the colonists' discontent became so great that they imprisoned Sothel in the summer of 1689. The colonial assembly then banished him. In response, Sothel moved to South Carolina, declaring himself governor of that colony in October 1690. In November 1691 the Proprietors suspended Sothel's governorship. He died sometime prior to February 1694.