Jean-Pierre Pury

Jean-Pierre Pury (1675 – 1736) was an explorer, geographer and colonist from the Principality of Neuchâtel, a Prussian principality in modern-day Switzerland. He served as mayor of Lignières and worked as a wine merchant before losing his wealth to a fire. He then worked as a corporal for the Dutch East India Company, which inspired him to found his own colony. After years of campaigning, he was granted permission by the British Crown to establish a settlement in the Province of Carolina. He established the Colony of Purrysburg (present day Purrysburg, South Carolina) and lived as a planter on 12,000 acres. His colony, made up of mostly Swiss Protestants, was relatively unsuccessful.