"Charleston es una ciudad de los condados de Berkeley y de Charleston en el estado de Carolina del Sur. Asimismo, la ciudad es la sede del condado y es la ciudad más grande del condado de Charleston. La ciudad fue fundada como Charlestown o Charles Towne, Carolina en 1670, y se trasladó a su actual localización en 1680. Hasta 1800, Charleston era la quinta ciudad más grande de Norteamérica, detrás de Filadelfia, de Nueva York, de Boston y de Quebec. Adoptó su actual nombre en 1783. También conocido como la ciudad santa (debido a la prominencia de iglesias, como se observa al ver los numerosos campanarios que puntean el horizonte de la ciudad). En 2007, la población estimada de la ciudad era de casi 120.000 habitantes, haciéndola la segunda ciudad más populosa de Carolina del Sur detrás de la capital del estado, Columbia. Las tendencias de las corrientes han hecho de Charleston la ciudad que crece más rápido en el centro de Carolina del Sur. Estiman que la población del área metropolitana de Charleston y de North Charleston es de 603.178 habitantes en 2007 (incluye las poblaciones de los condados de Charleston, de Berkeley, y de Dorchester). Esto alinea Charleston-Norte y Charleston como la segunda área metropolitana individual más grande del estado detrás de Columbia. Cerca del 80% de la población vive dentro de la ciudad y en las urbanizaciones adyacentes (población año 2000: 423.410 habitantes). La ciudad de Charleston se establece en el punto mediano de la línea de la costa del Sur de Carolina, en la unión de los ríos Ashley y río Cooper. El nombre de Charleston se deriva de Charles Towne, llamada así por el rey Carlos II de Inglaterra."
"Charleston is the oldest and second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the CharlestonNorth CharlestonSummerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline and is located on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, or, as is locally expressed, "where the Cooper and Ashley Rivers come together to form the Atlantic Ocean." Charleston had an estimated population of 132,609 in 2015. The population of the Charleston metropolitan area, comprising Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties, was counted by the 2015 estimate at 727,689the third-largest in the stateand the 78th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States. Charleston was founded as Charles Townhonoring King Charles II of Englandin 1670. Its initial location at Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River (now Charles Towne Landing) was abandoned in 1680 for its present site, which became the 5th-largest city in North America within 10 years. Despite its size, it remained unincorporated throughout the colonial period; its government was handled directly by the state legislature and by its Anglican parish wardens and vestries. It adopted its present spelling with its incorporation as a city in 1783 at the close of the Revolutionary War. Endemic bouts of yellow fever and malaria influenced the removal of the state government to Columbia in 1788, although the port remained among the 10 largest cities in the United States through the 1840 census. The only major American city to have a majority-enslaved population, Antebellum Charleston was controlled by a militarized oligarchy of white planters and merchants who successfully forced the federal government to revise its 1828 and 1832 tariffs during the Nullification Crisis and unsuccessfully launched the Civil War by seizing the Arsenal, Castle Pinckney, and Fort Sumter from their federal garrisons. The Confederates burned the town prior to its evacuation but continued demand for the area's cotton and rice, along with growing industry and a large military presence, saw it through Reconstruction. Known for its rich history, well-preserved architecture, distinguished restaurants, and mannerly people, Charleston is a popular tourist destination and has received a large number of accolades, including "America's Most Friendly [City]" by Travel + Leisure in 2011 and in 2013 and 2014 by Condé Nast Traveler, and also "the most polite and hospitable city in America" by Southern Living magazine."