Sea Islands
Map of the Sea islands
Sea Islands is located in the United States
Sea Islands
Sea Islands
Geography
LocationAtlantic Ocean
Total islandsOver 100
Administration
United States

The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States. Numbering over 100, they are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns rivers along the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The largest of these is Johns Island in South Carolina. The Sea Islands, particularly Sapelo Island, are home to the Gullah people. The islands are very acutely threatened by sea level rise due to climate change.[1]

History

Settled by indigenous cultures thousands of years ago, the islands were selected by Spanish colonists as sites for founding of colonial missions. Historically the Spanish influenced the Guale and Mocama chiefdoms by establishing Christian missions in their major settlements, from St. Catherine's Island south to Fort George Island (at present-day Jacksonville, Florida).[2] The area was home to multiple plantations; in 1863 Fanny Kemble published Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839 about her experience on her husband's plantations in St. Simon's Island and Butler Island.[3]

The Sea Islands were known historically for the production of Sea Island cotton.

After President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation became effective on January 1, 1863, more than 5,000 slaves on Union-occupied islands obtained their freedom.[4]

In 1893, a deadly major hurricane struck the Sea Islands.

Major Sea Islands

South Carolina

Charleston County

Colleton County

Beaufort County

Georgia

Chatham County

Liberty County

McIntosh County

Glynn County

Camden County

Florida

Nassau County

Duval County

St. Johns County

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rising seas threaten the Gullah Geechee culture. Here's how they're fighting back". National Geographic Society. 27 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  2. ↑ "Mission Santa Catalina de Guale" Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine, New Georgia Encyclopedia, 2008, accessed 13 May 2010
  3. ↑ "Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  4. ↑ William Klingaman, Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation, 1861-1865 (NY: Viking Press, 2001), p. 234
  5. ↑ "University of South Carolina Beaufort - Pritchards Island". www.uscb.edu. Archived from the original on 2 September 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2022.

Further reading

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