Geography | |
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Location | Atlantic Ocean |
Total islands | Over 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.
History
Settled by indigenous cultures over thousands of years, 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).[1]
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.[2]
Major Sea Islands
South Carolina
Charleston County
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Colleton County
Beaufort County
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Georgia
Chatham County
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Liberty County
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McIntosh County
Glynn County
Camden County
Florida
Nassau County
Duval County
St. Johns County
See also
References
- ^ "Mission Santa Catalina de Guale", New Georgia Encyclopedia, 2008, accessed 13 May 2010
- ^ William Klingaman, Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation, 1861-1865 (NY: Viking Press, 2001), p. 234
- ^ "Archived copy". www.uscb.edu. Archived from the original on 2 September 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Further reading
- Gibson, Count D. (1948). Sea Islands of Georgia—Their Geologic History. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 9780820334943. Retrieved 3 July 2019.