Sea Islands

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]

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

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).[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]

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]

Major Sea Islands

Charleston County
  • Bull Island
  • Dewees Island
  • Edisto Island (also in Colleton County)
  • Folly Island
  • Isle of Palms
  • James Island
  • Johns Island
  • Kiawah Island
  • Morris Island
  • Seabrook Island
  • Sullivan's Island
  • Wadmalaw Island
  • Yonges Island

Colleton County
  • Bear Island

Beaufort County
  • Bay Point Island
  • Cane Island
  • Cat Island
  • Coosaw Island
  • Dataw Island
  • Daufuskie Island
  • Distant Island
  • Fripp Island
  • Gibbes Island
  • Harbor Island
  • Hilton Head Island
  • Horse Island
  • Hunting Island
  • Lady's Island
  • Morgan Island
  • Parris Island
  • Port Royal Island
  • Pritchards Island[5]
  • St. Helena Island
  • St. Phillips Island
  • Spring Island

Chatham County
  • Tybee Island
  • Little Tybee Island
  • Cockspur Island
  • Wilmington Island
  • Talahi Island
  • Whitemarsh Island
  • Oatland Island
  • Skidaway Island
  • Isle of Hope
  • Williamson Island
  • Dutch Island
  • Burnside Island
  • Wassaw Island
  • Ossabaw Island

Liberty County
  • St. Catherine's Island
  • Isle of Wight
  • Hampton Island

McIntosh County
  • Blackbeard Island
  • Sapelo Island

Glynn County
  • Jekyll Island
  • Little St. Simons Island
  • St. Simons Island
  • Sea Island

Camden County
  • Cumberland Island

Nassau County
  • Amelia Island

Duval County
  • Big Talbot Island
  • Little Talbot Island

St. Johns County
  • Anastasia Island

See also
  • Sea Island cotton
  • Carolina Gold rice
  • Sea Island red peas

References
  1. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/rising-seas-threaten-the-gullah-geechee-culture-heres-how-theyre-fighting-back
  2. "Mission Santa Catalina de Guale", New Georgia Encyclopedia, 2008, accessed 13 May 2010
  3. "Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839". Encyclopedia.com. 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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