Home > Saint Helena Island, South Carolina

The Sea Islands were the sites of numerous early forts, One, Fort Fremont is located at Lands End on the southern tip of St. Helena. Across St. Helena Sound is Parris Island, site of several more historic forts that have been sites of extensive archaeological digs. The forts were established to protect Port Royal. St. Helena is today connected to Beaufort, the county seat by U.S. Highway 21.

The first European to explore St. Helena was most likely Spanish explorer Vasquez de Allyon around 1520, as part of the Spanish exploration and colonization of the sea islands. Deepwater Port Royal was established as the center of the area, and at one time was the capital of the entire Spanish colony of Florida. The area was later colonised by the French, the Spanish again, then finally fell into English hands, who occupied it until the American Revolution.

The area was noted to be similar to the riceRice Rice fields on Java Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus: Oryza Species Oryza barthii ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza latifolia ''Oryza longistaminata ''Oryza punctata ''O growing region of West AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. 30,244,050 km2 (11,677,240 mi2) including the islands, it covers 20. 3% of the total land area on Earth, and with over 800 million human inhabitants it accounts for ar and soon captured slaves were brought to the Sea Islands, mostly from what is today Sierra LeoneThe Republic of Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The country is bordered by Guinea in the north and Liberia in the southeast. Republic of Sierra Leone ( In Detail) (Full size) National motto: Unity Freedom Just. Rice, indigoThis article is about the color. For other meanings, see indigo (disambiguation). Indigo is the color of light between 440 to 420 nanometers in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet. Indigo is neither an additive primary color nor a subtractive p, cottonCotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant. The fibre is most often spun into thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. Cotton is a valuable crop because only about 10% of the raw weight is lost in processing. Once tr and spices were grown by these slaves, as well as Native AmericanNative Americans (also Indians Aboriginal Peoples American Indians First Nations Alaskan Natives or Indigenous Peoples of America are the indigenous inhabitants of Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. This term compris, and indentured servants from Europe. The mix of cultures, somewhat isolated from the mainland, produced the Gullah culture.

The Civil War began, when South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 . After a number of setbacks for the Union, the Battle of Port Royal became an important victory on November 7, 1861 . Lincoln had called for a blockade of Confederate ports and Port Royal was considered one of the most important. A flotilla of Union ships commanded by Samuel F. Du Pont launched a furious assault on Fort Walker , which defended Port Royal and the Sea Islands. The battle was so loud it was heard along the coast as far as present day Florida.

After several hours, the fort surrendered and the islands fell into Union hands and were held thoughout the war. Slaves were liberated and immediate steps were taken to help improve their lot. One of the most important was the establishment of Penn School to educate them.

Another was grants of land to heads of households, from whence came the belief among the slaves that upon emancipation, all would be given forty acres and a mule.

Today the historic school, now known as Penn Center is one of the nation's most historically significant African-American educational and cultural institutions. In recent times it was an important meeting center for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. whose

Center a National Historic Landmark.

The historic status has helped the defenders of the Gullah culture fend off the development that has turned other Sea Islands like

rural land has been preserved and much of the island is still owned by African-Americans. But economic pressures have forced some off their land, and may forever change the character of the area.