211- NEAT AMERICAN PLACES And CULTURES To VISIT AND EXPLORE!..#I...GULLAH HISTORY And HERITAGE!.....

"Ef oona ent kno weh oona da gwine, oona should kno weh oon come from." (Gullah)
The Sea Islands stretch along the coasts of South Carolina and northern Georgia, forming clusters that once upon a time were "hidden" from the mainland. The native islanders' culture and language have always been known as GULLAH!
Because there was a booming business, rice, in the South during the early 1800s, the slave trading 'business' expanded rapidly. And, former slaves from the West African coastal countries of Sierra Leone and Senegal were needed for cultivation of rice would make that area of the South an excellent location. The African slaves were from the Rice Coast of West Africa and the islands climate matched the one in West Africa.
The slaves brought their own tradions, customs and good skills, and, with the isolation of the area, naturally have maintained them for over 200 years, including their Gullah, or Geechee, language.
Because of the unusual size of the rice plantations and complete isolation, even though the slaves were under severe hardship with injustice and abuse of the slave system, their Sea Islands location did create a sense of independence and personal worth. Other rice plantations did not have that. The term for that area of South Carolina and part of Georgia would be known as the "lowcountry."
During the first year of the Civil War, November of 1861, Union troops took over "lowcountry" and the Sea Island slaves were set FREE. They became some of the first to own their own land. Some served in the Union Army, too. A school was established, Penn, and education followed.
The Gullah community is a direct descendent of those from the West African coast, with the isolation all of these years doing justice to their unique language and traditions, culture!

(Gullah translation from above: "If you don't know where you are going, you should know where you come from.")