Cusabo

Cusabo refers to a historical indigenous group or confederacy that inhabited the coast of what is now South Carolina, United States, particularly the area around Port Royal Sound and the Sea Islands. They were encountered by European explorers, most notably the Spanish in the 16th century and later the English during the colonial period.

The Cusabo were known for their fishing and agricultural practices, subsisting on a diet of fish, shellfish, corn, beans, and other cultivated crops. Their society was organized into villages, and they were skilled navigators and traders within their region. Information about their social structure, language, and specific customs is limited due to the scarcity of detailed historical records and the eventual assimilation and decline of the group.

European colonization had a profound impact on the Cusabo people. Disease, warfare, and displacement significantly reduced their population and disrupted their way of life. By the 18th century, references to the Cusabo become increasingly rare, suggesting their absorption into other tribes or their disappearance as a distinct cultural entity. Their legacy persists in place names and historical accounts of the early colonial era in South Carolina.