Charleston, South Carolina in the context of "Confederate States Army"

The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage. Europeans established a coastal slave trade in the 15th century, and trade to the Americas began in the 16th century, lasting through the 19th century. The vast majority of those who were transported in the transatlantic slave trade were from Central Africa and West Africa and had been sold by West African slave traders to European slave traders, while others had been captured directly by the slave traders in coastal raids. European slave traders gathered and imprisoned the enslaved at forts on the African coast and then brought them to the Western hemisphere. Some Portuguese and Europeans participated in slave raids. As the National Museums Liverpool explains: "European traders captured some Africans in raids along the coast, but bought most of them from local African or African-European dealers." European slave traders generally did not participate in slave raids. This was primarily because life expectancy for Europeans in sub-Saharan Africa was less than one year during the period of the slave trade due to malaria that was endemic to the African continent. Portuguese coastal raiders found that slave raiding was too costly and often ineffective and opted for established commercial relations.

The colonial South Atlantic and Caribbean economies were particularly dependent on slave labour for the production of sugarcane and other commodities. This was viewed as crucial by those Western European states which were vying with one another to create overseas empires. The Portuguese, in the 16th century, were the first to transport slaves across the Atlantic. In 1526, they completed the first transatlantic slave voyage to Brazil. Other Europeans soon followed. Shipowners regarded the slaves as cargo to be transported to the Americas as quickly and cheaply as possible, there to be sold to work on coffee, tobacco, cocoa, sugar, and cotton plantations, gold and silver mines, rice fields, the construction industry, cutting timber for ships, as skilled labour, and as domestic servants. The first enslaved Africans sent to the English colonies were classified as indentured servants, with legal standing similar to that of contract-based workers coming from Britain and Ireland. By the middle of the 17th century, slavery had hardened as a racial caste, with African slaves and their future offspring being legally the property of their owners, as children born to slave mothers were also slaves (partus sequitur ventrem). As property, the people were considered merchandise or units of labour, and were sold at markets with other goods and services.

The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to Heaven (the Ascension is said to have occurred about two thousand years ago). The idea is based on messianic prophecies and is part of most Christian eschatologies.

In Islamic eschatology, Jesus (ʿĪsā ibn Maryam) is also believed to return in the end times. According to Islamic belief, he will descend from Heaven to defeat the false messiah (al-Masih ad-Dajjal), restore justice, and reaffirm monotheism. His return is regarded as one of the major signs of the Day of Judgment, and he is viewed as a revered prophet, not divine, in Islamic theology.

The Walls of Old San Juan (Spanish: Murallas del Viejo San Juan) is a defensive city wall that surrounds the western end of the San Juan Islet, site of the historic district of San Juan, Puerto Rico. This defensive wall system was built between the 16th and 18th centuries to protect the city and the Bay of San Juan, a highly strategic point in the Caribbean. These walls, along with the defensive fortresses in Old San Juan (La Fortaleza, El Morro and San Cristóbal), form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site-designated San Juan National Historic Site as they are characteristic examples of the historic methods of construction used in military architecture which adapted European designs and techniques to the special conditions of the Caribbean port cities.

San Juan remains the only walled city under the United States jurisdiction, with walled cities like Boston, Charleston and New Orleans no longer having walls after the 18th century, although St. Augustine, Florida, still retains several wall remnants. Examples of other North American walled cities that retain their ramparts are Quebec City in Canada and Campeche in Mexico. The bartizans (garitas) found along the walls are considered emblematic of the city of San Juan and a symbol of historic heritage preservation in Puerto Rico.

North Carolina (/ˌkærəˈlaɪnə/ KARR-ə-LY-nə) is a state in the Southeastern and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia to the southwest, and Tennessee to the west. The state is the 28th-largest and ninth-most populous of the United States. Along with South Carolina, it makes up the Carolinas region of the East Coast. At the 2020 census, the state had a population of 10,439,388. Raleigh is the state's capital and Charlotte is its most populous and one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. The Charlotte metropolitan area, with an estimated population of 2,883,370 in 2024, is the most populous metropolitan area in North Carolina, the 21st-most populous in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City. The Research Triangle, with an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023, is the second-most populous combined metropolitan area in the state, 31st-most populous in the United States, and is home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park.

The earliest evidence of human occupation in North Carolina dates back 10,000 years, found at the Hardaway Site. North Carolina was inhabited by Carolina Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan speaking tribes of Native Americans prior to the arrival of Europeans. King Charles II granted eight lord proprietors a colony they named Carolina after the king and which was established in 1670 with the first permanent settlement at Charles Town (now Charleston, South Carolina). Because of the difficulty of governing the entire colony from Charles Town, the colony was eventually divided and North Carolina was established as a royal colony in 1729 and was one of the Thirteen Colonies. The Halifax Resolves resolution adopted by North Carolina on April 12, 1776, was the first formal call for independence from Great Britain among the American Colonies during the American Revolution.

South Carolina (/ˌkærəˈlaɪnə/ KARR-ə-LY-nə) is a state in the Southeastern, South Atlantic and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia to the west and south across the Savannah River. Along with North Carolina, it makes up the Carolinas region of the East Coast. South Carolina is the 11th-smallest and 23rd-most populous U.S. state with a recorded population of 5,118,425 according to the 2020 census. In 2019, its GDP was $213.45 billion. South Carolina is composed of 46 counties. The capital is Columbia with a population of 136,632 in 2020; while its most populous city is Charleston with a 2020 population of 150,227. The Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area is the most populous combined metropolitan area in the state, with an estimated 2023 population of 1,590,636.

South Carolina was named in honor of King Charles I of England, who first formed the English colony, with Carolus being Latin for "Charles". In 1712 the Province of South Carolina was formed. One of the original Thirteen Colonies, South Carolina became a royal colony in 1719. During the American Revolutionary War, South Carolina was the site of major activity among the American colonies, with more than 200 battles and skirmishes fought within the state. South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on May 23, 1788. A slave state, it was the first state to vote in favor of secession from the Union on December 20, 1860. After the Civil War ended, the state was readmitted to the Union on July 9, 1868.

Lutheran art consists of all religious art produced for Lutherans and the Lutheran churches. This includes sculpture, painting, and architecture. Artwork in the Lutheran churches arose as a distinct marker of the faith during the Reformation era and attempted to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the teachings of Lutheran theology.

The Battle of Fort Sumter (also the Attack on Fort Sumter or the Fall of Fort Sumter) (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the fort by the United States Army, beginning the American Civil War.

Following the declaration of secession by South Carolina on December 20, 1860, its authorities demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On December 26, Major Robert Anderson of the U.S. Army surreptitiously moved his small command from the vulnerable Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island to Fort Sumter, a substantial fortress built on an island controlling the entrance of Charleston Harbor. An attempt by U.S. President James Buchanan to reinforce and resupply Anderson using the unarmed merchant ship Star of the West failed when it was fired upon by shore batteries on January 9, 1861. The ship was hit three times, which caused no major damage but nonetheless kept the supplies from reaching Anderson.

The 1860 Democratic National Conventions were a series of presidential nominating conventions held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1860 election.

The first convention, held from April 23 to May 3 in Charleston, South Carolina, deadlocked after failing to nominate a ticket: two subsequent conventions, both held in Baltimore, Maryland in June, ultimately nominated separate presidential tickets.

Fort Sumter is a historical sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the War of 1812, which had exposed the inadequacy of existing American coastal fortifications to defend against naval attacks. Fort Sumter was still incomplete in 1861 when it was attacked by Confederate Forces during the Battle of Fort Sumter on April 12, sparking the American Civil War; the fort was severely damaged during the battle and left in ruins. Although there were some efforts at reconstruction after the war, Fort Sumter as conceived was never completed. Since the middle of the 20th century, the fort has been open to the public as part of the Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, operated by the National Park Service.