In 1685, John Thurber, a pirate, inadvertently introduced rice to America. After a storm damaged his ship, he stopped in Charleston, SC, where he met Dr. Henry Woodward. In exchange for assistance, Thurber gave Woodward seed rice from Madagascar. This exchange reportedly led to the rise of rice as Carolina's primary crop, and the importation of enslaved Africans.
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Standing over 65 feet tall and 25 feet wide, the Angel Oak on John’s Island, near Charleston, SC, is believed to be the largest live oak tree east of the Mississippi river.