A social and economic initiative implemented by Union authorities during the American Civil War in 1862 on the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina, aimed at providing land, education, and economic opportunities to newly emancipated African Americans, as well as addressing issues of labor, land tenure, and citizenship rights in the post-emancipation South. The Port Royal Experiment involved the establishment of schools, churches, and cooperative farming communities, and sought to empower formerly enslaved individuals and promote self-sufficiency and economic independence.