The Creek Frontier, 1540–1783 is the first complete history of an American Indian tribe in the colonial period. Although much has been written of the Spanish, French, and British explorations in North America in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, little has been known of the Indian tribes that explorers such as De Soto and De Luna encountered. The Creek Indians, who occupied Alabama, Georgia, and much of northern Florida from the earliest days of Spanish exploration to shortly after the American Civil War, were a power to be reckoned with by Spain, France, and Britain in their efforts to gain control of that area. Always hostile to Spain, the Creeks were natural allies with the British, but they used other Europeans to further their interests. When they gave up their neutral position to ally themselves with the British against the American patriots, the Creeks found themselves completely at the mercy of their victorious enemies. Stressing Creek political institutions and diplomacy, this volume offers the most complete story of the rapacious “Queen” Mary Musgrove, and the rise to leadership of Alexander McGillivray. Creek Indian personalities of old emerge to share history’s spotlight with the wigged governors they struggled with in order to maintain autonomy for their people.
American Indians have talent in both oratory and statesmanship. American history provides abundant examples of Indians’ adroit political maneuvering with the whites. Less well known are the maneuvers that took place within individual tribes. The Cherokee Indians are celebrated for their political and social achievements. But the fact that the Cherokee concept of nationalism was formulated long before the nineteenth century has been overlooked. From 1740 until 1762 the Cherokees lived in the area of present-day North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia, and they were a homogeneous people, albeit struggling in the face of opposition within and without. During this critical period the traditional nationalist forces in the nation had to contend with many brands of factionalism. The traditional leadership, stemming from Overhill Chota, came into conflict with the English puppet leadership at Overhill Great Tellico, and French-English rivalry split the nation into two forces. One, led by Old Hop, the first Beloved Man of the nation, advocated neutrality. The other, led by Attakullaculla, favored the English alliance. After a cruel war with the English, in which two royal expeditionary forces laid waste the Cherokee country, Attakullaculla was able to bring about a peace. This realistic picture of Indian intrigue reveals the influence of intratribal conflict on colonial history—demonstrating that the Cherokees’ own problems were more significant than European pressure in shaping events. The story of Cherokee statesmanship in terms of Indian institutions provides fresh insight into this era of colonial and American Indian history.
Between the time of the settling of Jamestown and the Trail of Tears in the 1830's, thousands of American Indians were induced to cede their lands to European settlers and move westward. This book, with the aid of maps and pictures, relies primarily on the words of those involved to provide1an historical accounting of the forced relocations. Presidential policies are examined, as well as the various ways in which the Indians attempted to maintain their cultural identity during these upheavals. Cultural and community splits within the Creek, Cherokee and Seminole nations are also explored in detail.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.