Josh The Lighthouse Guy
Major
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2012
- Location
- Jupiter, FL
Although understandably overshadowed by African Slavery, the Thirteen Colonies also practiced enslavement of Native Americans. It was also overshadowed by the Spanish enslavement of Native Americans in the early years of their colonial empire, although that practice was banned by the Spanish crown in 1542.
I don't know about Native American slavery in the northern colonies, which was probably limited, but the peak of the practice came during the half-century after the founding of South Carolina. That's where my reading has intersected the topic.
Chronology of Major Events
1650s: A native group, called the Westos by the English and and the Chicimeco by the Spanish, were in western Virginia. They are thought to be a portion of the Erie tribe who relocated rather than be assimilated by the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois. Virginian traders paid the Westos to raid tribes farther to the south and west, and bring back captives to sell into chattel slavery. Raids around 1659-1661 struck parts of Georgia and northern Florida that were outside Spanish control, though within Spanish-claimed territory.
1660s: Yamassee Ethnogenesis. Several related but indepenent native towns in central Georgia began to strength their bonds for mutual protection against further raids, forming a new tribal identity as the Yamasee. They begin relocating to coastal Georgia and the northeast corner of Florida, amongst the remains of another tribe called the Guale. The Yamasee hope strength in numbers and Spanish support can offer some protection.
1670: Charles Town settled in South Carolina. From this point until 1715, an estimated 50,000 Native Americans will be sold into slavery in South Carolina.
1680: Westos, who have relocated to South Carolina, raid the Yamasee-Guale towns for more slaves. However, in the immediate aftermath of the raids, there is a falling out between the Westos and the English. South Carolina militia attack and defeat the Westos; the survivors are enslaved or absorbed by neighboring tribes.
1684-1685: Pirate raids on the Georgia coast. Yamasee determine the Spanish are worthless allies who cannot protect them and decide to throw their lot with the English instead. The Yamasee (who have absorbed most of the remaining Guale tribe, who probably spoke a very similar language) move to the southern corner of South Carolina, including the area around the modern towns of Yemasee and Poctaligo.
1685: Yamasees begin slave raids against the Timucua in Florida.
The Yamasee become the main slave takers (captives were sold to white traders who in turn sold them to plantations), proactively enslaving others to avoid their own enslavement and because it was a lucrative trade. The other main trade good Native Americans sold to South Carolina was deerskins and, by the early 1700s, one healthy adult Native American slave could be worth as much as 200 deerskins.
1690: 13% of South Carolina households own at least one African slave. 4% own at least one Native American slave. Nearly all households with a native slave also own at least one African.
1700: 26% of South Carolina households own at least one African slave. 6% own at least one Native American slave.
1702: Queen Anne's War begins. South Carolina militia, with Yamasee allies, fails to capture St. Augustine, but they destroy the remaining coastal Spanish missions north of St. Augustine and take native captives for slavery.
1703: 10% of all slaves in South Carolina are Native Americans.
1704-1705: English, Yamasee, and Lower Creek / Uchise raids devastate the Timucua and Apalachee tribes of northern Florida. Approximately 32 native mission towns destroyed. Thousands of inhabitants killed, enslaved, or forced to relocate to South Carolina. Likely a high fatality rate amongst those relocated.
1706-1709: Yamasee and Creek raids, sometimes joined by English traders like Thomas Nairne, rampage across Central and Southern Florida, devastating the local populations. The Spanish thought approximately 10,000 natives were captured, but South Carolina records only account for about 1,500 being sold into slavery. Spanish numbers are probably inflated, but also many captives died in en route to Georgia and South Carolina or were sacrificed, forciably adopted, or enslaved by the Creeks.
1710: 26% of South Carolina households own at least one Native American slave. 25% of all slaves in South Carolina are natives.
1710-1715: Northern colonies begin banning or heavily taxing importation of Native American slaves from the Southern colonies.
1715: Native American population of Florida estimated at less than 1,000. This is due not only to those killed or captured during slave raids, but also those who fled from Florida - either to Spanish Cuba (where they soon died of disease) or as refugees with other tribes, mostly friendly Creeks or Creek-affiliated tribes.
1715-1717: Yamasee War. Tired of mistreatment, threatened with enslavement for debts, and growing deeply distrustful of the English, the Yamasees violently turn on South Carolina. Most prominent English traders are killed and many plantations are raided, after which most Yamasee evacuate South Carolina. About a third go to St. Augustine and find refuge with the Spanish, and from there wage a guerilla war against the English that results in their slow demise. Most of the rest find refuge with the Lower Creeks of Southwest Georgia. A small faction of Yamasee do not participate in the war and remain in the Savannah River Valley for decades with friendly English. Meanwhile, the Creeks, Cherokees, and various small Carolina tribes also join in the attack on South Carolina, to various degrees and for a variety of tribe-specific motivations. South Carolina seems in danger of collapse, but although the plantations are devastated the tribes have no chance of taking Charleston. The English drive a diplomatic wedge between the Cherokees and Creeks (who, as longtime enemies, were only nominally temporary allies of convience anyway) which leads to the end of the war.
The Yamasee War marked a defacto end to the Indian Slave Trade, but I don't think anyone knows when the last Native American slaves in South Carolina died.
Related Reading
Mapping the Mississippian Shatter Zone: The Colonial Indian Slave Trade and Regional Instability in the American South
by Robbie Ethridge & Sheri Shuck-Hall. (University of Nebraska Press, 2009)
The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America by Andrés Reséndez (Mariner Books, 2016)
The Yamasee Indians: From Florida to South Carolina edited by Denise Bossy (University of Nebraska Press, 2018)
The Yamasee War: A Study of Culture, Economy, and Conflict in the Colonial South by William Ramsey (University of Nebraska Press, 2008)
I don't know about Native American slavery in the northern colonies, which was probably limited, but the peak of the practice came during the half-century after the founding of South Carolina. That's where my reading has intersected the topic.
Chronology of Major Events
1650s: A native group, called the Westos by the English and and the Chicimeco by the Spanish, were in western Virginia. They are thought to be a portion of the Erie tribe who relocated rather than be assimilated by the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois. Virginian traders paid the Westos to raid tribes farther to the south and west, and bring back captives to sell into chattel slavery. Raids around 1659-1661 struck parts of Georgia and northern Florida that were outside Spanish control, though within Spanish-claimed territory.
1660s: Yamassee Ethnogenesis. Several related but indepenent native towns in central Georgia began to strength their bonds for mutual protection against further raids, forming a new tribal identity as the Yamasee. They begin relocating to coastal Georgia and the northeast corner of Florida, amongst the remains of another tribe called the Guale. The Yamasee hope strength in numbers and Spanish support can offer some protection.
1670: Charles Town settled in South Carolina. From this point until 1715, an estimated 50,000 Native Americans will be sold into slavery in South Carolina.
1680: Westos, who have relocated to South Carolina, raid the Yamasee-Guale towns for more slaves. However, in the immediate aftermath of the raids, there is a falling out between the Westos and the English. South Carolina militia attack and defeat the Westos; the survivors are enslaved or absorbed by neighboring tribes.
1684-1685: Pirate raids on the Georgia coast. Yamasee determine the Spanish are worthless allies who cannot protect them and decide to throw their lot with the English instead. The Yamasee (who have absorbed most of the remaining Guale tribe, who probably spoke a very similar language) move to the southern corner of South Carolina, including the area around the modern towns of Yemasee and Poctaligo.
1685: Yamasees begin slave raids against the Timucua in Florida.
The Yamasee become the main slave takers (captives were sold to white traders who in turn sold them to plantations), proactively enslaving others to avoid their own enslavement and because it was a lucrative trade. The other main trade good Native Americans sold to South Carolina was deerskins and, by the early 1700s, one healthy adult Native American slave could be worth as much as 200 deerskins.
1690: 13% of South Carolina households own at least one African slave. 4% own at least one Native American slave. Nearly all households with a native slave also own at least one African.
1700: 26% of South Carolina households own at least one African slave. 6% own at least one Native American slave.
1702: Queen Anne's War begins. South Carolina militia, with Yamasee allies, fails to capture St. Augustine, but they destroy the remaining coastal Spanish missions north of St. Augustine and take native captives for slavery.
1703: 10% of all slaves in South Carolina are Native Americans.
1704-1705: English, Yamasee, and Lower Creek / Uchise raids devastate the Timucua and Apalachee tribes of northern Florida. Approximately 32 native mission towns destroyed. Thousands of inhabitants killed, enslaved, or forced to relocate to South Carolina. Likely a high fatality rate amongst those relocated.
1706-1709: Yamasee and Creek raids, sometimes joined by English traders like Thomas Nairne, rampage across Central and Southern Florida, devastating the local populations. The Spanish thought approximately 10,000 natives were captured, but South Carolina records only account for about 1,500 being sold into slavery. Spanish numbers are probably inflated, but also many captives died in en route to Georgia and South Carolina or were sacrificed, forciably adopted, or enslaved by the Creeks.
1710: 26% of South Carolina households own at least one Native American slave. 25% of all slaves in South Carolina are natives.
1710-1715: Northern colonies begin banning or heavily taxing importation of Native American slaves from the Southern colonies.
1715: Native American population of Florida estimated at less than 1,000. This is due not only to those killed or captured during slave raids, but also those who fled from Florida - either to Spanish Cuba (where they soon died of disease) or as refugees with other tribes, mostly friendly Creeks or Creek-affiliated tribes.
1715-1717: Yamasee War. Tired of mistreatment, threatened with enslavement for debts, and growing deeply distrustful of the English, the Yamasees violently turn on South Carolina. Most prominent English traders are killed and many plantations are raided, after which most Yamasee evacuate South Carolina. About a third go to St. Augustine and find refuge with the Spanish, and from there wage a guerilla war against the English that results in their slow demise. Most of the rest find refuge with the Lower Creeks of Southwest Georgia. A small faction of Yamasee do not participate in the war and remain in the Savannah River Valley for decades with friendly English. Meanwhile, the Creeks, Cherokees, and various small Carolina tribes also join in the attack on South Carolina, to various degrees and for a variety of tribe-specific motivations. South Carolina seems in danger of collapse, but although the plantations are devastated the tribes have no chance of taking Charleston. The English drive a diplomatic wedge between the Cherokees and Creeks (who, as longtime enemies, were only nominally temporary allies of convience anyway) which leads to the end of the war.
The Yamasee War marked a defacto end to the Indian Slave Trade, but I don't think anyone knows when the last Native American slaves in South Carolina died.
Related Reading
Mapping the Mississippian Shatter Zone: The Colonial Indian Slave Trade and Regional Instability in the American South
by Robbie Ethridge & Sheri Shuck-Hall. (University of Nebraska Press, 2009)
The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America by Andrés Reséndez (Mariner Books, 2016)
The Yamasee Indians: From Florida to South Carolina edited by Denise Bossy (University of Nebraska Press, 2018)
The Yamasee War: A Study of Culture, Economy, and Conflict in the Colonial South by William Ramsey (University of Nebraska Press, 2008)
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