Yamasee
Encyclopedia
The Yamasee were a multiethnic confederation of Native American
s that lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia
near the Savannah River
and later in northeastern Florida
.
In 1570, Spanish explorers established missions
in Yamasee territory. The Yamasee were later included in the missions of the Guale province. Starting in 1675 the Yamasee were mentioned regularly on Spanish mission census records of the missionary provinces of Guale
(central Georgia coast) and Mocama
(present-day southeastern Georgia and northeastern Florida). The Yamasee usually did not convert to Christianity and remained somewhat separated from the Christian Indians of Spanish Florida
.
Pirate attacks on the Spanish missions in 1680 forced the Yamasee to migrate again. Some moved to Florida. Others returned to the Savannah River lands, safer after the destruction of the Westo
.
In 1687, Spaniards attempted to send Yamasees to the West Indes as slaves, so the tribe revolted against the Spanish missions and their Native allies, and the tribe moved into the British colony of the Province of South Carolina
(present day South Carolina
). They established several villages, Pocotaligo, Tolemato, and Topiqui, in Beaufort County, South Carolina
. A 1715 census conducted by John Barnwell counted 1,220 Yamasee living in ten villages in near Port Royal, South Carolina
.
For years, the Yamasee and the Carolinian colonists conducted slave raids upon Spanish-allied Indians and attacked St. Augustine, Florida
. In 1715, the Yamasee joined an intertribal war against the British, triggering the Yamasee War
, which lasted until at least 1717. Many tribes allied themselves with the Yamasee. British Governor Charles Craven
defeated the Yamasee at Salkechuh (Saltketchers, Salkehatchie) on the Combahee River
. The tribe was driven across the Savannah River back into Spanish Florida
.
The Yamasee then migrated south to the area around St. Augustine
and Pensacola
, where they allied with the Spanish against the British. In 1727, the British attacked the tribe's settlement and slaughtered most of them. Some survivors joined the Seminole
tribe and some joined the Hitchiti
people and disappeared from the historical record.
, La Tama, Apalachee
, Coweta
, and Cussita Creek, among others. Historian Chester B. DePratter describes the Yamasee towns of early South Carolina as consisting of Lower Towns, consisting mainly of Hitchiti-speaking Indians, and Upper Towns, consisting mainly of Guale Indians.
/yvmvsē/, meaning "tame, quiet"; or perhaps from Catawban
/yį musí:/, literally "people-ancient".
Little record remains of the Yamasee language. It is partially preserved in works by missionary Domingo Báez. Diego Peña was told in 1716-1717 that the Tuskegee also spoke Yamasee.
Hann (1992) claims that Yamasee is related to the Muskogean languages. This was based upon a colonial report that a Yamasee spy within a Hitchiti
town could understand Hitichiti and was not detected as a Yamasee. Francis Le Jau stated in 1711 that the Yamasee understood the Creek
. He also noted that many Indians throughout the region used Creek
and Shawnee
as lingua franca
s. In 1716-1717, Diego Peña obtained information that showed that Yamasee and Hitchiti-Mikasuki
were considered separate languages.
Inconclusive evidence suggesting the Yamasee language was similar to Guale
rests on three pieces of information:
The Spanish documents are not originals and may have been edited at a later date. The name Chiluque is probably a loanword
. It seems also to have been absorbed into the Timucua language
. Thus, the connection of Yamasee with Muskogean is unsupported .
A document in a British Colonial Archive indicates that the Yamasee originally spoke Cherokee, an Iroquoian language, but had learned another language.
.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s that lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
near the Savannah River
Savannah River
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border...
and later in northeastern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
History
The Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540 traveled Yamasee territory, including the village of Altamaha.In 1570, Spanish explorers established missions
Spanish missions in Florida
Beginning in the second half of the 16th century, the Kingdom of Spain established a number of missions throughout la Florida in order to convert the Indians to Christianity, to facilitate control of the area, and to prevent its colonization by other countries, in particular, England and France...
in Yamasee territory. The Yamasee were later included in the missions of the Guale province. Starting in 1675 the Yamasee were mentioned regularly on Spanish mission census records of the missionary provinces of Guale
Guale
Guale was an historic Native American chiefdom along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 16th century. During the late 17th century and early 18th century, Guale society was shattered...
(central Georgia coast) and Mocama
Mocama
The Mocama were a Native American people who lived in the coastal areas of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. A Timucua group, they spoke the dialect known as Mocama, the best-attested dialect of the Timucua language. Their territory extended from about the Altamaha River in...
(present-day southeastern Georgia and northeastern Florida). The Yamasee usually did not convert to Christianity and remained somewhat separated from the Christian Indians of Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida refers to the Spanish territory of Florida, which formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a component of...
.
Pirate attacks on the Spanish missions in 1680 forced the Yamasee to migrate again. Some moved to Florida. Others returned to the Savannah River lands, safer after the destruction of the Westo
Westo
The Westo were a Native American tribe encountered in the Southeast by Europeans in the 17th century. They probably spoke an Iroquoian language. The Spanish called these people Chichimeco , and, Virginia colonists may have called the same people Richahecrian...
.
In 1687, Spaniards attempted to send Yamasees to the West Indes as slaves, so the tribe revolted against the Spanish missions and their Native allies, and the tribe moved into the British colony of the Province of South Carolina
Province of South Carolina
The South Carolina Colony, or Province of South Carolina, was originally part of the Province of Carolina, which was chartered in 1663. The colony later became the U.S. state of South Carolina....
(present day South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
). They established several villages, Pocotaligo, Tolemato, and Topiqui, in Beaufort County, South Carolina
Beaufort County, South Carolina
-National protected areas:*Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge *Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 155,215 people, 45,532 households, and 33,056 families residing in the county. The population density was 206 people per...
. A 1715 census conducted by John Barnwell counted 1,220 Yamasee living in ten villages in near Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
.
For years, the Yamasee and the Carolinian colonists conducted slave raids upon Spanish-allied Indians and attacked St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
. In 1715, the Yamasee joined an intertribal war against the British, triggering the Yamasee War
Yamasee War
The Yamasee War was a conflict between British settlers of colonial South Carolina and various Native American Indian tribes, including the Yamasee, Muscogee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Catawba, Apalachee, Apalachicola, Yuchi, Savannah River Shawnee, Congaree, Waxhaw, Pee Dee, Cape Fear, Cheraw, and...
, which lasted until at least 1717. Many tribes allied themselves with the Yamasee. British Governor Charles Craven
Charles Craven
Charles Craven was governor of colonial South Carolina from 19 March 1712 to 23 April 1716. He held the office during the end of the Tuscarora War and the beginning of the Yamasee War...
defeated the Yamasee at Salkechuh (Saltketchers, Salkehatchie) on the Combahee River
Combahee River
The Combahee River is a short blackwater river in the southern Lowcountry region of South Carolina formed at the confluence of the Salkehatchie and Little Salkehatchie rivers near the Islandton community of Colleton County, South Carolina...
. The tribe was driven across the Savannah River back into Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida refers to the Spanish territory of Florida, which formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a component of...
.
The Yamasee then migrated south to the area around St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
and Pensacola
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, where they allied with the Spanish against the British. In 1727, the British attacked the tribe's settlement and slaughtered most of them. Some survivors joined the Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
tribe and some joined the Hitchiti
Hitchiti
The Hitchiti were a Muskogean-speaking tribe formerly residing chiefly in a town of the same name on the east bank of the Chattahoochee River, 4 miles below Chiaha, in west Georgia. They spoke the Hitchiti language, which was mutually intelligible with Mikasuki; both tribes were part of the loose...
people and disappeared from the historical record.
Heritage
Steven J. Oatis and other historians describe the Yamasee as a multi-ethnic amalgamation of several remnant Indian groups, including the GualeGuale
Guale was an historic Native American chiefdom along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 16th century. During the late 17th century and early 18th century, Guale society was shattered...
, La Tama, Apalachee
Apalachee
The Apalachee are a Native American people who historically lived in the Florida Panhandle, and now live primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Their historical territory was known to the Spanish colonists as the Apalachee Province...
, Coweta
Coweta
Coweta can refer to:* Coweta, one of the principal towns of the Creek Nation* Coweta, Oklahoma, United States**Coweta Public Schools**Coweta High School* Coweta County, Georgia, United States...
, and Cussita Creek, among others. Historian Chester B. DePratter describes the Yamasee towns of early South Carolina as consisting of Lower Towns, consisting mainly of Hitchiti-speaking Indians, and Upper Towns, consisting mainly of Guale Indians.
Language
The name "Yamasee" perhaps comes from MuskogeeMuskogean languages
Muskogean is an indigenous language family of the Southeastern United States. Though there is an ongoing debate concerning their interrelationships, the Muskogean languages are generally divided into two branches, Eastern Muskogean and Western Muskogean...
/yvmvsē/, meaning "tame, quiet"; or perhaps from Catawban
Catawban languages
The Catawban, or Eastern Siouan, languages form a small language family in east North America. The Catawban family is a branch of the larger Siouan Siouan–Catawban family.-Family division:The Catawban family consists of two languages:...
/yį musí:/, literally "people-ancient".
Little record remains of the Yamasee language. It is partially preserved in works by missionary Domingo Báez. Diego Peña was told in 1716-1717 that the Tuskegee also spoke Yamasee.
Hann (1992) claims that Yamasee is related to the Muskogean languages. This was based upon a colonial report that a Yamasee spy within a Hitchiti
Hitchiti
The Hitchiti were a Muskogean-speaking tribe formerly residing chiefly in a town of the same name on the east bank of the Chattahoochee River, 4 miles below Chiaha, in west Georgia. They spoke the Hitchiti language, which was mutually intelligible with Mikasuki; both tribes were part of the loose...
town could understand Hitichiti and was not detected as a Yamasee. Francis Le Jau stated in 1711 that the Yamasee understood the Creek
Creek people
The Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
. He also noted that many Indians throughout the region used Creek
Creek language
The Creek language, also known as Muskogee or Muscogee , is a Muskogean language spoken by Muscogee and Seminole people primarily in the U.S. states of Oklahoma and Florida....
and Shawnee
Shawnee language
The Shawnee language is a Central Algonquian language spoken in parts of central and northeastern Oklahoma by only around 200 Shawnee, making it an endangered language. It was originally spoken in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania...
as lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
s. In 1716-1717, Diego Peña obtained information that showed that Yamasee and Hitchiti-Mikasuki
Mikasuki language
The Mikasuki language is a Muskogean language spoken by around 500 people in southern Florida. It is spoken by the Miccosukee tribe as well as many Florida Seminoles. The now-extinct Hitchiti language was mutually intelligible with Mikasuki.-Sounds:There are three tones, high, low and falling...
were considered separate languages.
Inconclusive evidence suggesting the Yamasee language was similar to Guale
Guale
Guale was an historic Native American chiefdom along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 16th century. During the late 17th century and early 18th century, Guale society was shattered...
rests on three pieces of information:
- a copy of a 1681 Florida missions census states that the people of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de la Tama speak "la lengua de Guale, y Yamassa" [the Guale and Yamasee language];
- a summary of two 1688 letters, sent by the Florida governor, mentions prisoners of the "ydioma Yguala y Yamas, de la Prova de Guale" [the Yguala and Yamas language of the province of Guale]; and
- the Guale called the CusaboCusaboThe Cusabo were a group of historic Native American tribes who lived along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in what is now South Carolina, approximately between present-day Charleston and south to the Savannah River, at the time of European encounter. English colonists often referred to them as the...
Chiluque, which is probably related to the Muscogee word čiló·kki "Red Moiety."
The Spanish documents are not originals and may have been edited at a later date. The name Chiluque is probably a loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
. It seems also to have been absorbed into the Timucua language
Timucua language
Timucua is a language isolate formerly spoken in northern and central Florida and southern Georgia by the Timucua people. Timucua was the primary language used in the area at the time of Spanish arrival in Florida. Linguistic and archaeological studies suggest that it may have been spoken from...
. Thus, the connection of Yamasee with Muskogean is unsupported .
A document in a British Colonial Archive indicates that the Yamasee originally spoke Cherokee, an Iroquoian language, but had learned another language.
Research
The Yamasee Archeological Project was launched in 1989 to study Yamasee village sites in South Carolina. The project hoped to trace the people's origins and inventory their artifacts. The project located a dozen sites, two of which, Pocosabo and Altamaha are now on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Further reading
- Anderson, William L.(1983) A guide to Cherokee documents in foreign archives.
- Boyd, Mark F. (1949). Diego Peña's expedition to Apalachee and Apalachicolo in 1716. The Florida Historical Quarterly, 16 (1), 2-32.
- Boyd, Mark F. (1952). Documents describing the second and third expeditions of lieutenant Diego Peña to Apalachee and Apalachicolo in 1717 and 1718. The Florida Historical Quarterly, 32 (2), 109-139.
- Gallay, Alan. (2002). "The Indian Slave Trade: The Rise of the English Empire in the American South, 1670-1717". New Haven & London: Yales University Press.
- Hann, John H. (1991). Missions to the Calusa. Gainesville: University of Florida Press.
- Hann, John H. (1992). Political leadership among the natives of Spanish Florida. The Florida Historical Quarterly, 71 (2), 188-208.
- Hann, John H. (1994). Leadership nomenclature among Spanish Florida natives and its linguistics and associational implications. In P. B. Kwachka (Ed.), Perspectives on the Southeast: Linguistics, archaeology, and ethnohistory (pp. 94–105). Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
- Hann, John H. (1996). The seventeenth-century forebears of the Lower Creeks and Seminoles. Southeastern Archaeology, 15, 66-80.
- Hudson, Charles M., Jr. (1997). Knights of Spain, warriors of the sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's ancient chiefdoms. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
- Sturtevant, William C. (1994). The Misconnection of Guale and Yamasee with Muskogean. International Journal of American Linguistics, 60 (2), 139-48.
- Waddell, Gene. (1980). Indians of the South Carolina lowcountry, 1562-1751. Spartansburg, SC: The Reprint Company.
- Worth, John E. (1995). The struggle of the Georgia coast: An eighteenth-century Spanish retrospective on Guale and Mocama. Anthropological papers of the American Museum of Natural History (No. 75). New York.
- Worth, John E. (1998). The Timucuan chiefdoms of Spanish Florida (Vols. 1 & 2). Gainesville: University of Press of Florida.
- Worth, John E. (2000). The Lower Creeks: Origins and early history. In B. G. McEwan (Ed.), Indians of the Greater Southeast: Historical archaeology and ethnohistory (pp. 265–298). Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
- Worth, John E. (2004). Yamasee. In R. D. Fogelson (Ed.), Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast (Vol. 14, pp. 245–253). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.