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The Yamasee War (also spelled Yemassee War) (1715–1717) was a conflict between British settlers of colonial South Carolina and various Native American tribes, including the Yamasee, Muscogee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Catawba, Apalachee, Apalachicola, Yuchi, Savannah River Shawnee, Congaree, Waxhaw, Pee Dee, Cape Fear, Cheraw, and others. Some of the Native American Indian groups played a minor role while others launched attacks throughout South Carolina in an attempt to destroy the colony. Native Americans killed hundreds of colonists and destroyed many settlements. Traders "in the field" were killed throughout what is now southeastern United States. Abandoning settled frontiers, people fled to Charles Town, where starvation set in as supplies ran low. The survival of the South Carolina colony was in question during 1715. The tide turned in early 1716 when the Cherokee sided with the colonists against the Creek, their traditional enemy. The last of South Carolina's major Native American foes withdrew from the conflict in 1717, bringing a fragile peace to the colony. The Yamasee War was one of the most disruptive and transformational conflicts of colonial America. It was one of the American Indians' most serious challenges to European dominance. For over a year the colony faced the possibility of annihilation. About 7% of South Carolina's white citizenry was killed, making the war bloodier than King Philip's War, which is often cited as North America's bloodiest war involving Native Americans.〔Oatis, ''A Colonial Complex'', p. 167.〕 The geopolitical situation for British, Spanish, and French colonies, as well as the Indian groups of the southeast, was radically altered. The war marks the end of the early colonial era of the American South. The Yamasee War and its aftermath contributed to the emergence of new Indian confederated nations, such as the Muscogee Creek and Catawba. The origin of the war was complex. Reasons for fighting differed among the many Indian groups who participated. Commitment differed as well. Factors included land encroachment by Europeans, the trading system, trader abuses, the Indian slave trade, the depletion of deer, increasing Indian debts in contrast to increasing wealth among some colonists, the spread of rice plantation agriculture, French power in Louisiana offering an alternative to British trade, long-established Indian links to Spanish Florida, the vying for power among Indian groups, as well as an increasingly large-scale and robust intertribal communication network, and recent experiences in military collaboration among previously distant tribes. ==Background== The Tuscarora War and its lengthy aftermath played a major role in the outbreak of the Yamasee War. The Tuscarora, an Iroquoian-speaking tribe of the interior, began attacking colonial settlements of North Carolina in 1711. South Carolina settlers mustered armies and campaigned twice against the Tuscarora, in 1712 and 1713. These armies were made up mainly of allied Indian troops. The Yamasee had been strong military allies of South Carolina colonists for many years. Yamasee warriors made up the core of both Carolina armies. Other Indians were recruited over a large area from diverse tribes that in some cases were traditional enemies of one another. Tribes that sent warriors to South Carolina's armies included the Yamasee, Catawba, Yuchi, Apalachee, Cusabo, Wateree, Sugaree, Waxhaw, Congraree, Pee Dee, Cape Fear, Cheraw, Sissipahaw, Cherokee, and various proto-Creek groups.〔Galley, ''The Indian Slave Trade'', 267–268, 283.〕 This military collaboration brought Indians of the entire region into closer contact with one another. The Indians saw the disagreements and weaknesses of the British colonies, as South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia bickered over various aspects of the Tuscarora War.〔Galley, ''The Indian Slave Trade'', 276–277.〕 Essentially all of the tribes that helped South Carolina during the Tuscarora War joined in attacking settlers in the colony during the Yamasee War, just two or three years later. The Yamasee, while often described as a tribe, were an amalgamation of the remnants of earlier tribes and chiefdoms, such as the Guale and groups originating in the provinces of Tama and Ocute in interior Georgia (Worth 1993:40–45). The Yamasee emerged during the 17th century in the contested frontier between South Carolina and Spanish Florida. At first allied with the Spanish, the Yamasee moved north in the late 17th century and soon became South Carolina's most important Indian ally. They lived near the mouth of the Savannah River and around Port Royal Sound.〔("The Foundation, Occupation, and Abandonment of Yamasee Indian Towns in the South Carolina Lowcountry, 1684-1715" ), National Register Multiple Property Submission, Dr. Chester B. DePratter, National Park Service〕 For years, the Yamasee profited from their relation with the British. By 1715, they found it difficult to obtain the two trade items most desired by the British—deerskins and Indian slaves. Some historians have suggested that when the British took a census of their people that year, many feared their own enslavement at British hands. With demand for deerskins rising over an ever-larger region, deer had become rare in Yamasee territory. In addition, after the Tuscarora War, the Yamasee found slave-raiding opportunities to be limited. The Yamasee became increasingly indebted to the British traders, who supplied them with trade goods on credit. By 1715 rice plantations had begun to thrive in South Carolina and be exported as a commodity crop. Much of the accessible land good for rice had been taken up. The Yamasee had been granted a large land reserve on the southern borders of South Carolina, and settlers began to covet their land, which they deemed ideal for rice plantations. Historians have not determined if the Yamasee were leaders in fomenting Indian unrest and plans for war. The Ochese Creeks (later known as the Lower Creeks) may have been more instrumental in gaining support for war. Each of the Indian tribes that joined in the war had its own reasons, as complicated and deeply rooted in the past as that of the Yamasee. Although the tribes did not act in carefully planned coordination, the unrest increased, and intertribal communication began about the possibility of war. By early 1715 rumors of growing Indian support for war was troubling enough that some friendly Indians warned colonists of the danger. They suggested the Ochese Creek were the instigators. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Yamasee War」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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