Westo
Encyclopedia
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 (not to be confused with Chichimeca
in Mexico), and, Virginia colonists may have called the same people Richahecrian. Their first appearance in the historical record is as a powerful tribe in colonial Virginia
, who had migrated from the mountains into the region around present-day Richmond. Their population provided a force of 700–900 warriors.
Early academic analysis of the origin of the Westo posited that the so-called Rechahecrian/Rickohakan of Virginia were perhaps Cherokee
or Yuchi
, and that the Westo were a band of Yuchi. Anthropologist Marvin T. Smith (1987:131–32) was the first to suggest that the Westo were a group of Erie
, who had lived south of Lake Erie
until forced to migrate further south to Virginia during the 17th-century Beaver Wars
. Smith theorizes that as the colonial settlements expanded in Virginia, the Westo migrated south to the Savannah River
shortly before the founding of South Carolina
in 1670. Subsequent work by John Worth (1995:17) and Eric Bowne (2006) strongly supports Smith’s hypothesis.
provinces of Guale
and Mocama
. That the Westo had ties with Virginia did not mean they would be friendly toward the South Carolinians. In 1673 the Westo attacked coastal Indians, such as the Cusabo
, as well as the Carolina colony. The colony depended on the Esaw tribe for defense until December of 1674, when some Westo visited Dr. Henry Woodward
and made peace. The peace became an alliance after the Westo escorted Woodward to their towns on the Savannah River, giving many presents and encouraging friendship.
From 1675 to 1680, trade between the Westo and South Carolina thrived. The Westo provided Carolina with slaves, captured from various Native American groups, including the Spanish-allied tribes in Guale and Mocama. These were the "Settlement Indians", supposedly under the protection of Carolina. The Westo likely captured slaves from the Cherokee
, Chickasaw
, and the various smaller tribes who would later align as the Creek
Confederacy.
Since the Westo were traditionally enemies with nearly every other tribe in the region, their alliance with Carolina effectively blocked the colony from establishing any other tribal relationship. A group of Shawnee
Indians migrated to the Savannah River region and met with the Westo while Henry Woodward was among them. These Shawnee became known as the "Savannah Indians". Woodward apparently witnessed the first meeting of the Shawnee and Westo. Using sign language, the Shawnee (Savannah) warned the Westo of an impending attack from other tribes. They earned the goodwill of the Westo, who began to prepare for the attack.
The Savannah later approached Woodward and established an independent relationship with the colonists, which would doom the Westo. The Carolinians realized the value of trading beyond the Westo. When war broke out between Carolina and the Westo in 1679, the Savannah/Shawnee assisted the Carolinians. After they destroyed the Westo in 1680, the Savannah moved into their lands and took over their role as the chief Indian trading partner with the Carolina colony. The fate of most of the surviving Westo was probably enslavement and shipment to work on sugar plantations in the West Indies
. (Information on slave raids, Dr. Woodward, Savannah/Shawnee, and the defeat of the Westo mainly from Gallay 2002).
Some surviving Westo may have continued to live near the colony of South Carolina. A map published anonymously in 1715 shows Indian villages during the period from about 1691 to 1715, when the early Creek towns had relocated from the Chattahoochee River
to the Ocmulgee River
and Oconee River
. The map shows a town labeled "Westas" (all the towns labels are pluralized) on the Ocmulgee River above the Towaliga River confluence
. It is one of a cluster of towns near the important "Lower Creek" town of Coweta
. The 1715 map shows town locations as of some time between 1691 and 1715, when the Lower Creek moved their towns back to the Chattahoochee River. Westo town is not shown on later maps. As with several other groups of Indian refugees who found haven with the Lower Creeks, the apparent fate of the surviving Westo was absorption into the emerging Creek confederacy (Worth 2000).
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...
tribe encountered in the Southeast by Europeans in the 17th century. They probably spoke an Iroquoian
Iroquoian languages
The Iroquoian languages are a First Nation and Native American language family.-Family division:*Ruttenber, Edward Manning. 1992 [1872]. History of the Indian tribes of Hudson's River. Hope Farm Press....
language. The Spanish called these people Chichimeco (not to be confused with Chichimeca
Chichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"...
in Mexico), and, Virginia colonists may have called the same people Richahecrian. Their first appearance in the historical record is as a powerful tribe in colonial Virginia
Colony and Dominion of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia was the English colony in North America that existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until the American Revolution...
, who had migrated from the mountains into the region around present-day Richmond. Their population provided a force of 700–900 warriors.
Early academic analysis of the origin of the Westo posited that the so-called Rechahecrian/Rickohakan of Virginia were perhaps Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
or Yuchi
Yuchi
For the Chinese surname 尉迟, see Yuchi.The Yuchi, also spelled Euchee and Uchee, are a Native American Indian tribe who traditionally lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee in the 16th century. During the 17th century, they moved south to Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina...
, and that the Westo were a band of Yuchi. Anthropologist Marvin T. Smith (1987:131–32) was the first to suggest that the Westo were a group of Erie
Erie (tribe)
The Erie were an Native American people historically living on the south shore of Lake Erie. An Iroquoian group, they lived in what is now western New York, northwestern Pennsylvania, and northern Ohio...
, who had lived south of Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
until forced to migrate further south to Virginia during the 17th-century Beaver Wars
Beaver Wars
The Beaver Wars, also sometimes called the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars, commonly refers to a series of conflicts fought in the mid-17th century in eastern North America...
. Smith theorizes that as the colonial settlements expanded in Virginia, the Westo migrated south to the Savannah River
Savannah Town, South Carolina
Savannah Town, South Carolina was first observed in the 1670s as a Westo village, located on the Savannah River below the fall line in present day Aiken County. The Savannah displaced the Westos in a 1679-1680 trade war, and the town bore their name on a 1685 Joel Gascoyne Plat of the Province of...
shortly before the founding of South Carolina
Province of Carolina
The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
in 1670. Subsequent work by John Worth (1995:17) and Eric Bowne (2006) strongly supports Smith’s hypothesis.
History
Virginia established a trading relationship with the Westo, exchanging firearms for Indian slaves. When the Westo migrated to the Savannah River, they quickly became known for their military power and their slave raids on other tribes. Before their destruction, the Westo wreaked havoc on the Spanish missionaryMissionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
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...
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...
. That the Westo had ties with Virginia did not mean they would be friendly toward the South Carolinians. In 1673 the Westo attacked coastal Indians, such as the Cusabo
Cusabo
The 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...
, as well as the Carolina colony. The colony depended on the Esaw tribe for defense until December of 1674, when some Westo visited Dr. Henry Woodward
Henry Woodward (colonist)
Henry Woodward , often referred to as Dr. Henry Woodward, was the first British colonist of colonial South Carolina. He was instrumental in establishing relationships with many Native American Indians in the American southeast...
and made peace. The peace became an alliance after the Westo escorted Woodward to their towns on the Savannah River, giving many presents and encouraging friendship.
From 1675 to 1680, trade between the Westo and South Carolina thrived. The Westo provided Carolina with slaves, captured from various Native American groups, including the Spanish-allied tribes in Guale and Mocama. These were the "Settlement Indians", supposedly under the protection of Carolina. The Westo likely captured slaves from the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
, and the various smaller tribes who would later align as 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...
Confederacy.
Since the Westo were traditionally enemies with nearly every other tribe in the region, their alliance with Carolina effectively blocked the colony from establishing any other tribal relationship. A group of Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
Indians migrated to the Savannah River region and met with the Westo while Henry Woodward was among them. These Shawnee became known as the "Savannah Indians". Woodward apparently witnessed the first meeting of the Shawnee and Westo. Using sign language, the Shawnee (Savannah) warned the Westo of an impending attack from other tribes. They earned the goodwill of the Westo, who began to prepare for the attack.
The Savannah later approached Woodward and established an independent relationship with the colonists, which would doom the Westo. The Carolinians realized the value of trading beyond the Westo. When war broke out between Carolina and the Westo in 1679, the Savannah/Shawnee assisted the Carolinians. After they destroyed the Westo in 1680, the Savannah moved into their lands and took over their role as the chief Indian trading partner with the Carolina colony. The fate of most of the surviving Westo was probably enslavement and shipment to work on sugar plantations in the West Indies
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. (Information on slave raids, Dr. Woodward, Savannah/Shawnee, and the defeat of the Westo mainly from Gallay 2002).
Some surviving Westo may have continued to live near the colony of South Carolina. A map published anonymously in 1715 shows Indian villages during the period from about 1691 to 1715, when the early Creek towns had relocated from the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
to the Ocmulgee River
Ocmulgee River
The Ocmulgee River is a tributary of the Altamaha River, approximately 255 mi long, in the U.S. state of Georgia...
and Oconee River
Oconee River
The Oconee River is a river which has its origin in Hall County, Georgia, and terminates where it joins the Ocmulgee River to form the Altamaha River near Lumber City at the borders of Montgomery County, Wheeler County, and Jeff Davis County. South of Athens, two forks, known as the North Oconee...
. The map shows a town labeled "Westas" (all the towns labels are pluralized) on the Ocmulgee River above the Towaliga River confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
. It is one of a cluster of towns near the important "Lower Creek" town of 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...
. The 1715 map shows town locations as of some time between 1691 and 1715, when the Lower Creek moved their towns back to the Chattahoochee River. Westo town is not shown on later maps. As with several other groups of Indian refugees who found haven with the Lower Creeks, the apparent fate of the surviving Westo was absorption into the emerging Creek confederacy (Worth 2000).