Yamasee

The Yamasee (also spelled Yamassees, Yemasees, Yemassees, and Yamasis) were a multiethnic confederation of Native Americans (Indians) consisting of the survivors of several chiefdoms in Georgia destroyed by disruptions caused by European explorers and settlers in the 16th and 17th centuries. First coming to the attention of the Spanish in 1663, the Yamasee initially lived near the sea coast from northern Florida to South Carolina. The Yamasee became prominent in the history of South Carolina when they settled near the Savannah River in the 1680s. Allied with the British colonists, they became slave raiders, capturing Indians and trading them for guns and other British products. In 1715, due to a number of grievances, they and several other tribes went to war with the British in what was called the Yamasee War. The war was bloody and threatened the existence of the British colony in South Carolina. After initial successes, the Yamasee were defeated and dispersed. The survivors joined other tribes and the Yamasee soon ceased to exist as an independent people. The Yamasee, along with their neighbors the Guale, are considered from linguistic evidence by many scholars to have been a Muskogean language people. For instance, the Yamasee term "Mico", meaning chief, is also common in Muskogee.