Because the Yamasee War squelched further westward expansion during the early 18th century, as well as removing the lucrative Carolina colony from the control of the British, the remaining colonies were careful to stay on good terms with the mother country. Virginia was especially vulnerable because of the tobacco farmers use of Africans as slave labor. Although the colonists did not fight a war for independence during the 1770s, they sought and, over the space of several decades, received autonomy from direct control of Great Britain in much the same manner as Canada.

CFS 1855

The year according to European reckoning is 1855. Nearly a century and a half has passed since the Yemasee Wars that liberated Carolina from its colonizers, eliminated slavery in the territory, and established its current boundaries. Airships patrol the northern and southern borders, letting through runaway slaves from the United States of America, and keeping out border raiders from the remaining Spanish, French and British colonies as well as the slave-catching patrols from the US. The Shawnee Confederation, founded by Tecumseh, lies to the west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

A Triple Heritage

I live in Ulricehamn, Sweden since 1995 and so I sometimes get questions about my background and how/why I live here instead of in South Carolina. The people who want to ramble on about "Swedish-fantasy-USA" I just blow-off since I can't be bothered with their nonsense. No, I don't own a cowgirl outfit, don't run-about yelling "Yee haw!" and have somehow misplaced my giant paper bag of $100 dollar bills. There are, of course, other people who are asking meaningful questions about what life was like there.

However, when I say that my cultural heritage comes equally from west African, Native American and European cultures, I sometimes am met with dead silence. In one instance the family I was visiting reacted as though I had said something incredibly vulgar. In all fairness, many more people react with interest and want to hear about all these cultures, but the old colonial fable about "going forth into the wilderness and taming the savages" is still alive and kicking in people's subconscious.

No Fate 2010-04-12

“. . .colonial officials also began to fear that their policy of promoting conflicts among the southeastern Indians might backfire and evoke a widespread rebellions. As early as 1705, Governor Moore was warned by the Cherokees to desist from the ‘trade of Indians or slave making’ and return to ‘the trade for skins and furs.’” However, Moore and Carolina did not heed the warning, and in 1715, the Creeks and Yamasees grew so ‘Dissatisfied with the Traders’ that they determined to ‘fall on the Settlement.’ They almost destroyed Carolina.”

Martin, Joel W. “Indians and the English Trade in Skins and Slaves” In The Forgotten Centuries: Indians and Europeans in the American South 1521-1704. The University of Georgia Press, 1994.

Yemassee War

This gives a brief explanation of the Yemassee War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemassee_War but doesn't address the importance of slavery as a cause of the conflict.

Alternate History

Alternate history by definition requires a certain amount of fictionalising. We cannot possibly know precisely what "might have been" but we can extrapolate from what we do know (or think we know!) about the past. Remember though, that we are constantly rediscovering, rethinking, reanalysing history.  I will try to make very clear which material in my blog is documented history and which material is my own conjecture. If you read something that seems problematic (and you will!), PLEASE comment and tell me! I hope we all can learn from this experience.