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Preface
- University Press of Florida
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Preface Inever expected to do detailed research on colonial Georgia, but about thirty years ago Alden Vaughan of Columbia University asked me to edit several volumes for a new documentary project he was organizing. The general idea was simple and compelling. Although the treaties negotiated between the United States and various Indian nations had long since been published, nothing comparable had been done with the numerous treaties negotiated between English officials and Indian leaders during the colonial era. The series was to be even more ambitious, for it would include related documents, explanatory chapter introductions , and extensive annotation. Entitled Early American Indian Documents: Treaties and Laws, 1607–1789, the series was to be published in twenty volumes within five years. The project proved to be much more difficult than anticipated. It was completed in twenty volumes, but not until twenty-five years had passed. My contribution was two volumes: the first on Georgia, 1733–1763, and the second on Georgia and Florida, 1763–1776. At first I naively expected the story to focus on the Cherokees , for (due to their relative openness to Europeans) sources were relatively abundant and most scholarly works on the Southeastern Indians had been written about them. I soon learned that English diplomacy in early Georgia focused overwhelmingly on the more reticent Creeks. I also found that scholarship on Creeks during the colonial era was surprisingly thin, a situation much amended during the past two decades. Before long it also became apparent that the main issues English and native leaders negotiated about concerned land, a subject I had long been interested in. I found myself making a long-term commitment to tell the story of Anglo-Creek relations during the colonial era. The book before you is the first result. Preface xii Along the way I have acquired numerous debts to those who have assisted me. Alden Vaughan provided steady feedback and encouragement, especially during the difficult early stages of research. Many research librarians have helped me locate elusive source materials. I am especially indebted to William L. McDowell Jr., former deputy director of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History; Galen R. Wilson, former manuscript curator at the William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan; Edward Weldon, former director of the Georgia Department of Archives and History; Pat Bryant, former deputy surveyor general of Georgia; J. Larry Gulley, former manuscript librarian, University of Georgia; and Marie M. Nitschke, former reference librarian, Woodruff library at Emory University. Graduate students I have taught at Emory University—Steve Hahn, Steve Oatis , and the late Doris Fisher—have taught me back in various ways that contributed significantly to this book. Steve Hahn, whose interests are most nearly like my own, has been especially helpful. He has read drafts of every chapter, and his detailed criticism and suggestions have improved each one. Joshua Piker has also read the entire work and has contributed much helpful criticism. Colleagues in the Emory History Department—Thomas Burns, Fraser Harbutt, James Melton, and James Roark—have also read and critiqued various chapters. Errors that remain are mine. Some ideas were developed and refined in a course on “Comparative Frontiers” that I taught jointly with Professor Burns (an authority on Roman frontiers) for many years. Finally, I am indebted to Emory University for various grants from the University Research Fund, the Faculty Travel Fund, and the Completion Grant Fund of Emory College. ...