Zamumo's Gifts: Indian-European Exchange in the Colonial Southeast

Glossary of Native Place Names

Glossary of Native Place Names Note: Because some prominent towns were also the namesakes for the provinces, or collections of towns, that they influenced, I have distinguished between towns and provinces in my definitions, when appropriate. Readers who are curious about the sources for my definitions should consult my references to these places in the text and endnotes. Abeca (province): A province of about thirteen towns, including Abikudji , Coosa, and Okfuskee, located along the upper Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers. Abeca (town): A town along the upper Coosa River that was probably a tributary to the Coosa chiefdom before 1600. By 1670, its residents shared Woods Island with those of Coosa. Abecas were probably among those who established the town of Abikudji. Abikudji: A white or peace town whose name means ‘‘Little Abika.’’ It was located on Tallahatchee Creek, a tributary of the Coosa River, and its residents probably founded the town after splitting off from the amalgamated settlement at Woods Island sometime after 1715. Alabama: A province of towns in central Mississippi. Alabamas fled Choctaw attacks and relocated to the upper Alabama River before 1686. By 1720, they were associated with the Creeks. Altamaha: Also known as Tama and La Tama, this town was a chiefdom along the upper Ocmulgee River during the sixteenth century. Between about 1540 and 1597, its chief probably owed tribute to the chief of Ocute. Westo raids in the 1660s forced Altamahas to scatter to the safety of the Apalachicolas, Apalachees, and Guales. During 1685 to 1715, the town was located near today’s Port Royal, South Carolina, among the Yamasees. Apalachee: A province of about eleven towns, including Ivitachuco and San Luı́s. Apalachee warriors drove off Spanish explorers in the 1500s 216 Glossary but welcomed missionaries after 1633. Slave raids from the Ocheses and their English allies destroyed and dispersed the inhabitants in 1704. Apalachees numbered about nine thousand in 1700. Apalachicola (province): A province of thirteen or fourteen towns, including Apalachicola, Coweta, Cussita, Osuche, and Savacola, located along the Chattahoochee River until most of it residents moved to the Oconee Valley in 1691. Apalachicola (town): The principal town of Apalachicola province, located on the Chattahoochee River until 1691. The town was located along the lower Savannah River before 1708, but Apalachicolas moved back to the Chattahoochee in late 1715 or early 1716. Atasi: A town located along the lower Tallapoosa River that had close ties to Tukabatchee and Coweta. Some Atasis relocated to the Oconee Valley when Cowetas and other Ocheses lived there from 1690 through 1715. Cahokia: The largest Mississippian archaeological site, located across the Mississippi River from today’s St. Louis, but also part of a series of mound sites spread throughout the region known as the American Bottom . Residents probably began construction of the earthen mounds after 1000 c.e. and the population probably peaked at ten thousand people before the city collapsed sometime before 1300. Cemochechobee: A small archaeological site along the Chattahoochee River occupied between 1200 and 1300 c.e. Chacato: People who lived northwest of the towns of Apalachee and east of the Apalachicola River. Spaniards reported them to be very warlike before 1639. They welcomed missionaries in 1675 before a brief revolt the following year. When slave raiders destroyed the missions after 1704, most of those who eluded capture fled west to the sanctuary of the French at Mobile. Cherokee: A province of two or three dozen towns whose residents lived in the eastern foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains and west into the upper Tennessee Valley. Cherokees probably numbered between sixteen thousand and twenty thousand in 1708. Cherokeeleechee’s Town: An unnamed Lower Creek town that was located at the confluence of the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers after Glossary 217 1715 and was home to Cherokeeleechee, a strong supporter of ties to St. Augustine. Chickasaw: A province located in today’s northern Mississippi. Most Chickasaw allied with Carolina and participated heavily in the slave trade before 1715 and directed many attacks against the Choctaws. Their population in 1700 was about three thousand to six thousand. Chisca: A group of people originally living in the Appalachian Mountains in 1540 who moved to the outskirts of a number of Spanish missions shortly before 1624. After encouraging Apalachees’ unsuccessful revolt against the Spanish, Chiscas moved west to the Apalachicola Valley. Choctaw: A province of several dozen towns located in today’s...