The Cherokee Struggle to Maintain Identity in the 17th and 18th Centuries

With the arrival of Europeans in North America, the Cherokee were one of the many Indian nations profoundly affected. This book thoroughly discusses the history of the Cherokee during the Colonial and Revolutionary War eras. Starting with the French and Indian War, the Cherokee were allied with the British government, overly relying on them for trade goods like poorly made muskets. The alliance proved unequal, with the British refusing aid - while settlers made incursions into Cherokee lands - while requiring the Cherokee to fight on the British side against the French and rebellious Americans. At the same time, the Cherokee were moving away from their traditional ways, and leadership disagreements caused the nation to become internally fragmented. All of this resulted in the loss of Cherokee ancestral lands and are thoroughly discussed here.