Alexander McGillivray facts for kids
Alexander McGillivray, also known as Hoboi-Hili-Miko (born December 15, 1750 – died February 17, 1793), was an important leader of the Muscogee (Creek) people. He had a Muscogee mother and a Scottish father. Because he was educated and understood the European world and trade, he became a key link between the Creek nation and European Americans.
This unique position gave him a lot of influence. He used his role to help his people and also to become one of the wealthiest Creeks of his time. McGillivray wrote many letters, which tell us a lot about his life.
His leadership among the Creeks was sometimes debated because the Creek people did not usually have one single leader. He gained influence by being able to give gifts to the Creek from both the British and the Spanish. He was also more like Europeans than most Creeks, having solid houses, farms, and owning enslaved people. This made some people suspicious of him.
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Early Life and Family
Alexander was born Hoboi-Hili-Miko, which means "Good Child King." He was born in a village called Little Tallassee, near what is now Montgomery, Alabama, in 1750. His mother, Sehoy Marchand, was a mixed-race Creek woman from the important Wind Clan. His father was Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand, a French officer.
Alexander and his brothers and sisters were part of the Wind Clan because the Muscogee people followed a matrilineal system. This means their family status came from their mother's side. They saw themselves as Creek.
His father, Lachlan McGillivray, was a Scottish trader. He set up trading posts among the Upper Muscogee towns. As a child, Alexander lived briefly in Augusta, Georgia, on one of his father's large farms. By the time he was 12, his father owned over 10,000 acres of land.
In 1773, Alexander went to school in Charleston, South Carolina. There, he learned Latin and Greek. He also trained at trading companies. When the American Revolutionary War started, his father, who supported the British, went back to Scotland. Alexander returned to his mother's people in Little Tallassee in 1777.
Even though he was accepted as a Creek, Alexander was different from most Creek people. He had more book knowledge than anyone else in the Creek nation. Later in life, he had a large library of books about nature. His sister, Sophia Durant, often helped him by translating and speaking for him.
A Leader for the Creek People
Alexander McGillivray was a very skilled diplomat, meaning he was good at negotiating with different groups. However, he was not very good at military strategy and rarely fought in battles.
In 1783, McGillivray became a main chief for the Upper Creek towns. He worked to unite the Creek nation, even though it was often divided. He claimed to have many warriors, including some from the Cherokee and Seminole tribes.
McGillivray did not live like a traditional Creek. He built large farms on the Little River and the Coosa River. He had a log house with windows and a stone chimney, which were very unusual in the Creek nation. He was also the wealthiest Creek of his time.
Protecting Creek Lands
McGillivray did not agree with the 1783 Treaty of Augusta. This treaty had given Muscogee lands to the new state of Georgia. In June 1784, he signed the Treaty of Pensacola with Spain. This treaty said that the Muscogee people owned three million acres of land that Georgia also claimed. It also allowed a British fur-trading company, Panton, Leslie & Company, to trade with the Creeks. McGillivray became an official representative for Spain and received a monthly salary. He also became a partner in Panton, Leslie & Co. and used his control over the deerskin trade to increase his power.
After the Treaty of Paris (1783), McGillivray wanted the Creek nation to be independent. He tried to create a stronger central government for the Creeks. He wanted to stop individual chiefs from signing treaties and giving away land without everyone agreeing.
With weapons from British traders in Spanish West Florida, the Muscogee people raided American settlers. They did this to protect their hunting grounds. From 1785 to 1787, Upper Creek warriors fought alongside the Cherokee in Tennessee. In 1786, a council of Creek leaders declared war against Georgia. Spain did not like this and threatened to reduce their help. So, McGillivray began peace talks with the United States.
Working with Different Nations
Like his father, McGillivray did not like the way the United States was dealing with Native Americans. But he did not want to leave Creek territory. He became a leading spokesperson for many tribes along the Florida and Georgia borders.
The Yazoo land scandal in Georgia made President George Washington realize that the federal government needed to control Indian affairs. In 1790, Washington sent someone to meet McGillivray and other chiefs. They went to a meeting in New York City, which was then the capital of the U.S. This meeting led to the Treaty of New York (1790).
McGillivray and 29 other chiefs signed the Treaty of New York. McGillivray was the only one who could sign his name. This treaty set the Altamaha and Oconee rivers as the border between Creek lands and the United States. The U.S. government promised to remove white settlers who were illegally on Creek lands. The Muscogee agreed to return any enslaved people who had escaped and found safety with the tribe. This part of the treaty angered the Seminoles of Florida, who had welcomed many escaped enslaved people. The Creeks soon felt that McGillivray had tricked them.
Under secret parts of the treaty, McGillivray was made a brigadier general for the U.S. and received a yearly salary. He was also allowed to bring in goods without paying taxes. He was paid a large sum of money for his father's confiscated properties. With this money, he bought three farms and owned 60 enslaved African Americans. The treaty brought temporary peace, but the U.S. did not keep its promise to remove illegal white settlers from Creek lands.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1792, McGillivray rejected the Treaty of New York. He then made another treaty with Spanish officials in Louisiana. They promised to respect Muscogee independence. McGillivray was very skilled at getting both the United States and Spain to pay for his influence at the same time. He was also a superintendent for the Creek nation for Spain, an Indian agent for the United States, a business partner, and a self-appointed "emperor" of the Creek and Seminole nations.
McGillivray moved to Pensacola, Florida. His health began to get worse. He died on February 17, 1793, in Pensacola. He was first buried in William Panton's garden. Later, his sister had his body moved to Choctaw Bluff, where he had a farm, in modern Clarke County, Alabama.
Two of his nephews, William Weatherford and William McIntosh, became important Muscogee leaders in the early 1800s. They were also from the powerful Creek Wind Clan. They fought on opposite sides during the Creek War. This conflict happened between traditional Creeks, like Weatherford, and those who believed it was important to adapt to European-American customs, like McIntosh.
See also
In Spanish: Alexander McGillivray para niños
