Creek Indians in Georgia, Part I
Creek Indians in Georgia, Part II
Creek Indians in Georgia, Part III

With the death of Emistesigo, Alexander McGillivray became leader of the Creek Nation. One of the problems McGillivray faced was the division of his tribe along pro-American and pro-British lines. The pro-American faction, smaller of the two was led by the Tame King and the Fat King, while McGillivray represented the pro-British faction. On June 1, 1783 all British forces were ordered withdrawn from the United States.

British withdrawal meant one thing - McGillivray had no outside trade, and hence, no outside support. Trade, to the Creek, meant power (mostly in the form of weapons and ammunition). Then news came from Augusta that The Tame King and the Fat King had agreed to cede Creek land to the Americans. His old rivals had once again betrayed the Creek chief. Although McGillivray could do nothing against the chiefs, he did manage to exact a heavy toll of the chief's supporters.

Only the Spanish could offer any of the goods McGillivray needed. He signed a treaty with them on June 1, 1784, guaranteeing trade for the Creek and ensuring their protection.

Meanwhile, the American demands continued. Unsatisfied with the Creek land cession of 1783, commissioners for the United States (then organized as a confederacy), tried to negotiate another cession at Gauphinton in October, 1784. When the Creek failed to show up in sufficient numbers the commissioners left in disgust. However, Elijah Clarke was not as discriminating as the U. S. commissioners and he coerced the Creek into signing a treaty ceding the land from the Ocmulgee and Oconee River south to the St. Mary's. This treaty also validated the 1783 Treaty of Augusta.

On April 2, 1786 the Creeks declared war on Georgia and attacked settlements on a wide front. Americans wanted peace but were unwilling to give back Creek lands gotten at Augusta and Gauphinton. McGillivray's wide front included attacks as far north as the Cumberland River. The Creek chief refused to negotiate with the Georgians until they recognized the boundary of Creek and Georgia land to be that of the Augusta treaty of 1773, something the Georgians would not do. He then signed a treaty with the settlers in the Cumberland area while continuing to attack Georgia.

Creek Indians in Georgia, Part I
Creek Indians in Georgia, Part II
Creek Indians in Georgia, Part III

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