Deerskins and Duffels: The Creek Indian Trade with Anglo-America, 1685-1815

Abstract

'Will stand as a prominent landmark in the study of southeastern Indians during the colonial era. This book captures the importance and complexity of Creek trade with Anglo-America, shedding new light on the operation of the deerskin market and on its impact upon Indian society' - William and Mary Quarterly. 'An important contribution to our understanding of the influence of the deerskin trade on Creek and Anglo-American relations in the eighteenth-century Southeast' - Journal of Southern History. 'This well-written book is essential for understanding the mechanics and impact of European trade on the Creek and all Southeastern Indians' - Ethnohistory. Deerskins and Duffels documents the trading relationship between the Creek Indians in what is now the southeastern United States and the Anglo-American peoples who settled there.The Creeks were the largest native group in the Southeast, and through their trade alliance with the British colonies they became the dominant native power in the area. The deerskin trade became the economic lifeblood of the Creeks after European contact. This book is the first to examine extensively the Creek side of the trade, especially the impact of commercial hunting on all aspects of Indian society. British trade is detailed here, as well: the major traders and trading companies, how goods were taken to the Indians, how the traders lived, and how trade was used as a diplomatic tool. The author also discusses trade in Indian slaves, a Creek-Anglo cooperation that resulted in the virtual destruction of the native peoples of Florida. Kathryn E. Holland Braund is an independent scholar residing in Dadeville, Alabama.