FRONTIER POLICY
Eighteenth century policy makers in South Carolina were acutely aware of the importance of stable trade and diplomatic relations with the Cherokee people. Through the Indian trade South Carolina sought alliances with the Indians and kept them from coming under French or Spanish influence. Cherokee gunmen and Cherokee deerskins provided South Carolina with considerable military and economic security. James Glen, governor of South Carolina from 1743 to 1756, struck an alarming note when he addressed the Commons House of Assembly in 1750:
"We are but a handful of people spread over a widely extended Country, We are surrounded with Indians much more numerous than us, much more accustomed to the use of Arms, Warr being their trade from their Youth up."
Glen had good reason to respect the Indians’ military power in 1750. 50,000 slaves outnumbered South Carolina’s white population of approximately 25,000, and the threat of slave rebellion haunted the thinking of South Carolina’s political leaders. Indian allies, particularly the Cherokee, helped provide internal security for the colony and also posed a buffer against the French based in Louisiana.
A vigorous administrator, James Glen here outlines his plan for frontier trade policy to the governor of New York in May 1751. His Majesty’s Council. Indian Books, 1750-1760. Vol. 2, May 24, 1751, p.97.
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During his tenure as governor, Glen frequently asserted the right of the governor to implement colonial policy with various Indian tribes. A key element of his plan was the building of frontier forts. Glen personally supervised construction of Fort Prince George in the Cherokee Lower Towns in 1753 and had made plans to build Fort Loudoun in the Overhills Towns when he was recalled in 1756.
The Cherokee also maintained an active foreign policy with South Carolina and other colonies. The Middle Towns, more isolated and protected by mountains, were neither as vocal nor as active in securing commercial ties with Europeans. In contrast, both the Lower Towns and the Overhills Towns were more exposed to enemy attack and therefore actively sought trade and diplomatic relations. As a result these two divisions often competed with each other in the realm of frontier policy. The Cherokee, like their Anglo-American counterparts, viewed forts as important to the success of military, political, and economic policy, and on several occasions they petitioned South Carolina to build them. Forts could secure trade goods for necessities and firepower for emergencies.
James Glen (1701-1777) was born in Linlithgow, Scotland. Appointed royal governor of South Carolina in 1738, he did not take up his post until 1743. Glen served until 1756, and his tenure was the longest term of any of South Carolina’s colonial governors. An energetic administrator and able negotiator in Indian affairs, he was nonetheless constantly at odds with the General Assembly and Council.
