| This study seeks to examine and analyze the complex factors that played a role in the enslavement of Indians in the colonial southeast, especially during the proprietary period of Carolina. The study contends the subject has been historically overlooked, occasionally theorized upon, and often distorted. Many presentations of the subject of Indian enslavement missed the mark by defending theories that oversimplified the complexity of slavery practices and policies.; The study addresses the previous weaknesses in the field of Indian enslavement studies in the southeast by including all three European powers in the analysis of enslavement practices. It additionally includes some analyses of the Indians by way of studies addressing anthropology, ethnology, geography and other factors important to balancing the written views of the Europeans. Instead of choosing a limited few causes of enslavement, the study attempts to include as many recorded theories concerning the extreme practice of Indian enslavement in the southeast during the brief period studied. In order to better understand some of the theories, this study has defined terms, practices and policies employed by the French, English, Spanish and the major participating tribes of the southeastern region.; Though this study is not exhaustive, it presents a broad coverage of events, policies, beliefs, and practices that prompted a distinct increase in Indian enslavement in the colonial southeast during the proprietary period of Carolina. By including all of the political powers involved in enslavement in the analysis, the study presents a clearer picture of why enslavement increased during the era and then rapidly declined immediately thereafter. |
