'Heathenish Combination': The Natives of the North American Southeast During the Era of the Yamasee War examines the significance of the Yamasee Indian war against South Carolina in 1715 from a native American perspective. Chapter one presents a portrait of the Southeast as it appeared just prior to the war. It discusses the various Indian nations engaged in trade with South Carolina, including information on their location and the state of their relations with English traders. Chapter two deals with the origins of the war. The author suggests that market relations with South Carolina destabilized native society in a number of ways, which forced southeastern Indians to take up arms in an effort to control the terms of their involvement in the Atlantic economy. Chapter three provides a narrative account of the war, while chapter four assesses the war's consequences for native political organization. The author argues that the war facilitated the formation of the Creek Confederacy and the Catawba Nation. The issue of Indian slavery is addressed in chapter five. A comprehensive statistical study, utilizing probate records in the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, describes the demographic structures which shaped the experience of slavery for native Americans between 1690 and 1740
