Same as it ever was, Debt and Division of labor

"And all the beads we made by hand are nowadays made in Japan." That's a lyric written in the 70s (to a 1959 song) when Japan's economy was in the headlines. But back then in the 1750s, many of the items the Cherokee used to make, like pottery, tomahawks, knives were all made by England.

The Cherokee killed more deer than they needed to get those items. 50,000 deerskins a year was the Charleston SC business. But they needed muskets and blackpowder first. It was less efficient to make bows and arrows. Even the western indians wanted those guns. And how did they get those items? They were given credit. And who gave them credit? The White traders living in the Indian villages. And how much credit was given to each individual Indian? How was that upper credit limit calculated? It was determined by how much that indian produced in deerskins last time. The first time is anyone's guess. But once history was developed between Indian and trader, then that Indian was given so much blackpower and other supplies for the hunt.

And where did the traders get that blackpowder and those muskets and those supplies?

They were given credit by the Merchants on the seacoast.

And those merchants were given credit by English manufacturers.

And those manufacturers needed investors.

So war threatened shutting down that trade. And full out war is coming. August 1759 was a month of Indian payback raids to right a past wrong. This was going to eventually affect involvement from the Virginia Regiment and men who had garrisoned Fort Winchester VA. An embargo was imposed on 14 Aug 1759 by South Carolina on blackpowder and muskets as penalty. But what reopened trade? More war?

Exactly.

And does this sound familiar about arguments over China?

Round O of Stecoe, A Cherokee leader, asserted his support for the English. He came to reprimand a group of Cherokee agreeing with French supported Creek leader Mortar to start a war on the English with Creek support.

Round O says,

"had they found a mountain of powder? Had their women learned to make clothes and their men to make knives? Hatches? .. . where was their store? He would like to come and deal with them if perhaps the southern Indians [the Mortar's gang, some of whom were present] can supply you."

(Source is Page 174 of The Cherokee Frontier, Conflict and Survival 1740-1762, by David H Corkran, published by the University of Oklahoma Press 1962).

And what of this Triangle of Strangle, of Trade and Debt?

The economic pie appears to have been divided in the same slices as it always ever was, no matter what era, no matter what kind of system.

But some systems despite the slices being unequal had bigger pies.

Is there an alternative?

Global pie

US PIE

Compiled by Jim Moyer 8/26/2023

More about the trade system?

Pa pedlars invading Winchester and animal pelt totals

https://jimmoyer1.wixsite.com/fortloudounva/single-post/pennsylvania-pedlars-invade-winchester-va

Cherokee and White Traders

https://jimmoyer1.wixsite.com/fortloudounva/single-post/cherokee-warriors-and-white-traders

White Traders and Debt

In 1758, the Forbes Expedition did not give enough weight to what the hunting season meant to the Cherokee.

The Cherokee are under pressure to go home.

It's about their debt to the White Traders. And it's about supplying their own families.

Why do they owe White Traders?

The Cherokee hunted to give deerskins and food to the White Traders in exchange for supplies, such as muskets, black powder, clothes, metal hatchets, metal containers, mirrors.

Many of the old ways of self sufficiency had given way to this trade.

The products of this trade were exponentially more efficient and productive.

But . . .

Debts were racked up by both Cherokee and the White Traders.

The Cherokee would owe more deerskins to the traders.

The Traders were in debt to any company that financed their inventory and trips to trade with the Indians. The movie Revenant touches on that debt incurred by White Traders and trappers.

So in order to remove this debt pressure, The South Carolina legislature and Governor approved a subsidy package that met the needs of both Cherokee and the White Traders:

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"The Carolina trading interest had ceased opposing Cherokee participation in the Virginia campaigns:

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". . . for the Carolina Assembly had voted 20,000 lbs to underwrite rewards to Cherokee returning from service in Virginia, the goods to be purchased from the traders and their suppliers."

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"This statesmanlike measure relieved the credit difficulties of important traders and mitigated the hardships Cherokee families experienced when their men were too long at war to do much hunting."

Source is Page 144 of The Cherokee Frontier, Conflict and Survival 1740-1762, by David H Corkran, published by the University of Oklahoma Press 1962, referring to March 21, 1758 Amherst papers.

But is that quote above true?

We were not able to access that date in the Amherst papers, but we did go to the statutes of South Carolina.

We are still looking for that expenditure authorized by the South Carolina Assembly.

What we found so far is the one enacted 19 May 1758, agreed to by William Henry Lyttelton, Gov of SC. The act shows expenditures to pay for Fort Loudoun (in today's Tennessee) and for the traders and for soldiers, but nothing is earmarked to directly pay any individual Cherokee.

We're thinking the legislature provided to the traders and soldiers so they could extend credit to the Indians.

Look at page 53 (95) to page 73 (115), in VOLUME 4, 1752 to 1786 Statues of South Carolina.