Cherokee (Aniyunwiya)

In 1492 the Cherokee were a relatively peaceful agricultural people living in villages around the southern Appalachian Mountains in parts of eight modern states, one of which, Tennessee, takes its name from one of their villages. Their principal crops were corn, beans, and squash, and the first Europeans to encounter them were amazed at the extent of their farms and neatness of their villages. They were devastated by disease carried by the De Soto expedition in the 1540s, and later smallpox epidemics in the eighteenth century. They grew more warlike as trade with Europeans changed their economy and the displacement of other tribes into their lands increased hostility. Then the inevitable encroachment of white settlers from the coast led to the familiar litany of treaties, broken promises, war, and retribution. In an attempt to preserve some of their lands, the Cherokee Nation adopted a constitution modeled after that of the United States, established a boundary with the Americans, developed their own alphabet, published a newspaper, built schools, and established a court system. When gold was discovered on Cherokee lands in 1828 they were doomed. Despite winning two Supreme Court cases upholding their treaties, the federal government under Andrew Jackson refused to enforce the decisions and allowed whites to continue stealing Cherokee property and lands. Eventually the Cherokee gave up and accepted a cash payment to move to the Indian Territory of Oklahoma. The march west, known as the Trail of Tears, was a disaster. After reestablishing themselves and growing somewhat prosperous once more, the majority of the tribe sided with the Confederacy and seceded in 1861. At the Civil War's end, the US government declared all treaties with the Cherokee void. Eventually most of their land in Oklahoma was lost as well, although some attempts at compensation were made in the twentieth century.

From the game's History encyclopedia, AoE3: DE 100.19.18309.