Keowee

Keowee was a leading town of the Lower Cherokee on the river bearing its name. A trading post operated there from 1717, drawing the settlement into exchanges with Carolina merchants. British officials sought to strengthen these ties while also controlling access to imported supplies.

In 1751 South Carolina imposed a trade embargo on the Cherokee. Two years later Governor James Glen ordered Fort Prince George built across the river from Keowee, placing a British garrison immediately beside the town. The proximity of fort and settlement did not secure lasting peace: relations deteriorated into the Anglo-Cherokee conflict of 1759–1760. Keowee's position made it both a meeting place for trade and diplomacy and a point at which colonial military power directly confronted Cherokee town life.