Winyah

The Winyah lived around the bay that bears their name and along the lower Pee Dee and Black rivers. Their river country opened onto the Carolina coast through an estuary fed by several waterways. Although the Winyah were at times allies of English settlers, that relationship did not shield them from the colonial trade in enslaved Indigenous people.

In 1683 traders encouraged conflict as a pretext for taking captives; even Winyah envoys seeking peace were enslaved. During the Yamasee War in 1715 the Winyah remained allied to the English despite pressure from the Cheraw to join their enemies. Some later lived near other displaced communities and a colonial trading post. They petitioned for land in 1724, and a map still placed them between the Black and Pee Dee rivers in 1752.