Alexander McGillivray
Muscogee leader (1750-1793)
Alexander McGillivray, also known as Hoboi-Hili-Miko (December 15, 1750 – February 17, 1793), was a Muscogee (Creek) leader. The son of a Muscogee mother, Sehoy II, and a Scottish father, Lachlan McGillivray, he was literate and received an education in the British colonies. His understanding of both Muscogee and European culture combined with his father's trading contacts allowed him to become the richest Creek of his time.
McGillivray's "voluminous" correspondence has survived. In many cases his biased letters are the primary source for events in his life. While early historians framed him as a heroic figure, later historians have criticized his tenure as corrupt.
McGillivray's status among the Creeks, who did not customarily have a single leader, was controversial and sometimes resented. His chief asset to ensure he was seen as a leader was his ability to hand out gifts to the Creek from both Britain and Spain. He was the most "Anglicized" of the Creek and built solid houses, planted orchards, and ran a plantation (and owned about 60 slaves), which made him suspect. His understanding of English and experience in the trading world also gave him influence, if not prestige.
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This entry incorporates text from “Alexander McGillivray” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.