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Joara was a large Native American settlement located in what is now Burke County, North Carolina. The location of the archaeological site is northwest of Morganton on Henderson Mill Road and portions have been excavated by the Upper Catawba Valley Archaeology Project, consisting of archaeologists from Warren Wilson College, Southern Illinois University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Settlement

Joara is thought to have been settled sometime after A.D. 1000. It was established on the west bank of Upper Creek and within sight of Table Rock, a dominant geographical feature of the area. The Joara natives comprised the northeastern extent of Mississipian Mound Builder cultural identity.

By the time of the first European contact with the Native Americans in the foothills of the southern Appalachians, Joara had already grown to be the largest native settlement in present day North Carolina. The town served as the political center of a chiefdom that controlled many of the surrounding native settlements.

Spanish exploration

Hernando de Soto

In 1540, Hernando de Soto led a Spanish expedition up the eastern edge of the Appalachian mountains through present day Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. This expedition recorded the first documented European contact with the people of Joara, and soon departed to continue their exploration of la Florida's interior. It would be another 26 years before the Spanish would begin their attempts to enforce their claim over the land and its native inhabitants.

Captain Juan Pardo's first expedition

On December 1, 1566, Captain Juan Pardo and 125 men departed from Santa Elena, La Florida (located on present day Parris Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina) under orders from Governor Pedro Menéndez de Avilés to claim the interior for Spain, pacify native inhabitants, convert native inhabitants to Catholicism, and establish a route to Spanish silver mines near Zacatecas, Mexico. In order to stay close to food sources, the Spanish traveled northwest to live off of the native inhabitants' food supplies. The small Spanish force stopped at Otari (near present day Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina) and Yssa (near present day Denver, Lincoln County, North Carolina) before arriving at Joara.

Captain Pardo and his men arrived at Joara in January 1567 and renamed it Cuenca after his hometown Cuenca, Spain. Snow in the Appalachian mountains forced the Spanish to establish a winter base in the foothills at Joara. The explorers built a wooden fort at the north end of Joara and named it Fort San Juan. The fort became the first European settlement of present day North Carolina, predating the establishment of the first English colony at Roanoke Island by 18 years.

The Spanish based in Fort San Juan and continued on to claim sovereignty over several other settlements in the region including Guaquiri (near present day Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina) and Quinahaqui (in present day Catawba County, North Carolina). In February 1567, Captain Pardo established Fort Santiago at Guatari, a smaller town of Guatari natives located in present day Rowan County, North Carolina.

When Captain Pardo received word of a possible French invasion of Santa Elena, he left either 20 or 30 of his soldiers to occupy Joara, 4 soldiers and his chaplain Father Sebastian Montero to occupy Guatari and departed with the remainder of his force. Pardo appointed sergeant Hernando Moyano to command the force stationed at Fort San Juan.

Hernando Moyano's raids

During the spring of 1567, Hernando Moyano led a combined force of natives and Spanish north. The force attacked and burned the Chisca tribe's village of Maniateque (near present day Saltville, Virginia) before returning to Joara.

After resting and supplying his force, Moyano led his force to Guapere (thought to be on the upper Watauga River in present day Tennessee). The Spanish and native force attacked and burned Guapere and marched west to Chiaha (also in present day Tennessee). Moyano's force built a fort in Chiaha and waited for Captain Juan Pardo to return.

Captain Juan Pardo's second expedition

Captain Juan Pardo returned to Fort San Juan in September of 1567 to find the local inhabitants angered by the Spanish raids and demands for food, women, and canoes. The effect of newly introduced diseases was also destabilizing the community, causing resentment towards the Spanish. Instead of continuing his mission to Mexico, Captain Pardo left a garrison at Fort San Juan and marched the remainder of his troops westward to resupply Sgt. Hernando Moyano's troops.

Pardo first marched his troops to the native village of Tocae (near present day Asheville, North Carolina), then continued to Cauchi (near present day Canton, North Carolina. The force continued on to Tanasqui and then to Chiaha where they found Hernando Moyano's troops in need of supply. After resupplying Moyano's troops, Pardo returned to Santa Elena.

Native uprising

Shortly after May 1568, news reached Santa Elena that the native population had burned all of the Spanish forts established by Juan Pardo's men and had killed all of the Spanish stationed in those garrisons. Captain Pardo never returned to the area and Spain ended all attempts to conquer and colonize the southeastern interior.

Demise and abandonment

At the time of the first Spanish contact, the native people of the area were identified by their villages of residence and were not part of large tribes. Death from European diseases and conquest and assimilation by large tribes such as the Catawba and Cherokee caused many of these smaller native groups to disappear. By the time the English, Moravian, Scotch Irish, and German settlers arrived in the area, Joara and many of the other towns in the region were abandoned.

Although the location of Joara and Fort San Juan were forgotten over the next few hundred years, local inhabitants knew that large numbers of native artifacts could be found in certain areas of the upper Catawba river valley. Farmers bulldozed Joara's twelve foot high earthen platform mound during the early 1960's to make way for farmland. The location of the mound is now recognizeable as a two foot rise in the field.

Rediscovery at the Berry Site

During the 1960's and 1970's, several archaelogical surveys were conducted to determine possible locations of Joara and Fort San Juan. By the 1980's, archaelogists had narrowed down the number of possible locations and began limited excavations. These surveys and excavations showed that the upper Catawba river valley did indeed have a sizeable native population during the 14th to 16th centuries.

In 1986, a breakthrough occurred at the Berry excavation site when archaeologists discovered 16th century Spanish artifacts. This evidence, supported by historical documents, suggests that the Berry site is indeed the location of Joara and Fort San Juan. Further excavations at the Berry site throughout the 1990's and early 2000's has yielded more Spanish artifacts, including olive jar fragments, a spike and a knife.

References

  • Beck, Rob; Ketron, Caroline. "Fall of Fort San Juan". Warren Wilson Archaeological Field School. Retrieved Aug. 2, 2005.

  • Simmons, Geitner (Aug. 15, 1999). "Insight". The Salisbury Post. Retrieved Jul. 7, 2005.

1566 in Mexico | Appalachian culture | Burke County, North Carolina | Colonial Mexico | Exploration | Forts in the United States | History of Florida | History of North Carolina | History of South Carolina | History of Spain | Imperialism | Mound Builders | Native American history | Native American tribes | Spanish colonization of the Americas | Pre-revolutionary history of the United States | Archaeological sites in the United States

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Joara".

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