McGillivray, Alexander (1759?-1793), was an influential leader of the Muscogee, or Creek people around the time of the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783). English traders used the name Creek to refer to allied tribes of the Muscogee (also spelled Muskogee) people. He helped protect Creek lands from American settlers.
McGillivray was born near what is now Montgomery, Alabama. His father was a wealthy Scot, and his mother was half Creek and half French. McGillivray believed an independent United States would threaten Indigenous (native) American lands. He helped keep the Creeks loyal to the British during the American Revolution. McGillivray and his Creek warriors fought wars with Georgia and Tennessee from 1785 to 1787. In 1790, he signed a treaty with the United States that guaranteed the Creek certain territory where settlement by U.S. citizens was prohibited.
McGillivray worked hard to unite the Creek people under a strong central government. He called for changes in the way the Creek viewed politics, but died on Feb. 17, 1793, before the Creek people carried out his reforms. The Creek adopted many of his ideas in the 1820’s.
