Kaintucks and Boatmen

"In the 1763 Treaty of Paris the British got French lands east of the Mississippi. They called the Natchez Trace "The Path to the Choctaw Nation." The Second Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolutionary war and the British recognized the United States claim to British West Florida which included the Natchez District.

"Commerce established the route for pioneers beginning at about the time the new nation gained its independence from Great Britain. Boatmen who came to be known as "Kaintucks" floated flatboats filled with produce from Tennessee and Kentucky to the Mississippi River and down to Natchez and New Orleans. Some of these "Kaintucks" were simple farmers, looking to sell the products from their farms and others were professional river men.

"From the 1780s through the advent of the steamboat in 1812 was the time known as the "Boatmen's Era." When these boatmen sold their produce in Natchez, they would break up their boats and sell them too, for lumber. Then they'd return home on foot or on horseback by way of the "Road to Nashville" as they called it. This road is what became the Natchez Trace.

"Join us next time when we hear how the young United States made treaties with the Indians allowing the improvement of the ancient pathway. For Natchez Trace: A Road Through the Wilderness, I'm Frank Thomas."

For more about Natchez Trace: A Road Through the Wilderness, visit eddieandfrank.com