Gottlieb Priber
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Christian Gottlieb Priber (March 21, 1697 - 1744) was a German immigrant with legal training who immigrated to the British Colonies of North America with a vision of establishing a utopian commonwealth among Cherokee and other Native Americans living in the Southeast. Viewed by the Cherokee as a "beloved man", Priber fell afoul of the ruling British for his vision against the envisioned commonwealth holding private property, and his support for their providing sanctuary to runaway slaves and debtors. After the colonial authorities demanded his surrender, British-allied Creeks captured him in 1743. He died during his imprisonment by the British in
Frederica, Georgia Fort Frederica National Monument, on St. Simons Island, Georgia, preserves the archaeological remnants of a fort and town built by James Oglethorpe between 1736 and 1748 to protect the southern boundary of the British colony of Georgia from Spani ...
.


Early life and education

Christian Gottlieb Priber was born on March 21, 1697 in Zittau,
Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...
to Friedrich Priber, a linen merchant and beerhouse owner, and Anna Dorothea Bergmann. Priber studied law at
Erfurt University The University of Erfurt (german: Universität Erfurt) is a public university located in Erfurt, the capital city of the German state of Thuringia. It was founded in 1379, and closed in 1816. It was re-established in 1994, three years after Germ ...
where, in October 1722, he published his dissertation: ''The Use of the Study of Roman Law and the Ignorance of that Law in the Public Life of Germany''.


Utopian activity in America

Priber's activity in America involved the Cherokee people, who, at the time, occupied a powerful position in southeastern colonial America. The Cherokee accepted Priber as a "beloved man" because of his affection for Native American culture and his opposition to, as he viewed it, a thoroughly corrupt European culture. Priber sought the Cherokee out in particular, because he viewed them as an ideal people to actualize his utopian vision. Working in their community, he advocated a
communal society An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...
, the idea of which he based on Plato's Republic; he envisioned that a united confederation made up of all the native tribes in the region could play off the different colonial powers, Spain, France, and England, and strengthen their hold on tribal land. Priber opposed private property and supported refuge for runaway slaves and debtors in Cherokee territory as part his utopian vision. His surrender was demanded by the British authorities in 1739. The British-allied Creeks captured him en route to New Orleans in 1743, and he was handed over to the British colonial authorities and imprisoned in
Frederica, Georgia Fort Frederica National Monument, on St. Simons Island, Georgia, preserves the archaeological remnants of a fort and town built by James Oglethorpe between 1736 and 1748 to protect the southern boundary of the British colony of Georgia from Spani ...
.


Personal life

Priber wed Christiane Dorothea Hoffmann, the daughter of a merchant, printer, and Senator, in November 1722. They had five children. Priber died in 1744 during his imprisonment, in
Frederica, Georgia Fort Frederica National Monument, on St. Simons Island, Georgia, preserves the archaeological remnants of a fort and town built by James Oglethorpe between 1736 and 1748 to protect the southern boundary of the British colony of Georgia from Spani ...
.


References


Further reading

* Also available in reprint, 2003, from Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Com, .


External links


Short Priber biography at OurGeorgiaHistory.com
1697 births 1744 deaths American abolitionists American pioneers German writers German emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies 18th century Cherokee history Mystics People from Zittau Founders of utopian communities {{Germany-bio-stub