 1585 map byTheodor de Bry withCwareuuoc village in top left corner along Neuse River | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| extinct as a tribe merged into theTuscaroras[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| North Carolina | |
| Languages | |
| Iroquois (possiblyTuscarora dialect) | |
| Religion | |
| Native American | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tuscarora |
TheCoree were a very small Native American tribe, who once occupied a coastal area south of theNeuse River[2] in southeasternNorth Carolina in the area now covered byCarteret andCraven counties. Early 20th-century scholars were unsure of what language they spoke,[3] but the coastal areas were mostly populated byIroquois andAlgonquian peoples.
The Coree were also called the Connamox, Cores, Corennines, Connamocksocks, Coranine Indians, and Neuse River Indians.[citation needed]The nameCoree may be the singular form of the CarolinaAlgonquian nameCwareuuoc.[citation needed]
The Coree were not described by Englishcolonists until 1701, by which time their population had already been reduced to as few as 125 members, likely due to epidemics ofinfectious disease and warfare. In the early 18th century, the Coree and several other tribes were allied with theIroquoianTuscarora against the colonists. In 1711, they participated in theTuscarora War, trying to drive out the English settlers. The Native Americans were unsuccessful and suffered many fatalities.
By 1715, surviving Coree merged with the remaining members of the nearby Algonquian-speakingMachapunga and settled in their single village ofMattamuskeet in present-dayHyde County.[4][3] This was on the shore ofLake Mattamuskeet.[4]
The Coree soon left the Machapunga and joined theTuscaroras.[1]
| Coree | |
|---|---|
| Native to | United States |
| Region | North Carolina |
| Ethnicity | Coree |
| Extinct | 18th century |
unclassified | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
075 | |
| Glottolog | None |
TheethnographerJames Mooney speculated that the Coree were related to theIroquoian-speakingCherokee, but he did not have convincing evidence. According to limited colonial reports, they spoke a language that did not appear to be mutually intelligible with any of the three major language stocks (Carolina Algonquian,Iroquoian Tuscarora, andWaccamaw Siouan orWoccon) toJohn Lawson, who described Coree after recording vocabularies of the other three.[5]
On the other hand, the Coree occupied territory that was historically mostly that ofTuscaroras, which suggests they were affiliated with these peoples, whom they ultimately merged into.
