Off To See the King: The 1730 Cherokee Mission to London

From Stories of Appalachia by Steve Gilly, Rod Mullins

February 21, 2026 · 19 min

About this episode

The episode recounts the 1730 journey of seven Cherokee leaders to London to meet King George II and secure an alliance.

In 1730, seven Cherokee leaders traveled from their Appalachian home to the heart of London. Hand-picked by a Scottish adventurer named Alexander Cumming, they were presented to King George II as "Kings" of a new empire. Today we tell the story of that voyage and how these Native Americans navigated their way through the streets of the city at the center of the British Empire, all while securing an alliance on their own terms. It’s another one of the Stories of Appalachia. If you like our stories of Appalachian history and folklore, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a comment, too. You can also help support the Stories podcast by becoming a supporter at spreaker.com. There you'll find extra content and an ad-free version of the podcast! Thanks for listening.

People in this episode

Hosts: Steve Gilly, Rod Mullins

Topics covered

Cherokee history
British Empire
Native American diplomacy
Appalachian culture
historical voyages

Keywords

Cherokee
London
King George II
1730
diplomacy
Appalachia
Alexander Cumming

Mentioned in this episode

Places: London, Appalachian