Integral Society

"Integral society" was a descriptive term for the objective of royal governor Arthur Dobbs (1754-65) to alleviate the problem of unsatisfactory race relations between the English and the native Indians. When Dobbs arrived in North Carolina in 1754, he proposed that the Indians should be treated fairly and justly, expecting that kindness and honest treatment would ensure peaceful relations. He suggested that soldiers take Indian wives as a step that would lead to the permanent establishment of the British in America.

After living in the colony for a time, however, and gaining experience with the Indians as well as the colonists, Dobbs changed his views. He concluded that a better plan, in war at least, was to kill warriors and enslave women and children. Cruel as this was, it apparently was a scheme that most colonists also favored.