Gottlieb Priber

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 what later became the Southeastern United States. 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.

Early life and education Christian Gottlieb Priber was born on March 21, 1697, in Zittau, Electorate of Saxony to Friedrich Priber, a linen merchant and beerhouse owner, and Anna Dorothea Bergmann. Priber studied law at Erfurt University 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.

Priber sought the Cherokee out in particular, because he viewed them as an ideal people to actualize his utopian vision.