In the early 20th century, anthropologist John R. Swanton suggested they had ceased to exist as a distinct group by 1720 and speculated that members of the tribe may have merged with the nearby Waccamaw.

The tribe was at first allied with the colonists who settled in Charles Town, but this friendship soon was shattered when European slavers instigated a war against them in 1683 as an excuse to capture slaves.

[11] During the Tuscarora War of 1711, John Barnwell brought twenty-four Winyah warriors on his expedition into North Carolina, but they deserted him prior to arriving for lack of guns or ammunition.

[1] Later that year the Cheraw attempted to pressure the tribe into participating in the war against the English but they refused, instead remaining allies of the colonists.

[12] The Cape Fear Indians eventually settled inland from Charleston in present-day Williamsburg County, South Carolina.