Utina
Encyclopedia
The Utina, also known as the Agua Dulce or Agua Fresca (Freshwater) tribe, were a Timucua
chiefdom
in northern Florida
during the 16th century. The name given to them by their enemies, Thimogona, may be the origin of the word Timucua, now applied to the whole group of related tribes who lived in northern Florida and southern Georgia. They were one of the most powerful and prominent tribes in the region in the early days of European colonization
in Florida. They spoke the dialect of Timucua known as Agua Dulce.
The Utina had dealings with the French
colony of Fort Caroline
, and later allied with the Spanish
of St. Augustine
. However, they declined significantly in the last decades of the 16th century, and their confederacy fragmented into at least three chiefdoms. The main body of the tribe withdrew south along the St. Johns River, and were known as the Agua Fresca or Agua Dulce (Freshwater) tribe to the Spanish. A group of Christianized Utina migrated to the east towards St. Augustine, and became known as the Tocoy. The Acuera
, who spoke a different dialect but appear to have been part of the Utina confederacy in the days of French settlement, also broke away and established their own chiefdom.
, another Timucua group who were enemies of the Utina, called them "Thimogona" or "Tymangoua", which is possibly the origin of the word Timucua. The French followed the Saturiwa in this usage but later, the Spanish used the word "Timucua" for a much wider area of northern Florida, which they incorporated into their mission system
as the Timucua Province.
In the 17th century the Spanish thus came to know the principal tribe in the Timucua Province, who lived to the north of Chief Utina's land, as the Timucua; at this time, the decedents of Chief Utina's people were known instead as the Agua Dulce or Agua Fresca (in English, the Freshwater tribe). In the 20th century, after the name Timucua had come to be applied to all speakers of the Timucua language, scholars began using "Utina" as a generic term for the group the Spanish had known as the Timucua. However, this usage has caused confusion between the 16th-century Utina chiefdom and the "Timucua proper", who were never known as Utina by their contemporaries. As such scholars Jerald Milanich and Ken Johnson have suggested classing the two groups as eastern Utina and Northern Utina
, respectively.
, from north of present-day Palatka
to Lake George
. They occupied an area to the west in what are now Clay
and Putnam
Counties, and on freshwater lagoon
s and inlets along the Atlantic
coast. The French record that Chief Utina had more than forty other village chiefs as his vassals. His main village was located about seventeen miles to the west of the St. Johns, perhaps near George's Lake (distinct from Lake George) in northwestern Putnam County. The place name
Etoniah, derived from Utina, still survives through this area, for instance in Etoniah Creek. However, as this area is well north of the distribution of late prehistoric archaeological sites, which are concentrated between about Palatka and Lake George, it is possible that the Utina had gained control of this northern stretch relatively recently. Other villages subject to Chief Utina were Coya on the St. Johns and Molona; moving upriver to the south were the villages of Patica, Chilili, and Enacape. French sources record that the Acuera
, another Timucua tribe who spoke a different dialect and lived farther to the south, along the Oklawaha River, were also allied with Chief Utina at the time, as were groups on the east side of the St. Johns.
To the west of the Utina, in the area around present-day Gainesville
, were the Potano
, another Timucua group who were enemies of the Utina. Down the St. Johns to the north, in an area stretching roughly from what is now downtown Jacksonville to the mouth of the river, were another enemy tribe, the Saturiwa
. The stretch of river between about Palatka and Jacksonville was relatively less populated, and may have served as a boundary between the Utina and the Saturiwa. Up the river south of Lake George were the Mayaca
tribe, who were culturally similar to the Utina but did not speak the Timucua language and were more closely aligned with the Ais
tribe of the Atlantic coast.
emerged around 500 BC, and was still extant at the time of contact with the Europeans. At some point after the 8th century, Mississippian culture
models, common throughout what is now the eastern United States
, began to proliferate in Florida, and Mississippian-style chiefdoms emerged. Archaeologists have uncovered two clusters of St. Johns-related sites along the river dating to the late prehistoric period. These probably represent two chiefdoms, and correspond closely with the Utina and Saturiwa chiefdoms described by the Europeans, suggesting continuity between the earlier sites and the 16th century chiefdoms. The Utina built burial mound
s and left large shell
midden
s, "among the largest such middens in the United States". They grew crops, but were not as dependent on agriculture as were tribes to the north; those living on the lagoons along the coast may not have practiced agriculture at all.
The Acuera
, one of the peoples noted by the French as part of Chief Utina's alliance, encountered the conquistador
Hernando de Soto's expedition in 1539. De Soto stole corn from the Acuera while camped out in the nearby town of Ocale. However, extensive contact with Europeans did not occur until 1564, when the French Huguenot
s from the recently established Fort Caroline
in present-day Jacksonville first visited the area. The French noted that at this time all the villages along the middle St. Johns, as well as some farther into the interior such as those of the Acuera, were part of a chiefdom ruled by a young leader named Utina. Though only 25 years old, Utina had sovereignty over forty other chiefs and their villages, and was one of the most powerful figures in northern Florida. The exact nature of Utina's chiefdom is unclear. He may have been the paramount head of an integrated chiefdom, or he may have been simply the leading chief in a confederacy of smaller chiefdoms. In any case he was treated as a powerful figure by the French and Spanish.
At this time the Utina appear to have been at war with two other powerful chiefdoms: the Saturiwa
to the north and the Potano
to the west. The French had forged a treaty of friendship with Chief Saturiwa, in whose territory their fort stood, but governor René Goulaine de Laudonnière
still sought the favor of the powerful Utina. He sent an expedition that made contact with the Utina and aided them in an assault on the Potano. Later he refused to aid Saturiwa in an offensive against the Utina, straining relations with him. However, when French stores were running low in the spring of 1565, Utina exploited their situation to coerce Laudonnière into sending more military aid. When they realized that Utina was manipulating them, the desperate French kidnapped the chief in order to ransom him for supplies. This led to battle between the French and the Utina, which had grave effects for both sides. The French were unable to secure much food, and eventually released Utina.
Later that year, the Spanish
, recently established in St. Augustine
, sieged Fort Caroline and ejected the French from Florida. The Utina quickly allied with the Spanish. In 1567, the Spanish assisted them against a coalition of the Saturiwa, Potano, and Mayaca, joining them in driving the Potano from their main village. However, over the next two decades the Spanish paid little attention to the Utina. Concurrently the once-powerful confederacy declined significantly; by the end of the century it had fragmented into at least three separate chiefdoms.
missionary efforts
began in the area in the 1590s, there had been a significant decrease in both population and in the number of remaining villages. Moreover, there appear to have been at least three smaller, independent chiefdoms operating in what had formerly been Utina territory. The details of the decline are unclear, but the more devastating warfare and Old World diseases introduced by the Europeans probably contributed. The core part of the chiefdom remained inhabited, but the declining population appears to have withdrawn south, with the administrative center shifting to the village of Antonico. The Spanish referred to the inhabitants as the Agua Dulce or Agua Fresca, the Freshwater tribe. Northern villages that had not been abandoned were at that time under the authority of the Christian chiefs of Tocoy. The Tocoy chiefdom established a new town to the east, closer to St. Augustine. Additionally, the Acuera, who were named as part of Chief Utina's confederacy in the 1560s, had become an independent chiefdom.
By 1616, the administrative center of the Agua Dulce had shifted south again, to San Antonio de Enacape. Anthropologist John E. Worth suggests that the reason for this was the issue of succession to Chief Antonico, who had apparently died in the interim. Antonico is known to have been succeeded by his nephew, Juan de Contreras; Worth argues that Juan's mother (and Antonico's sister) was the chief of "San Antonio" who visited St. Augustine with Antonico in 1598. If this is correct, and if this female chief's San Antonio can be identified as San Antonio de Enacape, Juan may have moved the administrative center due to his filial connections to Enacape. The Agua Dulce chiefdom declined even further through the 17th century, and as it could no longer support a mission province, it was eventually merged into the Timucua Province. San Antonio de Enacape appears in mission lists from 1655 and 1680, but by the later date it was occupied by Yamassee refugees. Any remaining Agua Dulce had probably mixed with other tribes and lost their independent identity.
Missions were established in both Tocoy and San Sebastián in 1587; these, together with the missions to the Mocama
to north, were among the first successful missions established in Spanish Florida. Gaspar Márquez succeeded his father around 1595, and maintained Pedro's good relations with the Spanish. He continued to support the mission effort, and sent a petition to the King of Spain in 1606, but his people were in a state of precipitous decline. Neither mission is mentioned in records after 1608, and Tocoy was abandoned by 1616, leaving the area virtually unpopulated. The area was merged with Agua Dulce Province, and any survivors may have relocated to Mission Nombre de Dios
north of St. Augustine. The short-lived chiefdom did leave its mark on the landscape in the name of the San Sebastian River, the small river that flows into the Intracoastal Waterway
where the erstwhile village of San Sebastián stood.
, who lived along Oklawaha River, seem have become independent by the start of the 16th century, and founded at least one chiefdom. The French sources attest that they were part of Utina's confederacy in the 1560s, though Worth notes that the level of control Utina exercised over them is arguable. Francisco Pareja
noted that the Acuera spoke their own dialect of the Timucua language
(Acuera), distinct from the Agua Dulce dialect. The Acuera did not experience demographic decline nearly as quickly as the Agua Dulce or Tocoy chiefdoms, perhaps partially because of their remote location in the Florida interior and their less frequent contact with the Europeans. As such, Acuera represents one of the simpler, localized chiefdoms that proved sustainable well after more integrated societies such as Utina's confederacy had fallen.
Spanish records from the late 16th century indicate that Acuera village was ruled by a cacica (female chief). However, the Acuera may have been relatively unitegrated. Some villages in the Acuera Province were missionized years before the main town, and some village chiefs rendered their obedience to the Spanish before the Cacica of Acuera village had done so. According to Worth, the Tucururu dialect, which Francisco Pareja
noted was similar to but distinct from Acuera, may have been spoken in the Acuera Province, perhaps around the village of Tucuru. As such, the villages of the province may have been largely independent and only loosely associated with the main town. Alternately, the missionized villages, all located in the eastern part of the province, may have represented another small chiefdom or chiefdoms situated between Acuera and Agua Dulce.
The Spanish established Mission San Blas de Avino in the town of Avino by 1612, but it was abandoned not long after. By 1655 there were two further missions, Santa Lucia de Acuera in the main village and San Luis de Eloquale in Eloquale. Both of these were abandoned by 1680, and like Agua Dulce, the Acuera Province was merged into the larger Timucua Province. Any survivors may have relocated closer to St. Augustine, perhaps to the Puebla de Timucua, and lost their independent identity.
Timucua
The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The various groups of Timucua spoke several dialects of the...
chiefdom
Chiefdom
A chiefdom is a political economy that organizes regional populations through a hierarchy of the chief.In anthropological theory, one model of human social development rooted in ideas of cultural evolution describes a chiefdom as a form of social organization more complex than a tribe or a band...
in northern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
during the 16th century. The name given to them by their enemies, Thimogona, may be the origin of the word Timucua, now applied to the whole group of related tribes who lived in northern Florida and southern Georgia. They were one of the most powerful and prominent tribes in the region in the early days of European colonization
European colonization of the Americas
The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement in present day Newfoundland...
in Florida. They spoke the dialect of Timucua known as Agua Dulce.
The Utina had dealings with the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colony of Fort Caroline
Fort Caroline
Fort Caroline was the first French colony in the present-day United States. Established in what is now Jacksonville, Florida, on June 22, 1564, under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière, it was intended as a refuge for the Huguenots. It lasted one year before being obliterated by the...
, and later allied with the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
of St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
. However, they declined significantly in the last decades of the 16th century, and their confederacy fragmented into at least three chiefdoms. The main body of the tribe withdrew south along the St. Johns River, and were known as the Agua Fresca or Agua Dulce (Freshwater) tribe to the Spanish. A group of Christianized Utina migrated to the east towards St. Augustine, and became known as the Tocoy. The Acuera
Acuera
Acuera was reported to be the tribal headsman of a community of indigenous people of the same name. The Acuera were a Timucua people who flourished, in the north central region what is now called Florida, at the time of European arrival in the 16th century but, after fiercely defending their...
, who spoke a different dialect but appear to have been part of the Utina confederacy in the days of French settlement, also broke away and established their own chiefdom.
Name
The Utina are so called after their leading chief at the time of contact with the Europeans, Olata Ouae Utina; other spellings of the name include "Outina". The name "Utina" does not appear to be a designation specific to this group; uti-na means "my land" in Timucuan. The SaturiwaSaturiwa
The Saturiwa were a Timucua chiefdom centered around the mouth of the St. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. They were the largest and best attested chiefdom of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect of Timucuan and lived in the coastal areas...
, another Timucua group who were enemies of the Utina, called them "Thimogona" or "Tymangoua", which is possibly the origin of the word Timucua. The French followed the Saturiwa in this usage but later, the Spanish used the word "Timucua" for a much wider area of northern Florida, which they incorporated into their mission system
Spanish missions in Florida
Beginning in the second half of the 16th century, the Kingdom of Spain established a number of missions throughout la Florida in order to convert the Indians to Christianity, to facilitate control of the area, and to prevent its colonization by other countries, in particular, England and France...
as the Timucua Province.
In the 17th century the Spanish thus came to know the principal tribe in the Timucua Province, who lived to the north of Chief Utina's land, as the Timucua; at this time, the decedents of Chief Utina's people were known instead as the Agua Dulce or Agua Fresca (in English, the Freshwater tribe). In the 20th century, after the name Timucua had come to be applied to all speakers of the Timucua language, scholars began using "Utina" as a generic term for the group the Spanish had known as the Timucua. However, this usage has caused confusion between the 16th-century Utina chiefdom and the "Timucua proper", who were never known as Utina by their contemporaries. As such scholars Jerald Milanich and Ken Johnson have suggested classing the two groups as eastern Utina and Northern Utina
Northern Utina
The Northern Utina, also known as the Timucua or simply Utina, were a Timucua tribe of northern Florida. They lived north of the Santa Fe River and east of the Suwanee River, and spoke a dialect of the Timucuan language known as "Timucua proper". They appear to have been closely associated with the...
, respectively.
Area
The Utina lived along the St. Johns RiverSt. Johns River
The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant for commercial and recreational use. At long, it winds through or borders twelve counties, three of which are the state's largest. The drop in elevation from the headwaters to the mouth is less than ;...
, from north of present-day Palatka
Palatka, Florida
Palatka is a city in Putnam County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,033 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,796. It is the county seat of Putnam County and includes East Palatka. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka...
to Lake George
Lake George (Florida)
Lake George or Lake Welaka is a broad and shallow brackish lake on the St. Johns River in the U.S. state of Florida.-Geography:Lake George is six miles wide and eleven miles long, with an average depth of 8 feet . The west side of the lake is encompassed in the Ocala National Forest...
. They occupied an area to the west in what are now Clay
Clay County, Florida
Clay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2010, the population was 190,895. Its county seat is Green Cove Springs, Florida. Clay County is part of the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan area.- History :...
and Putnam
Putnam County, Florida
Putnam County is a county located in the state of Florida. The entire county makes up the Palatka Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 70,423. The U.S. Census Bureau 2009 estimate for the county was 72,893 . Its county seat is Palatka, Florida. The county is centrally...
Counties, and on freshwater lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
s and inlets along the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast. The French record that Chief Utina had more than forty other village chiefs as his vassals. His main village was located about seventeen miles to the west of the St. Johns, perhaps near George's Lake (distinct from Lake George) in northwestern Putnam County. The place name
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
Etoniah, derived from Utina, still survives through this area, for instance in Etoniah Creek. However, as this area is well north of the distribution of late prehistoric archaeological sites, which are concentrated between about Palatka and Lake George, it is possible that the Utina had gained control of this northern stretch relatively recently. Other villages subject to Chief Utina were Coya on the St. Johns and Molona; moving upriver to the south were the villages of Patica, Chilili, and Enacape. French sources record that the Acuera
Acuera
Acuera was reported to be the tribal headsman of a community of indigenous people of the same name. The Acuera were a Timucua people who flourished, in the north central region what is now called Florida, at the time of European arrival in the 16th century but, after fiercely defending their...
, another Timucua tribe who spoke a different dialect and lived farther to the south, along the Oklawaha River, were also allied with Chief Utina at the time, as were groups on the east side of the St. Johns.
To the west of the Utina, in the area around present-day Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, were the Potano
Potano
The Potano tribe lived in north-central Florida at the time of first European contact. Their territory included what is now Alachua County, the northern half of Marion County and the western part of Putnam County. This territory corresponds to that of the Alachua culture, which preceded the...
, another Timucua group who were enemies of the Utina. Down the St. Johns to the north, in an area stretching roughly from what is now downtown Jacksonville to the mouth of the river, were another enemy tribe, the Saturiwa
Saturiwa
The Saturiwa were a Timucua chiefdom centered around the mouth of the St. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. They were the largest and best attested chiefdom of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect of Timucuan and lived in the coastal areas...
. The stretch of river between about Palatka and Jacksonville was relatively less populated, and may have served as a boundary between the Utina and the Saturiwa. Up the river south of Lake George were the Mayaca
Mayaca (tribe)
Mayaca was the name used by the Spanish to refer to an Indian tribe in central Florida, to the principal village of that tribe and to the chief of that village in the 1560s. The Mayacas occupied an area in the upper St. Johns River valley just to the south of Lake George...
tribe, who were culturally similar to the Utina but did not speak the Timucua language and were more closely aligned with the Ais
Ais (tribe)
The Ais, or Ays were a tribe of Native Americans who inhabited the Atlantic Coast of Florida. They ranged from present day Cape Canaveral to the St. Lucie Inlet, in the present day counties of Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and northernmost Martin...
tribe of the Atlantic coast.
Early history and European contact
The area had been populated for thousands of years. An archaeological culture known as the St. Johns cultureSt. Johns culture
The St. Johns culture was an archaeological culture in northeastern Florida, USA that lasted from about 500 BCE until shortly after European contact in the 17th century. The St. Johns culture was present along the St. Johns River and its tributaries The St. Johns culture was an archaeological...
emerged around 500 BC, and was still extant at the time of contact with the Europeans. At some point after the 8th century, Mississippian culture
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
models, common throughout what is now the eastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, began to proliferate in Florida, and Mississippian-style chiefdoms emerged. Archaeologists have uncovered two clusters of St. Johns-related sites along the river dating to the late prehistoric period. These probably represent two chiefdoms, and correspond closely with the Utina and Saturiwa chiefdoms described by the Europeans, suggesting continuity between the earlier sites and the 16th century chiefdoms. The Utina built burial mound
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
s and left large shell
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
midden
Midden
A midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...
s, "among the largest such middens in the United States". They grew crops, but were not as dependent on agriculture as were tribes to the north; those living on the lagoons along the coast may not have practiced agriculture at all.
The Acuera
Acuera
Acuera was reported to be the tribal headsman of a community of indigenous people of the same name. The Acuera were a Timucua people who flourished, in the north central region what is now called Florida, at the time of European arrival in the 16th century but, after fiercely defending their...
, one of the peoples noted by the French as part of Chief Utina's alliance, encountered the conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
Hernando de Soto's expedition in 1539. De Soto stole corn from the Acuera while camped out in the nearby town of Ocale. However, extensive contact with Europeans did not occur until 1564, when the French Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s from the recently established Fort Caroline
Fort Caroline
Fort Caroline was the first French colony in the present-day United States. Established in what is now Jacksonville, Florida, on June 22, 1564, under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière, it was intended as a refuge for the Huguenots. It lasted one year before being obliterated by the...
in present-day Jacksonville first visited the area. The French noted that at this time all the villages along the middle St. Johns, as well as some farther into the interior such as those of the Acuera, were part of a chiefdom ruled by a young leader named Utina. Though only 25 years old, Utina had sovereignty over forty other chiefs and their villages, and was one of the most powerful figures in northern Florida. The exact nature of Utina's chiefdom is unclear. He may have been the paramount head of an integrated chiefdom, or he may have been simply the leading chief in a confederacy of smaller chiefdoms. In any case he was treated as a powerful figure by the French and Spanish.
At this time the Utina appear to have been at war with two other powerful chiefdoms: the Saturiwa
Saturiwa
The Saturiwa were a Timucua chiefdom centered around the mouth of the St. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. They were the largest and best attested chiefdom of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect of Timucuan and lived in the coastal areas...
to the north and the Potano
Potano
The Potano tribe lived in north-central Florida at the time of first European contact. Their territory included what is now Alachua County, the northern half of Marion County and the western part of Putnam County. This territory corresponds to that of the Alachua culture, which preceded the...
to the west. The French had forged a treaty of friendship with Chief Saturiwa, in whose territory their fort stood, but governor René Goulaine de Laudonnière
René Goulaine de Laudonnière
René Goulaine de Laudonnière was a French Huguenot explorer and the founder of the French colony of Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville, Florida...
still sought the favor of the powerful Utina. He sent an expedition that made contact with the Utina and aided them in an assault on the Potano. Later he refused to aid Saturiwa in an offensive against the Utina, straining relations with him. However, when French stores were running low in the spring of 1565, Utina exploited their situation to coerce Laudonnière into sending more military aid. When they realized that Utina was manipulating them, the desperate French kidnapped the chief in order to ransom him for supplies. This led to battle between the French and the Utina, which had grave effects for both sides. The French were unable to secure much food, and eventually released Utina.
Later that year, the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, recently established in St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
, sieged Fort Caroline and ejected the French from Florida. The Utina quickly allied with the Spanish. In 1567, the Spanish assisted them against a coalition of the Saturiwa, Potano, and Mayaca, joining them in driving the Potano from their main village. However, over the next two decades the Spanish paid little attention to the Utina. Concurrently the once-powerful confederacy declined significantly; by the end of the century it had fragmented into at least three separate chiefdoms.
Fragmentation
By the time FranciscanFranciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
missionary efforts
Spanish missions in Florida
Beginning in the second half of the 16th century, the Kingdom of Spain established a number of missions throughout la Florida in order to convert the Indians to Christianity, to facilitate control of the area, and to prevent its colonization by other countries, in particular, England and France...
began in the area in the 1590s, there had been a significant decrease in both population and in the number of remaining villages. Moreover, there appear to have been at least three smaller, independent chiefdoms operating in what had formerly been Utina territory. The details of the decline are unclear, but the more devastating warfare and Old World diseases introduced by the Europeans probably contributed. The core part of the chiefdom remained inhabited, but the declining population appears to have withdrawn south, with the administrative center shifting to the village of Antonico. The Spanish referred to the inhabitants as the Agua Dulce or Agua Fresca, the Freshwater tribe. Northern villages that had not been abandoned were at that time under the authority of the Christian chiefs of Tocoy. The Tocoy chiefdom established a new town to the east, closer to St. Augustine. Additionally, the Acuera, who were named as part of Chief Utina's confederacy in the 1560s, had become an independent chiefdom.
Agua Dulce chiefdom
The Spanish referred to the people living on the middle St. Johns – the former center of the Utina chiefdom – as the Agua Dulce or Agua Fresca, the Freshwater tribe. Their territory was known as the Agua Dulce Province. By 1595 Chief Utina appears to have been succeeded, at some remove or another, by the Christian chief Antonico, who ruled from a village also known as Antonico southeast of the old main village. Its precise location is unclear, but it certainly would have been part of Utina's confederacy if it existed at the time. Most of the northern villages, including the main town, were evidently abandoned, and the number of villages in the chiefdom were reduced to about six, situated between the Palatka area and Lake George. In 1595 the Spanish founded a mission in Antonico village; by 1616 they had founded another, Mission San Antonio de Enacape, in the village of Enacape (perhaps the Mount Royal site near Lake George).By 1616, the administrative center of the Agua Dulce had shifted south again, to San Antonio de Enacape. Anthropologist John E. Worth suggests that the reason for this was the issue of succession to Chief Antonico, who had apparently died in the interim. Antonico is known to have been succeeded by his nephew, Juan de Contreras; Worth argues that Juan's mother (and Antonico's sister) was the chief of "San Antonio" who visited St. Augustine with Antonico in 1598. If this is correct, and if this female chief's San Antonio can be identified as San Antonio de Enacape, Juan may have moved the administrative center due to his filial connections to Enacape. The Agua Dulce chiefdom declined even further through the 17th century, and as it could no longer support a mission province, it was eventually merged into the Timucua Province. San Antonio de Enacape appears in mission lists from 1655 and 1680, but by the later date it was occupied by Yamassee refugees. Any remaining Agua Dulce had probably mixed with other tribes and lost their independent identity.
Tocoy chiefdom
The village of Tocoy on the St. Johns River became the center of an independent chiefdom in the later 16th century. Tocoy was located due west of St. Augustine and east of the old Utina village. It was thus presumably part of Utina's chiefdom in the 1560s, though at the northernmost bounds. Shortly after the foundation of St. Augustine, the chief of Tocoy, Pedro Márquez, moved to a new village closer to the Spanish settlement, known as San Sebastián. Consequently Pedro and his successor were often known as Chief of Tocoy and San Sebastián. Pedro was one of the first chiefs to submit to Spanish authority, and converted to Christianity even before missionary efforts began. His son and successor Gaspar Márquez later noted that his father and mother had been "some of the first Christians baptized in these provinces", and had requested missionaries and built churches in San Sebastián. The relocation to San Sebastián and the alignment with the Spanish evidently elevated the profile of the Chiefs of Tocoy, who had probably been marginal in the Utina chiefdom, and facilitated the break.Missions were established in both Tocoy and San Sebastián in 1587; these, together with the missions to the Mocama
Mocama
The Mocama were a Native American people who lived in the coastal areas of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. A Timucua group, they spoke the dialect known as Mocama, the best-attested dialect of the Timucua language. Their territory extended from about the Altamaha River in...
to north, were among the first successful missions established in Spanish Florida. Gaspar Márquez succeeded his father around 1595, and maintained Pedro's good relations with the Spanish. He continued to support the mission effort, and sent a petition to the King of Spain in 1606, but his people were in a state of precipitous decline. Neither mission is mentioned in records after 1608, and Tocoy was abandoned by 1616, leaving the area virtually unpopulated. The area was merged with Agua Dulce Province, and any survivors may have relocated to Mission Nombre de Dios
Nombre de Dios (mission)
Nombre de Dios is a Spanish Catholic mission in St. Augustine, Florida, United States. The mission traces its origins to September 1565, when Admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded the city of St. Augustine. A formal Franciscan mission was founded near the city in 1587, perhaps the first mission...
north of St. Augustine. The short-lived chiefdom did leave its mark on the landscape in the name of the San Sebastian River, the small river that flows into the Intracoastal Waterway
Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...
where the erstwhile village of San Sebastián stood.
Acuera chiefdom
The AcueraAcuera
Acuera was reported to be the tribal headsman of a community of indigenous people of the same name. The Acuera were a Timucua people who flourished, in the north central region what is now called Florida, at the time of European arrival in the 16th century but, after fiercely defending their...
, who lived along Oklawaha River, seem have become independent by the start of the 16th century, and founded at least one chiefdom. The French sources attest that they were part of Utina's confederacy in the 1560s, though Worth notes that the level of control Utina exercised over them is arguable. Francisco Pareja
Francisco Pareja
Francisco Pareja was a Spanish Franciscan missionary in Spanish Florida. His primary importance was as a linguist: he developed a writing system for the American Indian Timucua language. In 1612 he published the first book in an indigenous language of North America, a catechism in Spanish and...
noted that the Acuera spoke their own dialect of the Timucua language
Timucua language
Timucua is a language isolate formerly spoken in northern and central Florida and southern Georgia by the Timucua people. Timucua was the primary language used in the area at the time of Spanish arrival in Florida. Linguistic and archaeological studies suggest that it may have been spoken from...
(Acuera), distinct from the Agua Dulce dialect. The Acuera did not experience demographic decline nearly as quickly as the Agua Dulce or Tocoy chiefdoms, perhaps partially because of their remote location in the Florida interior and their less frequent contact with the Europeans. As such, Acuera represents one of the simpler, localized chiefdoms that proved sustainable well after more integrated societies such as Utina's confederacy had fallen.
Spanish records from the late 16th century indicate that Acuera village was ruled by a cacica (female chief). However, the Acuera may have been relatively unitegrated. Some villages in the Acuera Province were missionized years before the main town, and some village chiefs rendered their obedience to the Spanish before the Cacica of Acuera village had done so. According to Worth, the Tucururu dialect, which Francisco Pareja
Francisco Pareja
Francisco Pareja was a Spanish Franciscan missionary in Spanish Florida. His primary importance was as a linguist: he developed a writing system for the American Indian Timucua language. In 1612 he published the first book in an indigenous language of North America, a catechism in Spanish and...
noted was similar to but distinct from Acuera, may have been spoken in the Acuera Province, perhaps around the village of Tucuru. As such, the villages of the province may have been largely independent and only loosely associated with the main town. Alternately, the missionized villages, all located in the eastern part of the province, may have represented another small chiefdom or chiefdoms situated between Acuera and Agua Dulce.
The Spanish established Mission San Blas de Avino in the town of Avino by 1612, but it was abandoned not long after. By 1655 there were two further missions, Santa Lucia de Acuera in the main village and San Luis de Eloquale in Eloquale. Both of these were abandoned by 1680, and like Agua Dulce, the Acuera Province was merged into the larger Timucua Province. Any survivors may have relocated closer to St. Augustine, perhaps to the Puebla de Timucua, and lost their independent identity.