The Saturiwa were a

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 var ...

chiefdom A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a ...

centered on the mouth of the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in eleva ...

in what is now

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. They were the largest and best attested chiefdom of the Timucua subgroup known as the

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 t ...

, who spoke the Mocama dialect of

Timucuan 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 var ...

and lived in the coastal areas of present-day northern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and southeastern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. They were a prominent political force in the early days of European settlement in Florida, forging friendly relations with the French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

settlers at

Fort Caroline Fort Caroline was an attempted French colonial settlement in Florida, located on the banks of the St. Johns River in present-day Duval County. It was established under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière on 22 June, 1564, follow ...

in 1564 and later becoming heavily involved in the Spanish mission system. The Saturiwa are so called after their chief at the time of contact with the Europeans, ''

Saturiwa The Saturiwa were a Timucua chiefdom centered on 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 ...

''. At that time the chief's main village was located on the south bank of the St. Johns River, and he was sovereign over thirty other chiefs and their villages. Chief Saturiwa allied with the French, who built Fort Caroline in Saturiwa territory, and later aided them against the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

of St. Augustine. After the French were dislodged from Florida, the Saturiwa made peace with the Spanish, who established Mission

San Juan del Puerto San Juan del Puerto, Spain is a municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Lat ...

near their main village. Like other Florida native peoples, the Saturiwa were decimated by new

infectious diseases An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

and warfare through the 17th century. They disappear from the historical record by the start of the 18th century; surviving Saturiwa likely merged with other Timucua and lost their independent identity.Swanton, pp. 138–139.

Area

The main village of the Saturiwa was located in present-day

, on the south bank of the

, near its mouth. According to the French records, Chief

was the sovereign over thirty other village chiefs, ten of whom were his "brothers". The villages of Saturiwa's alliance were concentrated around the mouth of the

, and were dispersed upriver and along the adjacent

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast from St. Augustine north to the St. Marys River, at the border of present-day Georgia. Up the St. Johns to the west, toward present-day downtown Jacksonville, were the villages of ''Omoloa'', ''Casti'', and ''Malica''. The northern extent of Saturiwa's authority was the village of ''Caravay'' or Sarabay, possibly on Little Talbot Island. Another village, ''Alimacani'', was located on

Fort George Island A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

across the river from the main village.Milanich, p. 49. There were additional villages located along the coast to the south, including ''Seloy'', which later became the site of the Spanish colony of St. Augustine. To the north of the Saturiwa were other

-speaking peoples, including the

Tacatacuru Tacatacuru was a Timucua chiefdom located on Cumberland Island in what is now the U.S. state of Georgia in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was one of two chiefdoms of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect of Timuc ...

. The main village of the Tacatacuru was on

Cumberland Island Cumberland Island, in the southeastern United States, is the largest of the Sea Islands of Georgia. The long-staple Sea Island cotton was first grown here by a local family, the Millers, who helped Eli Whitney develop the cotton gin. With its ...

in what is now

, and they evidently controlled other villages on the coast. Farther up the river to the southwest, in an area extending from roughly Palatka to Lake George, were the Utina, another Timucua group who were often at war with the Saturiwa.Milanich, p. 53. The area between Jacksonville and Palatka was relatively less populated; it is possible that this region served as a buffer between the Saturiwa and the Utina.

History

The history of the Saturiwa prior to contact with Europeans is obscure. The area had been inhabited by

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

for thousands of years; there is evidence of pottery dating to 2500 BC. Like other Mocama, the Saturiwa participated in the Savannah archaeological culture, and also the St. Johns culture. LemoyneRibaultMon

The Saturiwa met the French

expedition under

Jean Ribault Jean Ribault (also spelled ''Ribaut'') (1520 – October 12, 1565) was a French naval officer, navigator, and a colonizer of what would become the southeastern United States. He was a major figure in the French attempts to colonize Florida. A H ...

when it explored the area in 1562, though the French did not record any name for them at that time. Two years later, the Saturiwa again met the French when they returned to the area to found

. Chief Saturiwa forged friendly relations with the French settlers, trading and exchanging gifts with the newcomers and allowing them to establish Fort Caroline in his territory. He offered to assist in the construction of the fort; the colony's governor,

René Goulaine de Laudonnière Rene Goulaine de Laudonnière (c. 1529–1574) was a French Huguenot explorer and the founder of the French colony of Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, a Huguenot, sent Jean Ribault and Laudonnière ...

took up the offer, and the Saturiwa provided a palm-thatched roof for the barn. Saturiwa intended for this pact of friendship to compel Laudonnière to aid him against his enemies, the Utina, who lived upriver to the southwest. Laudonnière, however, refused to join an assault against the powerful Utina, which soured relations between the two parties. The French eventually repaired the relationship with the Saturiwa, but in 1565 Fort Caroline was sacked by

forces under Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who had recently founded St. Augustine. The Saturiwa initially resisted the Spanish. In 1566 they joined the

Potano The Potano (also Potanou or Potavou) 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 ...

and

Mayaca ''Mayaca'' is a genus of flowering plants, often placed in its own family, the Mayacaceae (or Mayaceae in earlier systems). In the APG II system of 2003, it is assigned to the order Poales in the clade commelinids. The Cronquist system, of 1981, ...

against the Agua Dulce and their Spanish allies. In 1567 the Saturiwa, together with the Tacatacuru and others, aided Dominique de Gourgue in an assault on Spanish-held Fort Caroline. Eventually, however, the Saturiwa submitted to the Spanish, who founded some of their first missions in Florida in their territory. The principal mission of the Saturiwa was

, located near Alicamani on Fort George Island, where

Francisco Pareja Francisco Pareja (c. 1570 – January 25, 1628) was a Franciscan missionary in Spanish Florida, where he was primarily assigned to San Juan del Puerto. The Spaniard became a spokesman for the Franciscan community to the Spanish and colonial governm ...

undertook his works on the Timucua language. The Saturiwa became the primary tribe in the Spanish mission system, but their fortunes declined markedly through the 17th century. By 1601, they were subject to the head chief of " San Pedro" (Tacatacuru), according to Spanish records.Deagan, p. 91. They were severely affected by outbreaks of disease that wracked Florida in 1617 and again in 1672. Their missions are mentioned in lists in 1675 and 1680, though the lists indicate a dwindling population. After this they disappear from the record. It is likely that any surviving Saturiwa merged with other Timucua groups, and lost their independent identity.

Notes

References

*Deagan, Kathleen A. (1978). "Cultures in Transition: Fusion and Assimilation among the Eastern Timucua." In Jerald Milanich and Samuel Procter, eds. ''Tacachale: Essays on the Indians of Florida and southeastern Georgia during the Historic Period.'' The University Presses of Florida. *Hann, John H. (1996) ''A History of the Timucua Indians and Missions.'' University Press of Florida. * * * * {{authority control Native American tribes in Florida Spanish missions in Georgia (U.S. state) Spanish Florida Timucua Former chiefdoms in North America