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 the Alachua culture region. The Potano were a branch of the Timucua people, and spoke a dialect of the Timucua language.

Early European contact

. The Pánfilo de Narváez expedition passed to the west of Potano territory in 1528. While not directly affecting the Potano, the Spanish incursion spread disease and incited warfare in the area. In 1539 Hernando de Soto led an army through Potano territory. There were 700 or more people in de Sotò's army, and it lived off the land (or rather, the villages it passed through) as it marched. By the time de Sotò's army reached Potano territory, he was intent on spending the winter in the Apalachee domain, and the army passed through quickly. The army passed through the Potano towns of Itaraholata (or Ytara), Potano, Utinamochana (or Utinama), Cholupaha and Mala-Paz.

At the time the French established Fort Caroline, the Potano were at war with the Northern Utina. The French supported the Northern Utina and helped defeat the Potano. After Spain expelled France from Florida, it also supported the Northern Utina. In 1584 a Spanish captain was killed when he led an invasion into Potano territory. A second Spanish expedition killed many Potanos and drove the rest from their towns.

In the 1590s Franciscan missionaries reached the Potano, first with visits by an itinerant missionary, and in 1609 with a mission, San Francisco de Potano. Other missions soon followed, with five in Potano territory by 1633. The Franciscans reported in 1602 that they were teaching the catechism to over one thousand Potanos.

In 1656 the Potano participated in the Timucuan rebellion against the Spanish authorities. The Spanish prevailed after eight months. Most Timucuan towns and missions were burned during the fighting. After the rebellion, the Potano missions were re-established. The Potano were badly affected by an unidentified disease in 1672. One estimate puts the population of the Potano at 3,000 in 1650. By 1675, there were 160 people at the two remaining Potano missions.

Following the Timucuan rebellion, many land grants were made by the Spanish in areas no longer used by the reduced population. There is evidence of twenty-five Spanish-owned cattle ranches in Timucuan territory, including several in Potano territory. Much of the evidence for these ranches consists of complaints to Spanish officials that cattle were running loose and eating village crops.

By 1685 tribes from north of Florida, encouraged, supplied and often joined by whites from the Province of Carolina, were raiding into Potano territory, burning villages, killing some Potanos and carrying others away to be sold as slaves in Charles Towne. These raids continued into the 18th century. The Spanish mission system across northern Florida collapsed after 1704. Some surviving Potano may have reached the missions at St. Augustine, but the Potano effectively disappeared from history at that time.

Other de Soto Expedition contacts

• List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition

References

• Milanich, Jerald T. 1995. Florida Indians and the Invasion from Europe. Gainesville, Florida: The University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1360-7
• Access Genealogy Indian Tribal Records. "Potano." Florida Indian Tribes. At - retrieved March 31 2006