Agua Dulce people facts for kids
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Extinct as tribe | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| North Florida along the middle St. Johns River | |
| Languages | |
| Timucua language, Agua Fresca dialect | |
| Religion | |
| Native | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Timucua |
The Agua Dulce or Freshwater people were a group of Timucua Native Americans who lived in northeastern Florida. They lived near the St. Johns River north of Lake George. They spoke a special kind of the Timucua language called the Agua Dulce dialect.
In the 1560s, the Agua Dulce villages were part of a powerful group led by a chief named Utina. This group was very important when Europeans first arrived in Florida. Chief Utina worked with the French from Fort Caroline and later became allies with the Spanish from St. Augustine. The Spanish even built several missions in their territory.
However, the Utina group became much weaker by the end of the 1500s. It split into at least three smaller groups. The main part of the tribe moved south along the St. Johns River. The Spanish called them the Agua Dulce. This group was mostly gone by 1680. Some Christian Agua Dulce people moved east towards St. Augustine. They were known as the Tocoy, but this small group also disappeared by 1616. The Acuera people, who spoke a different language but were once part of Utina's group, also became independent. The Acuera lasted longer than the Agua Dulce and Tocoy, but they too had collapsed by 1680.
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What's in a Name?
Agua Dulce or Agua Fresca means "Freshwater" in Spanish. The Spanish used these names for the Timucua people who lived along the freshwater parts of the lower St. Johns River. This was different from the Mocama or "Salt Water" people who lived along the coast.
The Utina chiefdom of the 1500s was named after its main leader, Chief Olata Ouae Utina. Other spellings of his name include "Outina." The name "Utina" itself might mean "my land" in the Timucuan language.
The Saturiwa, another Timucua group and enemies of the Utina, called them "Thimogona" or "Tymangoua." This might be where the name "Timucua" came from. The French used this name too. Later, the Spanish used "Timucua" for a much larger area of northern Florida. They called this area the Timucua Province in their mission system.
In the 1600s, the Spanish called the main tribe in the Timucua Province "Timucua." These people lived north of where Chief Utina's group used to be. At this time, Chief Utina's descendants were known as the Agua Dulce. Today, the name "Timucua" is used for all people who spoke the Timucua language. This has caused some confusion. Scholars like Jerald Milanich and Ken Johnson suggest calling the two groups "eastern Utina" and Northern Utina to make it clearer.
Where They Lived
The Agua Dulce lived along the St. Johns River. Their territory stretched from north of present-day Palatka to Lake George. They also lived west in areas that are now Clay and Putnam Counties. Some lived along freshwater lagoons and inlets near the Atlantic coast.
French records from the 1560s say that Chief Utina had more than forty other village chiefs who followed him. His main village was about seventeen miles west of the St. Johns River. It might have been near George's Lake in northwestern Putnam County. The place name Etoniah, which comes from Utina, is still used in this area today. For example, there's Etoniah Creek.
Other villages under Chief Utina included Coya and Molona on the St. Johns River. Farther south along the river were Patica, Chilili, and Enacape. French sources also say that the Acuera, another Timucua tribe on the Ocklawaha River to the south, were part of Utina's group. This was true even though they spoke a different language. Groups on the east side of the St. Johns River were also part of his chiefdom.
To the west of the Utina, near present-day Gainesville, lived the Potano. They were another Timucua group and enemies of the Utina. North along the St. Johns River, from what is now downtown Jacksonville to the river's mouth, lived another enemy group, the Saturiwa. The area between Palatka and Jacksonville was not very populated. It might have been a border between the Utina and the Saturiwa. South of Lake George lived the Mayaca. They were similar to the Utina but spoke a different language. They were more connected to the Ais people of the Atlantic coast.
Early History and European Contact
This area has been home to people for thousands of years. An ancient culture called the St. Johns culture began around 500 BC. It was still active when Europeans arrived. After the 700s AD, new ways of life from the Mississippian culture spread into Florida. This led to the rise of chiefdoms like those found across the eastern United States.
Archaeologists have found two groups of St. Johns culture sites along the river. These match the Utina and Saturiwa chiefdoms described by Europeans. This suggests these groups had been established for a long time. The Agua Dulce built burial mounds and left large piles of shells. These shell piles are some of the biggest in the United States. They grew crops, but they didn't rely on farming as much as tribes farther north. Those living on the coastal lagoons might not have farmed at all.
The Acuera, who were part of Chief Utina's alliance, met the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1539. De Soto took corn from the Acuera while staying in a nearby town. However, most contact with Europeans didn't happen until 1564. This was when French Huguenots from the new Fort Caroline in present-day Jacksonville first visited the area.
The French noticed that all the villages along the middle St. Johns River were part of a chiefdom. This chiefdom was led by a young man named Utina, who was only 25 years old. He controlled forty other chiefs and their villages. He was one of the most powerful leaders in northern Florida. It's not fully clear if Utina was the main ruler of one big chiefdom or just the strongest chief in a group of smaller ones. But both the French and Spanish treated him as a very powerful leader.
At this time, the Utina were fighting two other strong chiefdoms. These were the Saturiwa to the north and the Potano to the west. The French had made a peace treaty with Chief Saturiwa, whose land their fort was on. But Governor René Goulaine de Laudonnière still wanted to be friends with the powerful Utina. He sent an expedition that met the Utina and helped them attack the Potano. Later, he refused to help Saturiwa fight the Utina. This made relations with Saturiwa difficult.
In the spring of 1565, the French were running low on food. Utina used this to make Laudonnière send more military help. When the French realized Utina was using them, they were desperate. They kidnapped the chief to try and get supplies in return. This led to a battle between the French and the Utina. It had serious effects for both sides. The French couldn't get much food, and they eventually released Utina.
Later that year, the Spanish, who had recently settled in St. Augustine, attacked Fort Caroline. They forced the French out of Florida. The Utina quickly became allies with the Spanish. In 1567, the Spanish helped them fight against a group of the Saturiwa, Potano, and Mayaca. They helped drive the Potano from their main village. However, for the next twenty years, the Spanish didn't pay much attention to the Utina. During this time, the once-powerful group became much weaker and broke apart.
Breaking Apart
By the 1590s, when Franciscan missionary efforts began, the Agua Dulce area had far fewer people and villages. There were at least three smaller, independent chiefdoms where Utina's territory used to be. We don't know all the details of this decline. But the more intense warfare and diseases brought by Europeans likely played a big part.
The main part of the chiefdom remained, but the population moved south. The main village shifted to Antonico. The Spanish called these people the Agua Dulce or Agua Fresca, meaning "Freshwater tribe." Northern villages that were not abandoned were then under the Christian chiefs of Tocoy. The Tocoy chiefdom built a new town closer to St. Augustine. Also, the Acuera, who were part of Chief Utina's group in the 1560s, became an independent chiefdom.
Agua Dulce Chiefdom
The Agua Dulce chiefdom lived in the former center of the Utina chiefdom. The Spanish called this the Agua Dulce province. By 1595, Chief Utina seemed to have been replaced by the Christian chief Antonico. Antonico ruled from a village also called Antonico, southeast of the old main village. Its exact location is not clear.
Most of the northern villages, including the main town, were abandoned. The chiefdom had only about six villages left. These were located between the Palatka area and Lake George. In 1595, Franciscan friars started a mission in Antonico village. This brought the Agua Dulce province into the Spanish mission system. The chiefdom had good relations with the Spanish. However, they didn't have a permanent friar from 1597 to 1605. During this time, the Agua Dulce population had shrunk greatly to about 200-225 people.
By 1616, the main village of the Agua Dulce had moved south again. It moved to Enacape, which might be the Mount Royal site near Lake George. Anthropologist John E. Worth thinks this move happened after Chief Antonico died. Antonico was replaced by his nephew, Juan de Contreras. Juan's mother was likely the chief of Enacape. Juan might have moved the main village because of his family ties to that town. The Spanish built a mission there called San Antonio de Enacape.
By the 1640s, the Agua Dulce Province had declined so much that it was combined with two others. These were Acuera and the distant Mayaca. They formed the Ibiniuti Province. The Spanish government might have ordered this change. But the fact that it had a Timucua name suggests that the native political structure also changed. This was due to the huge population changes. In this period, this distant province became a safe place for Timucua people. They were escaping the Spanish labor system along the royal road, the Camino Royal. It also welcomed Chisca people invited by the Spanish.
In 1656, the Franciscans removed their friars from the entire province. They built a new mission town called Salamototo. This town attracted Native Americans from all over the upper St. Johns. Some Agua Dulce might have stayed in their homeland. But others likely moved to Salamototo. San Antonio de Enacape was taken over by Yamasee refugees in the 1680 mission lists. Like other Timucua peoples, the remaining Agua Dulce probably mixed with other groups. They then lost their independent identity.
Tocoy Chiefdom
The village of Tocoy on the St. Johns River became the center of its own chiefdom in the late 1500s. Tocoy was west of St. Augustine and east of the old Utina village. It was probably part of Utina's chiefdom in the 1560s, though at its northern edge. Soon after St. Augustine was founded, the chief of Tocoy, Pedro Márquez, moved to a new village closer to the Spanish settlement. This new village was called San Sebastián. Because of this, Pedro and his successor were often known as Chief of Tocoy and San Sebastián.
Pedro was one of the first chiefs to accept Spanish rule. He became Christian even before missionaries arrived. His son and successor, Gaspar Márquez, later said that his father and mother were "some of the first Christians baptized in these provinces." They had asked for missionaries and built churches in San Sebastián. Moving to San Sebastián and becoming allies with the Spanish likely raised the importance of the Chiefs of Tocoy. They had probably been less important in the Utina chiefdom. This move also helped them break away.
The Spanish built missions in both Tocoy and San Sebastián in 1587. These, along with missions to the Mocama to the north, were among the first successful missions in Spanish Florida. Gaspar Márquez took over from his father around 1595. He kept up Pedro's good relations with the Spanish. He continued to support the mission effort. He even sent a request to the King of Spain in 1606. But his people were quickly dying out. In 1606, there were only about 90 people left in the chiefdom.
Neither of Tocoy's missions is mentioned in records after 1608. Tocoy was abandoned by 1616, leaving the area almost empty. The area was combined with Agua Dulce Province. Any survivors might have moved to Mission Nombre de Dios north of St. Augustine. Because it was a good place to cross the St. Johns River, the Spanish moved other Timucua people to a new mission there. This was San Diego de Helaca, in the old Tocoy area. This mission was also abandoned by the late 1650s. The remaining people moved to the new multi-ethnic mission town of Salamototo. The short-lived Tocoy chiefdom left its mark on the land. The San Sebastian River, a small river that flows into the Intracoastal Waterway, is named after the old village of San Sebastián.
Acuera Chiefdom
The Acuera, who lived along the Ocklawaha River, seem to have become independent of the Agua Dulce chiefdom by the early 1600s. They formed at least one chiefdom of their own. French sources say they were part of Utina's group in the 1560s. However, scholar John E. Worth notes that how much control Utina had over them is debatable. Francisco Pareja noted that the Acuera spoke their own dialect of the Timucua language (Acuera). This was different from the Agua Dulce dialect.
The Acuera did not experience population decline as quickly as the Agua Dulce or Tocoy chiefdoms. This might be because they lived in a remote part of Florida. They also had less frequent contact with Europeans. In the early mission period, they might have had between 2,500 and 4,500 people. The Acuera represent a simpler, local chiefdom that lasted well after more connected societies like Utina's group had fallen apart.
Spanish records from the late 1500s show that Acuera village was ruled by a cacica (a female chief). The chiefdom might not have been very unified. Some villages in the Acuera Province had missions years before the main town. Some village chiefs obeyed the Spanish before the Cacica of Acuera village did. According to Worth, the Tucururu dialect might have been spoken in the Acuera Province. This dialect was similar to Acuera but different. It might have been spoken around the village of Tucuru. This suggests that the villages in the province might have been mostly independent. They might have only been loosely connected to the main town. Or, the missionized villages, all in the eastern part of the province, might have been another small chiefdom or chiefdoms. These would have been located between Acuera and Agua Dulce.
The Spanish built Mission San Blas de Avino in the town of Avino by 1612. But it was abandoned not long after. By 1640, the population had decreased so much that Acuera was joined with Agua Dulce and Mayaca. They formed the Ibiniuti province.
By 1655, there were two more missions: Santa Lucia de Acuera in the main village and San Luis de Eloquale in Eloquale. Both of these were abandoned by 1680. Like Agua Dulce, the Acuera Province was merged into the larger Timucua Province. Any survivors might have moved closer to St. Augustine. Perhaps they went to the Puebla de Timucua. There, they would have lost their independent identity.
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