Tocobaga facts for kids

The Tocobaga were a group of Native Americans who lived in Florida a long time ago, in the 1500s. They were known by the name of their leader and their main town, also called Tocobaga. Their home was around the northern part of Tampa Bay, where the cities of Tampa and northern Pinellas County are today.

Scientists think their main town was at a place called the Safety Harbor site. This site gives its name to the "Safety Harbor culture," which is how we describe the way these people lived. The Tocobaga are the most famous group from this culture.

Sometimes, the name "Tocobaga" is used for all the native people living around Tampa Bay when the Spanish first arrived (from 1513 to 1763). But many villages on the east and south sides of Tampa Bay were part of other groups, like the Pohoy, Uzita, and Mocoso. We learn about the daily lives of the Safety Harbor culture by studying old tools and items found by archaeologists.

We don't know much about how these early groups in the Tampa Bay area were organized. Most of what we know comes from the journals and writings of Spanish explorers who visited the area in the 1500s.

The Tocobaga and their neighbors disappeared from history by the early 1700s. This happened because new diseases brought by Europeans made many people sick and died. The native people had no natural protection against these new illnesses. Also, other native groups from the north attacked and pushed them out. Because of this, the Tampa Bay area was mostly empty for over 100 years.

First Meetings with Spanish Explorers

Map showing where the Tocobaga lived when the Spanish first arrived

Spanish explorers visited the Tampa Bay area during Florida's early Spanish period.

Narváez and De Soto Expeditions

In 1528, an expedition led by Pánfilo de Narváez landed near Tampa Bay. They soon had fights with the native people, probably at the main Tocobaga town.

Several years later, in 1539, the Hernando de Soto expedition likely landed on the southern side of Tampa Bay. They then traveled through the eastern part of the Safety Harbor area after taking over the village of Uzita.

A writer named Garcilaso de la Vega wrote about de Soto's trip. He said that Narváez had ordered the nose of the Uzita chief to be cut off. This suggests that both explorers had been in the same area. De Soto also met another town near Uzita called Mocoso. Even though Mocoso, Uzita, and Tocobaga were all part of the Safety Harbor culture, the Mocoso people might have spoken a different language, possibly Timucua.

Neither Narváez nor de Soto stayed long. They both went north looking for gold after several violent fights with the Tocobaga and their neighbors.

Father Cancer's Mission

In 1549, a priest named Father Luis de Cancer came to the Tampa Bay area. He wanted to make peace and teach the local people about Christianity. He hoped to build a good relationship after earlier visits by aggressive Spanish soldiers.

Even though he was told to avoid the Gulf Coast, Father Cancer's group landed just south of Tampa Bay in May 1549. They met native people who seemed friendly and welcoming. These people told them about many towns around Tampa Bay. Father Cancer decided to go north to visit these towns. But he was met with strong resistance. Most of his group were killed or captured. Father Cancer himself was killed soon after reaching what is now Pinellas County.

Fontaneda's Account

Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda was a Spanish shipwreck survivor. He lived with the native people of southern Florida from 1549 to 1566. He was later rescued by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. Fontaneda described Tocobaga, Abalachi (Apalachee), and Mogoso (Mocoso) as "separate kingdoms" from the Calusa people.

At the time de Soto visited, Uzita and Mocoso were under a chief named Urriparacoxi. De Soto marched to Urriparacoxi's town, which seemed to be inland from Tampa Bay. There, he found fields of maize (corn). The Safety Harbor people, however, did not grow much maize. They mostly got their food from the rich coastal waters.

Menéndez de Avilés Visits Tocobaga

The name "Tocobaga" first appears in Spanish writings in 1567. This was when Pedro Menéndez de Avilés visited what was likely the Safety Harbor site. Menéndez had made an agreement with the Calusa people and their king, Carlos. Menéndez even married Carlos's sister.

King Carlos wanted to get an advantage over his enemy, the Tocobaga. So, Menéndez took Carlos and 20 of his warriors to Tocobaga by ship. Menéndez convinced the Tocobaga and Carlos to make peace. He also rescued some Europeans and a dozen Calusa people who were being held as captives by the Tocobaga.

Menéndez left 30 Spanish soldiers at Tocobaga. Their job was to encourage the people to become Christians. He then took Carlos and the other Calusa back to their town. In January 1568, Spanish boats brought supplies to the soldiers at Tocobaga. They found the town empty, and all the Spanish soldiers were dead.

Later History of the Tocobaga

In 1608, the Pohoy and Tocobaga groups may have threatened the Potano people, who had become Christians. In 1611, a raiding party from the Pohoy and Tocobaga killed several Christianized natives. These natives were carrying supplies to a Spanish mission near the Suwannee River.

In 1612, the Spanish sent a group to punish them. They traveled down the Suwannee River and along the Gulf coast. They attacked the Tocobaga and Pohoy, killing many people, including both chiefs. The Tocobaga were weakened by this Spanish attack. For a while, the Pohoy became the strongest group in Tampa Bay.

Tocobaga on the Wacissa River

In 1677, a Spanish official visited a village of Tocobaga people. They were living on the Wacissa River, about a league (a few miles) from the mission of San Lorenzo de Ivitachuco in Apalachee Province. We don't know when the Tocobaga settled there, but they seemed to have been there for some time.

The Spanish official criticized the Tocobaga for living in a Christian area "for many years" without becoming Christians. They replied that no one had come to teach them about Christianity. But they said about twenty of their people had become Christians just before they died and were buried at the mission.

The Tocobaga helped transport goods from Apalachee Province to St. Augustine. They carried goods in canoes along the coast and up the Suwannee River and probably the Santa Fe River. Other people carried the goods overland the rest of the way.

The village was listed again in 1683. It's not clear what happened when Apalachee Province was attacked by English colonists and their native allies in 1704. When the Spanish returned to San Marcos de Apalachee in 1718, they found a few Tocobaga living along the Wacissa River. The Spanish commander convinced the Tocobaga to move to the mouth of the St. Marks River for protection.

In August of that year, 25 to 30 Pohoy attacked the Tocobaga settlement. They killed eight people and took three as captives. A small number of Tocobaga continued to live near San Marcos through the 1720s and 1730s.

Decline and Disappearance

The number of Tocobaga people dropped greatly in the 1600s. This was mostly because of new diseases brought by Europeans. The native people had little protection against these illnesses. Also, all the Florida tribes lost people because of attacks by the Creek and Yamasee tribes around the late 1600s.

The remaining Calusa, who lived south of the Tocobaga, were forced into the very southern part of Florida. In 1763, Florida became a British territory after Britain won a war against France. The Calusa left Florida with the Spanish, moving to Cuba. It's possible that the remaining Tocobaga went with them. In any case, the Tocobaga disappeared from historical records in the early 1700s.

See also

In Spanish: Tocobaga para niños