Saturiwa

Saturiwa (also spelled Saturioua, Satourioua and Saturiba) was the name of a 16th century chief of a Timucua chiefdom in Florida, of the chiefdom itself, and of the largest town in the chiefdom. The name has since been extended to designate a "tribe" which shared a common dialect and culture and occupied the upper course of the St. Johns River from present-day Palatka to its mouth, and the adjacent Atlantic coast from St. Augustine north to the St. Marys River. [Deagan, Kathleen A. Deagan. (1978) "Cultures in Transition: Fusion and Assimilation amount 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. ISBN 0-8130-0535-3] Saturiwa led a chiefdom in what is now Jacksonville, Florida when French Huguenots under Jean Ribault explored the area in 1562. His people came into direct contact with the French when Fort Caroline was built by René Goulaine de Laudonnière two years later. After initial conflict with the Europeans, partially the result of Laudonnière's reneging on a deal to help battle the Potano, Saturiwa made peace with them. In 1568 Saturiwa aided Dominique de Gourgue in attacking the fort, which had fallen into Spanish hands in 1565.

Saturiwa and his family are depicted in several of Jacques le Moyne's engravings.

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