Potano
Native American chiefdom in Florida, US
The Potano (also Potanou or Potavou, Timucua: Potano "That is happening now") 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 that of the Alachua culture, which lasted from about 700 until 1700. The Potano were among the many tribes 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 engaging with the Potano, the Spanish incursion spread new infectious diseases and incited warfare by competing tribes in the area. In 1539 Hernando de Soto led an army through Potano territory. There were 700 or more people in de Soto's army. They forced villagers to give up stored food to them. By the time de Soto's army reached Potano territory, he was intent on spending the winter in the Apalachee domain, and the army passed through quickly.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Potano” is native American chiefdom in Florida, US. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Potano, Native and American, not as a finished interpretation.
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This entry incorporates text from “Potano” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.