Potano

The Potano were a Timucua-speaking people of northern Florida, whose towns lay among the forests and lakes of the interior. They cultivated maize and other crops, hunted and fished, and maintained relations with neighbouring chiefdoms. Hernando de Soto's expedition passed through their country in 1539; later in the century, the Potano fought the Utina and the Spanish forces who supported them.

Franciscan missionaries established San Francisco de Potano in 1606. It became an important centre for the missions of the western Timucua, but was abandoned during the Timucuan revolt of 1656 and re-established after the revolt was suppressed. Disease and raids by forces allied to English Carolina reduced and displaced the region's people. In 1706 the mission was abandoned again, and its remaining inhabitants moved toward St Augustine.