Saturiwa (chief)

Chief Saturiwa was a prominent figure in the early days of European settlement in Florida, forging friendly relations with the French Huguenot settlers, who founded Fort Caroline in his territory.

The largest and best attested of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, the Saturiwa occupied an area from the mouth of the St. Johns towards what is now downtown Jacksonville, and up and down the adjacent Atlantic coast from St. Augustine north to the St. Marys River.

[3] The powerful Saturiwa quickly forged an alliance with the French, hoping to secure their aid against his enemies, the Utina up river.

The following year Saturiwa and his ally, Chief Tacatacuru, joined the French soldier Dominique de Gourgue in an attack on Fort Caroline.

[4] Saturiwa and his family are depicted in several of Theodor de Bry's engravings reputedly based on original drawings by Jacques le Moyne.