The Tocobaga People
The Tocobaga People dominated to what is now the Tampa Bay in the 1500’s. The territory spanded from the gulf coast from the Crystal River to as far as south as Fort Myers. It also reached well into Central Florida, including the Green Swamp.
The Tocobaga Nation consisted of a dozen towns and villages with each own having its own leader. Safety Harbor is where the central government or capitol so to say was located.
The Tocobaga Nation consisted of a dozen towns and villages with each own having its own leader. Safety Harbor is where the central government or capitol so to say was located.
The Tocobaga was a Matrilineal Society, meaning the property and heritage followed the maternal line of the family, not the fathers.
Tocobaga towns where characterized by large mounds, typically made up of earth and shells that protected the homes and temples from heavy rains and storm surges. Some of the largest mounds are made of sand, but the Tocobaga used shell since it was so abundant in there territory and was great for building foundations.
Homes of the Tocobaga typically had high ceilings to allow the Florida heat to rise, they also typically housed extended families. In the villages you would find a larger mound for the leader called the “cacique,” the village chief; the Temple mound, and burial mounds further away in a sacred area.
Trade routes were extensive, they obtained gold from tribes in Georgia and copper from as far north as Lake Superior. They traded shells, dried fish, and a special plant known as Yaupon Holly. Yaupon Holly contains high levels of caffeine, Native Americans would would roast the leaves and stems to make a hot drink that had more caffeine than coffee. Keep in mind, the orange plant was only introduced when the Spanish arrived.
Tocobaga towns where characterized by large mounds, typically made up of earth and shells that protected the homes and temples from heavy rains and storm surges. Some of the largest mounds are made of sand, but the Tocobaga used shell since it was so abundant in there territory and was great for building foundations.
Homes of the Tocobaga typically had high ceilings to allow the Florida heat to rise, they also typically housed extended families. In the villages you would find a larger mound for the leader called the “cacique,” the village chief; the Temple mound, and burial mounds further away in a sacred area.
Trade routes were extensive, they obtained gold from tribes in Georgia and copper from as far north as Lake Superior. They traded shells, dried fish, and a special plant known as Yaupon Holly. Yaupon Holly contains high levels of caffeine, Native Americans would would roast the leaves and stems to make a hot drink that had more caffeine than coffee. Keep in mind, the orange plant was only introduced when the Spanish arrived.
Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto explored the area in search of riches. Since leaving Mococo Village, DeSoto had led his army northeast, away from Florida's sandy, unfertile coast, but was again thwarted by swampland while scouting northeast of Tocaste. His army discovered that the Green Swamp was so large that they had to move west to get around it.
The army passed through an area referred to as the Great Swamp, located at today’s Hillsborough River State Park. From there de Soto camped in Dade City, then traveled down the Withlacoochee River and through today’s Withlacoochee State Forest. The feral hogs populating Florida’s woods today are descendants of those brought in for food by Hernando de Soto.
The army passed through an area referred to as the Great Swamp, located at today’s Hillsborough River State Park. From there de Soto camped in Dade City, then traveled down the Withlacoochee River and through today’s Withlacoochee State Forest. The feral hogs populating Florida’s woods today are descendants of those brought in for food by Hernando de Soto.
After the Spanish arrived, it would be small pox, measles, and other illness that would cause the vast decline of Tocobaga populations. After 100 years, as much as 90% of the Tocobaga people were gone.
Today the Tocobaga are not a federally recognized nation, many of the Tocobaga either fled, moved, or were assimilated into the Seminole Nation.
Today the Tocobaga are not a federally recognized nation, many of the Tocobaga either fled, moved, or were assimilated into the Seminole Nation.