The People on the Other Side

The Appalache people were one of the principal native inhabitants of what is today Florida. Their primary towns were centered in contemporary Tallahasse and St. Marks. The origin of the name Appalache is uncertain, but it is believed to be a Choctaw word for 'people on the other side'; the Appalache language is linguistically related to that of the Choctaw. The Apalachee were visited by DeSoto in 1539; he set up his winter headquarters on their country because of the rich natural resources. Some believe that DeSoto himself, because he was the first to explore the southern Appalachians, and because he wintered close to the Apalachee, coined the term Appalachian to refer to the mountains he 'discovered' stretching north from Florida. The Spanish chronicles of this winter included comments about the Apalachee's industriousness, agricultural abundance, and fierce fighting abilities. These fearless warriors frequently raided neighboring groups and eventually turned against the Spanish themselves who wanted Florida for their own. The Appalache resisted their Spanish conquerors for a long time, but finally aorund 1600 they were subdued and Christianized, their numbers dwindled due to war and disease and the few Apalachee that remained lived on Spanish missionary posts. Then, when the English decided they wanted Florida, they attached mercilessly destroying Spanish and native settlements alike along with Spanish missions on which many of the Appalache lived. The remnants of the tribe fled for Mobile and many merged with the Creeks to the west.