The Chatot were a Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 tribe who lived in the upper Apalachicola River

Apalachicola River

The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 112 mi long in the State of Florida. This river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin for short, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its farthest headstream in northeast Georgia is approximately 500...

 and Chipola River

Chipola River

The Chipola River is a tributary of the Apalachicola River in Florida. The river crosses Jackson, Calhoun and Gulf counties. The river flows into the Dead Lakes State Recreation Area just before reaching the Apalachicola. The Dead Lakes were formed when the Apalachicola deposited sand bars...

 basins in what is now Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. They spoke a Muskogean language

Muskogean languages

Muskogean is an indigenous language family of the Southeastern United States. Though there is an ongoing debate concerning their interrelationships, the Muskogean languages are generally divided into two branches, Eastern Muskogean and Western Muskogean...

, which may have been the same as that of the Pensacola people

Pensacola people

The Pensacola were a Native American people who lived in the western part of what is now the Florida Panhandle from the time of first contact with Europeans until early in the 18th century. They spoke a Muskogean language. They are the source of the name of Pensacola Bay and the city of Pensacola...

.

The Spanish

Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....

 established three or four missions to the Chatot by 1675; Asunción/Asumpción del Puerto, la Encarnación (also called Santa Cruz de Sábacola el menor), San Nicolás de Tolentino (listed only in Geiger, 1940) and San Carlos de los Chacatos. These missions were located near the upper Apalachicola River

Apalachicola River

The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 112 mi long in the State of Florida. This river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin for short, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its farthest headstream in northeast Georgia is approximately 500...

. The historian John Hann places the missions of Asunción, la Encarnatión and San Carlos in the Apalachee

Apalachee

The Apalachee are a Native American people who historically lived in the Florida Panhandle, and now live primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Their historical territory was known to the Spanish colonists as the Apalachee Province...

 province of the Spanish mission system in Florida

Spanish missions in Florida

Beginning in the second half of the 16th century, the Kingdom of Spain established a number of missions throughout la Florida in order to convert the Indians to Christianity, to facilitate control of the area, and to prevent its colonization by other countries, in particular, England and France...

. The historian Maynard Geiger also places Asunción in the Apalachee province, but he places la Encarnación, San Nicolás and San Carlos in the Apalachicola

Apalachicola (tribe)

The Apalachicola were a group of Native Americans related to the Creek. They spoke a Muskogean language related to Hitchiti. They lived along the Apalachicola River in present-day Florida....

province.