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'''Panzacola''' was a name (of reportedly Indian [[Native American]] origin(see below) given to [[Pensacola Bay]] and subsequently to the Spanish settlements built thereupon in the 17th and 18th centuries, specifically the [[Presidio San Miguel de Panzacola]]. It is the antecedent of the modern name '''Pensacola'''.
The word was first reported by [[Juan Jordán de Reina]], who in [[1686]] encountered a group of [[Native Americans]] by the bay and transliterated their word for it, later referring to them collectively as the "Panzacolas."
It is often repeated commonly held that "Panzacola" was the name of the tribe (and further, that the word means "hairy people" or some variant<ref>From the Choctaw ''pansha'' ('hair') ''okla'' ('people'). Frederick Webb Hodge. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=cfIoAAAAYAAJ Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico.]'' Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.</ref>), but is unknown if this was indeed the demonym they gave themselves.
The name Panzacola became synonymous among the Spanish with the bay and its surrounding settlements. The settlements at [[Presidio Santa María de Galve]], [[Presidio Isla de Santa Rosa]] at [[Punta de Sigüenza]], and [[Presidio San Miguel]] were all known alternatively as "Panzacola" during their respective establishments.
The colony San Miguel presidio was officially named "Panzacola" by royal decree in [[1757]].
The change of pronunciation to "Pensacola" seems to have occurred (via [[Wikipedia:Lenition|phonetic lenition]]) under [[British period|British rule]], as the English used "Panzacola" and "Pensacola" interchangeably; when the city returned to [[Third Spanish period|Spanish rule]], "Panzacola" was again used exclusively until the [[1821]] [[Transfer of Florida|cession to the United States]].<ref>A. B. Thomas. [http://brokert10.fcla.edu/DLData/WF/WF00000163/file2.pdf "Report on Documentary Evidence Bearing on Early Colonial Structures in the Historic District."]</ref>
