A compilation of historical documents written by Europeans during the colonization of southwest Florida
When Europeans arrived in southwest Florida in the
early sixteenth century, they encountered a complex and powerful
society. The Calusa have posed an enigma to many anthropologists and
historians.
This work provides missing information on the
ethnography of the Calusa, a society that inhabited the area of Florida
now known as Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. This compilation of
historical documents includes many reports never before translated into
English, including letters from Pedro Menéndez, reports from King
Charles II and governors, bishops and soldiers, and eyewitness testimony
from priests and laypersons about mission efforts from the sixteenth
through the eighteenth centuries.
John Hann introduces Spanish
contact with the Calusa from the early seventeenth century, focusing
particularly on the ill-fated Franciscan attempt in 1697 to convert the
Calusa to Christianity. His voluminous documentation for this effort is
particularly valuable for its description of the role played by the
Crown in instigating the mission despite little enthusiasm from
religious authorities.
