John H. Hann – författare

Relying on previously unused documents, this is a history of the Timucua Indians of Florida, from the first contact with Europeans, to their exile in Cuba in 1763 and their final eradication. It examines their culture, language, political structures, and the meanings of their placenames and titles.

This text offers a combination of archaeology and history to tell the story of the Apalachee Indians of northwest Florida and their Spanish conquerors. The book portrays the dwellings, daily life, religious practices, social structures and recreation activities of the mission.

A compilation of historical documents written by Europeans during the colonization of southwest FloridaWhen Europeans arrived in southwest Florida in the early sixteenth century, they encountered a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 This compilation of historical documents includes many reports never before translated into English, including letters from Pedro Menéndez, reports from King Charles II and governors, bishops and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.

“For those interested in De Soto and his expedition, these volumes are an absolute necessity.” —The Hispanic American Historical Review The De Soto expedition was the first major encounter of Europeans with indigenous North Americans in the eastern half of the United States. De Soto and his army of over 600 men, including 200 cavalry, spent four years traveling through what is now Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. The De Soto Chronicles Volume 1 and Volume 2 present for the first time all four primary accounts of the De Soto expedition together in English translation.The four primary accounts are generally referred to as Elvas, Rangel, Biedma (in Volume 1), and Garcilaso, or the Inca (in Volume 2). In this landmark 1993 publication, Clayton’s team presents the four accounts with literary and historical introductions. They further add brief essays about De Soto and the expedition, translations of De Soto documents from the Spanish Archivo General de Indias, two short biographies of De Soto, and bibliographical studies.For anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, The De Soto Chronicles are valued for the unique ethnological information they contain. They form the only detailed eyewitness records of the most advanced native civilization in North America—the Mississippian culture—a culture largely lost in the wake of European contact.

“For those interested in De Soto and his expedition, these volumes are an absolute necessity.” —The Hispanic American Historical Review The De Soto expedition was the first major encounter of Europeans with indigenous North Americans in the eastern half of the United States. De Soto and his army of over 600 men, including 200 cavalry, spent four years traveling through what is now Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. The De Soto Chronicles Volume 1 and Volume 2 present for the first time all four primary accounts of the De Soto expedition together in English translation.The four primary accounts are generally referred to as Elvas, Rangel, Biedma (in Volume 1), and Garcilaso, or the Inca (in Volume 2). In this landmark 1993 publication, Clayton’s team presents the four accounts with literary and historical introductions. They further add brief essays about De Soto and the expedition, translations of De Soto documents from the Spanish Archivo General de Indias, two short biographies of De Soto, and bibliographical studies.For anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, The De Soto Chronicles are valued for the unique ethnological information they contain. They form the only detailed eyewitness records of the most advanced native civilization in North America—the Mississippian culture—a culture largely lost in the wake of European contact.