William H. Marquardt – författare

A compilation of historical documents written by Europeans during the colonization of southwest Florida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 This compilation of historical documents includes many reports never before translated into English, including letters from Pedro Menéndez, reports from King Charles II and governors, bishops, and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.

Avolume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series

A journey into the history and cultural traditions of the Calusa people of south Florida



TheCalusa were a powerful native people on the Gulf coast, their influencespanning south Florida and lasting well into the European invasion. TheCalusa and Their Legacy tells the story of the Calusa in relation to the unique environment that sustained them with abundance. This fascinating history is enhanced with illustrations created by artists atthe Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, where an exhibition has interpreted this story since 2002.



Locatingthe keys to Calusa prosperity in the mudflats, sea grass beds, and mangrove forests of Florida’s Gulf coast estuaries, archaeologists Darcie MacMahon and William Marquardt explore the world of the Calusa invivid detail, from single-celled algae, oyster bars, and southern stingrays to remnant fishing nets, pottery, and woodcarvings. Linked closely to their extraordinary and plentiful ecosystem, the Calusa survived for centuries as an artistic and complex people defeated only by the ravages of disease, wars, slavery, and displacement.



Calusatraditions survive to the present day among the coastal fisherfolk and the vibrant cultures of Native Americans in south Florida—the Seminole and Miccosukee peoples. The Calusa and Their Legacy with encourage the appreciation and stewardship of south Florida’s multicultural history and ecology.



A volume in the series Native Peoples, Cultures, and Places of the Southeastern United States