Calusa were a Native American people who lived in what is today southwest Florida. Scholars estimate that more than 20,000 Calusa once lived in villages from Charlotte Harbor to the Ten Thousand Islands along Florida’s Gulf Coast. They remained there until the early 1700’s, when slave raids forced the Calusa off of their homeland.
Calusa society
was organized as a chiefdom—that is, a group of villages ruled by a paramount chief, called the cacique << kah SEE keh >> . The Calusa built Stababa, their capital village, in the middle of a shallow estuary. An estuary forms behind coastal islands, where fresh river water and salty ocean water mix. In building Stababa, the Calusa also created the island that is today called Mound Key. The Calusa used vast amounts marine shells and earth to fill in part of the estuary and build the capital village. The entrance to the capital was a canal that flowed between two large shell mounds. One of the mounds stands over 31 feet (9.5 meters) high. The cacique’s council house was a massive palm-thatched structure. It could hold about 2,000 people without being overcrowded. Today, Mound Key is a Florida state park.
Calusa society had several social classes. The cacique lived in Stababa and collected tribute (gifts or payment) from lower-ranking chiefs and political allies, some of whom lived hundreds of miles away. Political status was patrilineal— that is, it was passed down from father to son. Children who were to become chiefs or advisers or to hold other high-ranking positions were given a special education separate from other children. Calusa society also included nobles, artisans, priests, warriors, and commoners.
Calusa villages were built near the coast and inland waterways. Fish and shellfish were important to the Calusa diet, which also included squash, peppers, papaya, and many other plant foods. One Spanish shipwreck survivor who lived among the Calusa in the 1500’s wrote that a list of all the plant resources the Calusa used would be too long to complete. Although the Calusa tended gardens and grew some crops, they did not rely on farming. Some scholars think the Calusa may have practiced a form of aquaculture (raising aquatic organisms for food) by keeping fish or shellfish in enclosures.
The Calusa used the strong shells of certain shellfish to fashion hammers and cutting tools. They carved canoes and did other woodwork with these tools. They also styled shells into ornaments or jewelry. The Calusa hafted (set) shark teeth into wooden handles to make knives and war clubs. They used rough sharkskin as sandpaper to smooth wood. They also made tools and ornaments from the bones and antlers of deer. Fired clay pots were used for cooking. The Calusa wove fishing nets from palm fibers and other natural materials. They also wove plant fibers to make clothing, sleeping mats, and possibly mats that served as the walls of buildings.
History.
In 1513, the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León arrived in Florida and claimed the region for Spain. Records from his expeditions and from those of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés , another Spanish explorer, provide important descriptions of the Calusa and other Florida groups. The arrival of Europeans disrupted traditional Calusa ways of life. The introduction of European goods and trade items changed the way that people made their livings. Spanish priests tried unsuccessfully to convert the Calusa to Roman Catholicism and to eliminate traditional Calusa religious practices.
During the 1500’s and 1600’s, Spanish settlements expanded across Florida. The Spanish and, later, English colonists brought new diseases that killed many indigenous (native) people. Violent conflicts between the Spanish and the Calusa caused additional deaths. However, it was slave raiding funded by English traders that ultimately forced the Calusa from their homeland. The English allied with the Creek and other indigenous groups to attack Calusa villages and capture many Calusa as slaves. Great numbers of Calusa retreated from their homeland to the northern Florida Keys. From 1711 to 1763, the Spanish relocated the remaining Calusa and other indigenous Floridians to Cuba. Most of them died there from outbreaks of typhoid and other diseases. Today, the Calusa no longer exist as an ethnic group. However, it is likely that some people living today have Calusa ancestry.
