From the Native American perspective, the 16th century marked the beginning of the European invasion. In the Southeast 500 years ago, in 1521, the Spanish were attempting to establish colonies for the purpose of acquiring wealth and saving souls for the Catholic religion.
The Spanish assumed that they had a right to govern the Indian nations they encountered. This right stemmed from the legal and religious Doctrine of Discovery which declared that Christian nations have a right, if not an obligation, to govern all non-Christian nations. Once an Indian nation had been read the Christian history of the world, even though it might be read to them in a language they did not understand, then they were obligated to be ruled by the superior Christian nation.
The Spanish entered North America fresh from victories over Islam. They felt that god was on their side and that the only valid religious belief was that of Catholicism. They viewed Native American religious practices as Satanic and as evidence that the Devil was everywhere. They saw themselves in a battle with Satan for Indian souls.
The early Spanish explorers in the Southeast assumed that the local Indians should provide them with food and with porters to carry their supplies. Historians Robert Utley and Wilcomb Washburn, in their book Indian Wars, report:
“When they suspected that a guide was deceitful, they killed him; if they thought an Indian ruler was less than cooperative, they often seized him to extort further concessions from his followers. The Spaniards burned villages and enslaved or killed their hosts in the conviction that terror and intimidation could serve their purposes better than any policy of kindness and accommodation.”
In their chapter in North American Exploration. Volume 1: A New World Disclosed, Dennis Reinhartz and Oakah Jones write:
“Spanish explorers of the present-day southeastern United States were motivated largely by the search for mythical kingdoms and rich civilizations, as well as the quest to find a strait through the North American continent.”
Calusa
The Calusas lived along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Their traditional homelands extended from Tampa Bay south to the Florida Keys. While most of the Indian nations of the Southeast were farmers, the Calusa had a complex fishing/hunting/gathering society which was divided into commoners and nobles. The Calusa also maintained a military force which collected tribute throughout south Florida.
The Calusas constructed fish pens in which they captured and stored live fish. In an article in American Archaeology, Paula Neely reports:
“The Calusa, who were fisher-hunter-gatherers, walled off part of a canal to create two rectangular-shaped watercourts on Mound Key, an island in Estero Bay along the Gulf Coast. The larger watercourt was about 36,000 square-feet, and it was walled off by a three-foot-high berm made of shells and sediment.”
With regard to Calusa government, there were three primary leaders: the king, the head priest, and the war captain. The king’s authority rested on the ability to mediate between the sacred and secular worlds. The king’s power was symbolized by having a special stool and by being greeted with deference. The king was expected to marry his sister. The office of king was inherited by the king’s son.
Spanish explorers contacted the Calusas in 1513 (expedition led by Juan Ponce de Leon), in 1516 (expedition led by Diego Miruela), and in 1517 (expedition led by Hernandes de Cordoba).
In 1521, Juan Ponce de Leon returned and attempted to establish a colony for the Spanish Crown. With a force of 200 men, including Catholic priests, 50 horses, and livestock (cows, sheep, goats), the Spanish landed at San Carlos Bay. They were met by Calusa warriors who inflicted a number of casualties and wounded Ponce de Leon in the thigh with a reed arrow. In the close combat conditions, the European weapons proved less than effective. The Spanish returned to Cuba where Ponce de Leon died.
Catawbas
The aboriginal Catawba homeland was in what is now the border area between North Carolina and South Carolina. The Catawbas were farmers who lived in permanent villages located in river valleys.
In 1521, two Spanish slavers—Pedro de Quejo and Francisco Gordillo—sailed up the Atlantic coast of North America, penetrating into areas where word of the Spanish had not yet reached the Native American populations. They named the area where they landed Chicora.
Initially, the Spanish traded peacefully with the Catawbas. In trading, the Spanish invited the Catawbas on board they ship where they showed them trade trinkets. Then they forcibly abducted about 60 men and women. About half of the captives died at sea and the rest were taken to Santo Domingo as slaves. The Spanish justified their actions by claiming that the Catawbas were cannibals and sodomites, and thus slavery and warfare against them were justified.
The slavers’ descriptions of the region gave rise to a legend of a new Andalucia, filled with abundance. They described the Indians of the area as being taller than those found on the coastal islands. One of the captive Indians—a boy named Francisco by the Spanish—told his captors a story about a rich land in the interior of South Carolina where there was great mineral wealth (gold and silver). The Spanish concluded that the conquest of Chicora would bring them great wealth.
In 1523, The Spanish king issued a royal contract which granted Vásquez de Ayllón permission to explore and settle Chicora while providing religious instructions in the Christian doctrine to the natives. The king was fascinated by the tales the Catawba captive Francisco told of the region.
Indians 101
Twice each week this series present various American Indian topics. More about the sixteenth century from this series:
Indians 101: The Spanish and Indians in Florida, 1513 to 1527
Indians 101: 16th Spanish Religious Views of Indians
Indians 101: Early French Encounters With Indians
Indians 101: Sixteenth Century European Laws About Indians
Indians 201: Huron History, 1535 to 1648
Indians 101: Acoma Pueblo and the Spanish, 1539-1599
Indians 101: Sixteenth-Century Books About Indians
Indians 101: The Zuni and the Spanish in the 16th Century