Abstract:
Of all the native people of what is now the United States those of extreme south Florida were met and recorded most often, due to the proximity of Havana (founded c. 1517) and the sea lane past the Florida Keys reef track, resulting in numerous shipwrecks. The author presents a chronological summary of ancient documents; which reveal a 250-year epic of survival struggles, both by the Calusa Indians and by the Europeans. The chronology is followed by 13 articles of original source material and on little-known archaeology of the Florida Keys.