Calusa

The Calusa ruled a domain on Florida's southwest coast, sustained by fishing and centered on Calos, probably at Mound Key. In 1521 they drove out a Spanish colonizing expedition, mortally wounding Juan Ponce de León.

In 1566 their chief Carlos allied with Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who married his sister and established a fort and mission at Calos. Hostilities followed, and the Spanish abandoned the site in 1569. Disease and slave raids later devastated the Calusa; Spain evacuated survivors to Cuba, including those remaining after it ceded Florida in 1763.