Calusa - Society

Society

The Calusa had a stratified society, consisting of "commoners" and "nobles" in Spanish terms. A few leaders governed the tribe. They were supported by the labor of the majority of the Calusa. The leaders included the tribal chief, or "king"; a military leader (capitán general in Spanish), and a chief priest. In 1564, according to a Spanish source, the priest was the chief's father, and the military leader was his cousin. In four cases in which succession to the position of paramount chief is known, Senequne succeeded his brother (name unknown), and was in turn succeeded by his son Carlos. Carlos was succeeded by his cousin (and brother-in-law) Felipe, who was in turn succeeded by Carlos' cousin, Pedro. The Spanish reported that the chief was expected to marry his sister. The contemporary archeologists MacMahon and Marquardt suggest this statement may have been a misunderstanding of a requirement to marry a "clan-sister". The chief also married women from subject towns and allied tribes. This use of marriages to secure alliances was demonstrated when Carlos offered his sister Antonia in marriage to the Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in 1566.