In February 1566, Caalus sat on his throne and watched a procession of strange men march toward his house.

The Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Aviles had assembled 200 soldiers, drummers, trumpeters, fifers, and a dwarf who was a gifted singer and dancer. They climbed to the peak of Mound Key, Florida, with the match cords on their guns lit and a biblical text on display—hoping to impress the indigenous Calusa monarch who ruled over a large chunk of South Florida at the time.