When Royal Heads Are Hunted
In 1566, a Spanish ship sighted off the coast of southwest Florida by the native Calusa people sets off a series of unfolding and interconnected events. Having already encountered and fought with the Spanish in the past, the Calusas are not unaware of just how threatening these strangers are. Prince Sinapa, son of the Calusan king and longing for a leadership position of his own, has not been chosen to lead the fight against this current Spanish ship, much to his own embarrassment and chagrin. Instead, his father sends him and a small contingent of young warriors off on a mission to convince Montezuma, the Aztec king, to ally with the Calusa against the Spanish. As Sinapa’s perilous voyage and precarious quest unfolds, the incoming Spanish do make contact with the Calusa in a purported first effort to trade and connect their peoples peacefully. Along with the superior technology of the Spaniards, however, comes their smallpox, their hunger for gold, their proselytizing religion, and their growing military power after their conquest of Cuba. As Sinapa’s time in the Aztec empire grows ever more dangerous, so does the fraying connection between the Spanish and the Calusa back in Florida.
The pace of this novel is relentless as tension builds for the fate of the Calusa people in the challenges of dealing with the existing Aztec empire and in resisting the encroaching Spanish empire. The pressure further ratchets up with the brewing internal conflicts arising amongst themselves for tribal control. Recommended for readers who relish a strong plot and a swift narrative set in the tumultuous time of the 16th century in the Americas.
