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FORT CAROLINE NATIONAL MEMORIAL
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FORT CAROLINE
During the sixteenth century,
France was determined to expand its empire.
Spain, the world's leading power, already had a foothold in the
Americas, and France wanted a share of the riches the
Spanish were gaining through trade and plunder. France's first attempt to stake a permanent claim in
North America was at
La Caroline, a settlement near the mouth of the
St. Johns River in
Florida.
At first, the settlement was to be a commercial venture, but religious conflict in France broadened the goals. The growing persecution of
French Protestants (Huguenots) led their most powerful member,
Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, to make a proposal to the crown: the colony could also be a refuge for Huguenots. An exploratory expedition, commanded by
Jean Ribault, left France in February 1562. On this voyage, he erected a monument at the
River of May (now known as the St. Johns River).
Permanent settlement of
200 soldiers and artisans began in 1564, led by Rene de Goulaine de
Laudonniere, who had accompanied Ribault on the previous expedition. With help from the
Timucua Indians, the colonists began building a village and fort on the river's south bank, naming the area La Caroline after their king,
Charles IX.
Three hundred colonists left France to establish a permanent settlement in North America. Included were some of the leading families of France, wearing gilded armor and brightly colored clothes. Other representatives of
French society included artisans to provide entertainment and produce drawings, and laborers to build the fort. The desire for permanency was illustrated by the inclusion of women, of whom at least four had husbands. Most were Huguenots, but there were also
Catholics and agnostics. The colonists were seeking opportunity and freedom in a distant land.
French artist Jacques le Moyne de Morgues came with Laudonniere to Florida in 1564. His job was to paint images of the people, flora and fauna, and geography of this part of the
New World. Le Moyne was one of the few who escaped from
Fort de la Caroline when the Spanish attacked in 1565. He found refuge on a French boat, along with Laudonniere and several others, and returned to
Europe, where he recreated from memory scenes of the New World.
In Florida, both Spain and France hoped to claim their piece of the "new world." By the time the French planted their settlement at La Caroline, Spain was entrenched in
South and
Central America and its sea routes through the
Caribbean were well established. Spanish ships bearing gold and silver from the mines of
Mexico and
Peru stopped at
Havana before sailing for Spain. They rode the
Gulf Stream through what is now the
Straits of Florida and up the southeastern coast of North America.
The Spanish were uneasy about a French settlement because their treasure ships, while they followed the Florida coast, could be easy prey for suspected French raiders in their nearby haven at La Caroline.
"They be all naked and of goodly stature, mighty, faire and as well shapen
...as any people in all the worlde, very gentill, curtious and of good nature... the men be of tawny color, hawke nosed and of a pleasant countenance...the women be well favored and modest..."
French explorer Jean Ribault was impressed by the first native peoples he encountered in Florida. The Timucuans under
Chief Saturiwa, who met the French at the mouth of the River of May in 1562, were one of a number of Timucua-speaking tribes who inhabited central and north Florida and southeastern
Georgia. They were the final stage of a culture whose way of life had remained essentially unchanged for more than
1000 years.
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- published: 29 Sep 2013
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