THE FRENCH ON THE FIRST COAST

(Source of pictures: Florida State Archives)

In the illustration above, Jean Ribault lands with French troops at the mouth of the St. Johns River in 1562.  Three years later, Ribault was dead, stabbed to death by soldiers from rival Spain.  This picture of Fort Caroline, shown below, is about 400 years old.  A moat surrounds the stronghold.  To the right of the fort sits a small shed that contained an oven used to make cannon balls.  The old stronghold was rebuilt in 1964 and is the centerpiece part of the Fort Caroline National Memorial.  The original location of the fortification lays near the reconstruction.  Over time, the shifting sands and water of the Saint John's obscured this site.
 

CLICK HERE for additional images of the French in Florida.

REALLY OLD-TIME RELIGION -- Long ago, a French ship dropped anchor off the churning bar of the St. Johns River.  The time was dawn, May 1, 1562.  Captain Jean Ribault and his soldiers rowed into the mouth of the wide brown channel and came ashore.  They exchanged gifts with the Timucua Indians, giving a looking glass to a local leader, who sent back an article of his clothing as a token of friendship.  Next, the Frenchmen made religious history.  What did they do? 

The Europeans went off a short distance and knelt down, offering a prayer of thanks for a safe arrival.  This proved to be the first Protestant prayer that was said within the limits of the present-day United States.  Ribault and his accomplices were Protestant Huguenots who came to America for religious freedom.  They tried to find refuge from the anti-Protestant rage that swept their homeland.

FORT CAROLINE BY A NOSE -- Who were the first Europeans to settle in Florida?  In 1565, the Spanish founded their famous town, St. Augustine.  One year before, however, the French established Fort Caroline near St. Johns Bluff.  This

stronghold stood on the St. Johns River, about mid-way between the Atlantic Ocean and present-day downtown Jacksonville.  In fact, Fort Caroline proved to be the first Protestant settlement in North America. 

The French built a triangular fortification of earth & wood.  It enclosed several palm thatched buildings, while other structures surrounded the palisade.  The French named their settlement in honor of their King Charles IX.  

ALL THAT GLITTERS -- Unfortunately for them, many of Fort Caroline's French residents wasted their time.  They searched surrounding areas for gold that didn't exist.  The Spanish also didn't prove immune to gold fever, hoping to find the precious metal in Florida just as they had in Mexico.  The Europeans were misled because they saw a few gold objects among the Timucua.  They didn't know that the locals had obtained the items from other Indians.  Through an extensive trade network, Florida's native inhabitants sometimes acquired things from hundreds of miles away.

FRENCH ANGER -- Along the First Coast, many history lovers can tell you about the massacre of the French at Fort Caroline in 1565.  Spanish solders killed 140 of their rivals, sparing only women & children. (Another forty individuals were able to allude capture.)  What is often forgotten, though, is that the French tried to get even.  Although the French government tolerated the massacre, the Protestants in that country were livid. 

A soldier of fortune, Dominic de Gourgues, raised an expedition to go to Northeast Florida.  Although a Catholic, he wanted to avenge the Protestant killing in order to repair his nation's honor.  De Gourgues spent his own money and borrowed from friends.  After he and his troops finally arrived in 1568, they quickly wiped out a number of Spanish troops.  With a Spanish price on his head, de Gourgues escaped and laid low for several years.  The French king disowned de Gourgues's actions, yet many French people idolized the adventurer.

If the Spanish had not wiped out Fort Caroline, it might be as well known today as Jamestown, Plymouth, or Saint Augustine.  The massacre put an end to France's attempts to colonize what became southeastern section of the United States.

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