Charlesfort, and all but one of the ill-fated
colonists set sail to return to Europe.
(During their voyage in an open boat,
failed colonists were reduced to cannibal-
ism before the survivors reached English
waters.) Meanwhile, René Goulaine de
Laudonnière, who had been Ribault’s sec-
ond-in-command on the original 1562
expedition, led a group of about 200 new
settlers back to Florida, where they found-
ed Fort Caroline (or Fort de la Caroline)
at St. John’s Bluff on June 22, 1564. The
fort was named for the reigning French
king, Charles IX. Unfortunately, like
those at Charlesfort, the Fort Caroline
colonists also suffered from hunger,
Indian attacks, and mutiny. Within a year,
Fort Caroline also gained the attention of
Spain, who saw the colony as a direct
threat to its control of the region.
In June of 1565, Ribault, by now
released from English prison, returned to
Florida. In late August, he arrived at Fort
Caroline with a large fleet and hundreds
of soldiers and settlers and took com-
mand of the settlement. At the same time,
the Spanish Governor of Florida, Don
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, had simulta-
neously been sent from Cádiz, Spain with
a thousand men, promises of reinforce-ments, orders to destroy the French set-
tlement, and authorization from King
Philip II to establish Spanish settlements.
Menéndez arrived at the mouth of
the St. John’s River shortly after Ribault,
and retreated 35 miles south. On August
28, the feast day of Augustine of Hippo,
Menéndez sighted the land on which to
build a new settlement. On September 8,
he founded St. Augustine, and then
declared all of Florida a possession of
Philip II.
Two days later, Ribault’s fleet set out
in pursuit of the Spaniards with several of
ships and most of his troops, but he was
surprised at sea by a violent storm lasting
several days.
In a daring surprise attack, Menén-
dez then marched his forces overland,
launching a dawn attack on the now-
lightly defended 200 to 250 Huguenots
at Fort Caroline. The only survivors
were about 50 women and children
who were taken prisoner and a few
defenders who managed to escape; the
rest were executed.
Meanwhile, Ribault’s fleet was virtu-
ally destroyed in the storm, and many of
the crew lost at sea. Ribault himself, along
with the rest of his crew, were marooned.48 ATLAS OF HISPANIC-AMERICAN HISTORY
Fort Caroline, built by French Protestants near present-day Jacksonville, Florida (Library
of Congress)