Ayllón the younger to settle
Florida but he never sailed. Then the Cuban governor sent an expedition
to probe the French base. Arriving at Port Royal in late May, the Spaniards
found that the discouraged Frenchmen had already deserted the place, leav-
ing behind among the Indians one young man, Guil aume Rouffi. They re-
turned to Havana, bearing Rouffi and the news of the failed French colony.
Meanwhile, on 22 April 1564, René de Laudonnière sailed from LeHavre
with a full-fledged expedition of colonization, and somehow his departure
escaped immediate Spanish attention. The French ships were laden with
livestock, supplies, and tools for husbandry and Indian trade. There were
proof
artisans, women and children, and Protestant nobles from France and Ger-
many. Once in Florida, the Frenchmen did not settle again at Port Royal;
instead, they built Fort Caroline inside the mouth of the St. Johns, overlook-
ing the river. At first, the colony prospered as Laudonnière set out to explore
the interior of New France. He established general y good relations with the
Native Americans in the nearby Timucua and Mocama groupings. Believ-
ing that the great river was the highway to the exploitation of peninsular
Florida, he dispatched an expedition upriver, perhaps as far as Lake George.
Guil aume Brouhart, one of those who made the river voyage, reported that
the Indians there were powerful warriors and skilled bowmen who lived in
a fruitful land of maize and grapevines, rich in nuts, fruits, deer, and small
game.
Supplies soon ran short in Fort Caroline, and not enough food could
be obtained from the natives. A series of mutinies and desertions began.
Eleven men fled in a small craft, and then in December 1564, seventy men
captured Laudonnière and forced him to authorize their departure in two
vessels. Al the deserters headed for the booty they hoped to gain in the
Spanish Caribbean. Instead, their adventure led to the capture of some of
their number and the unmasking of the French colony. After corsairing and
Settlement and Survival · 57
The French Fort Caroline was founded in 1564 by René Goulaine de Laudonnière a
short distance inside the mouth of the St. Johns River, which the French called “Rivière
de Mai.” This drawing, by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues, who accompanied Laudon-
nière, was published by Théodor de Bry in 1591. Laudonnière was relieved of command
proof
by Jean Ribaut in 1565. The fort was captured by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in the same
year and renamed San Mateo.
raiding in Cuba and Hispaniola, two groups of the Frenchmen were cap-
tured by the Spaniards; only one small ship returned to Fort Caroline. But
word had now been sent to Madrid, and Philip II was made aware of the
French settlement.
In the meantime, the French Crown had prepared to send Jean Ribaut to
reinforce Fort Caroline with a sizable fleet. The report of a skilled Spanish
spy, Dr. Gabriel de Enveja, gave Philip II a full account of the ships, soldiers,
and supplies being readied in Dieppe for the Florida voyage. More than 500
arquebusiers and their munitions, together with many dismounted bronze
cannons, were loaded aboard. Ribaut himself went armed with royal decrees
making him “captain general and viceroy” of New France.
But by this time, Philip II had already granted a contract to a new Florida
adelantado, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. Even though the news of Laudon-
nière’s fort impelled the Spanish king to add royal aid to Menéndez’s effort,
private motivations in the Florida conquest remained significant. Like other
would-be Spanish conquerors, Pedro Menéndez had contracted with his
58 · Eugene Lyon
king and had been promised the offices and titles of governor, captain gen-
eral, and adelantado. Under his agreement, Menéndez was obliged to found
two cities and was charged with seeing that the natives were converted to
the Roman Catholic faith. If successful in his
Florida but he never sailed. Then the Cuban governor sent an expedition
to probe the French base. Arriving at Port Royal in late May, the Spaniards
found that the discouraged Frenchmen had already deserted the place, leav-
ing behind among the Indians one young man, Guil aume Rouffi. They re-
turned to Havana, bearing Rouffi and the news of the failed French colony.
Meanwhile, on 22 April 1564, René de Laudonnière sailed from LeHavre
with a full-fledged expedition of colonization, and somehow his departure
escaped immediate Spanish attention. The French ships were laden with
livestock, supplies, and tools for husbandry and Indian trade. There were
proof
artisans, women and children, and Protestant nobles from France and Ger-
many. Once in Florida, the Frenchmen did not settle again at Port Royal;
instead, they built Fort Caroline inside the mouth of the St. Johns, overlook-
ing the river. At first, the colony prospered as Laudonnière set out to explore
the interior of New France. He established general y good relations with the
Native Americans in the nearby Timucua and Mocama groupings. Believ-
ing that the great river was the highway to the exploitation of peninsular
Florida, he dispatched an expedition upriver, perhaps as far as Lake George.
Guil aume Brouhart, one of those who made the river voyage, reported that
the Indians there were powerful warriors and skilled bowmen who lived in
a fruitful land of maize and grapevines, rich in nuts, fruits, deer, and small
game.
Supplies soon ran short in Fort Caroline, and not enough food could
be obtained from the natives. A series of mutinies and desertions began.
Eleven men fled in a small craft, and then in December 1564, seventy men
captured Laudonnière and forced him to authorize their departure in two
vessels. Al the deserters headed for the booty they hoped to gain in the
Spanish Caribbean. Instead, their adventure led to the capture of some of
their number and the unmasking of the French colony. After corsairing and
Settlement and Survival · 57
The French Fort Caroline was founded in 1564 by René Goulaine de Laudonnière a
short distance inside the mouth of the St. Johns River, which the French called “Rivière
de Mai.” This drawing, by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues, who accompanied Laudon-
nière, was published by Théodor de Bry in 1591. Laudonnière was relieved of command
proof
by Jean Ribaut in 1565. The fort was captured by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in the same
year and renamed San Mateo.
raiding in Cuba and Hispaniola, two groups of the Frenchmen were cap-
tured by the Spaniards; only one small ship returned to Fort Caroline. But
word had now been sent to Madrid, and Philip II was made aware of the
French settlement.
In the meantime, the French Crown had prepared to send Jean Ribaut to
reinforce Fort Caroline with a sizable fleet. The report of a skilled Spanish
spy, Dr. Gabriel de Enveja, gave Philip II a full account of the ships, soldiers,
and supplies being readied in Dieppe for the Florida voyage. More than 500
arquebusiers and their munitions, together with many dismounted bronze
cannons, were loaded aboard. Ribaut himself went armed with royal decrees
making him “captain general and viceroy” of New France.
But by this time, Philip II had already granted a contract to a new Florida
adelantado, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. Even though the news of Laudon-
nière’s fort impelled the Spanish king to add royal aid to Menéndez’s effort,
private motivations in the Florida conquest remained significant. Like other
would-be Spanish conquerors, Pedro Menéndez had contracted with his
58 · Eugene Lyon
king and had been promised the offices and titles of governor, captain gen-
eral, and adelantado. Under his agreement, Menéndez was obliged to found
two cities and was charged with seeing that the natives were converted to
the Roman Catholic faith. If successful in his
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