French Florida (Middle French:Floride françoise;Modern French:Floride française) was a colonial territory established byFrenchHuguenot colonists as part ofNew France in what is nowFlorida andSouth Carolina between 1562 and 1565.[1]
French Huguenot leader and Admiral of FranceGaspard de Coligny envisaged the establishment ofNew World colonies as a safe haven for his persecutedProtestant coreligionists.[2] The first such attempt was an establishment inBrazil, namedFrance Antarctique.
A first landing in Florida was made byJean Ribault, and a second byRené Goulaine de Laudonnière in 1562, before moving north where he set upCharlesfort, onParris Island, South Carolina. Charlesfort was abandoned by all colonists, save one, the following year due to hardship and internal conflicts, and they sailed back to France.
In 1564,René Goulaine de Laudonnière again traveled from France, this time to establishFort Caroline, in what is nowJacksonville.
The French establishment waswiped out by theSpaniards in 1565. With the capture of Fort Caroline, Huguenots either fled into the wild mainland or were killed in the subsequentmassacre at Matanzas Inlet.
In 1568,Dominique de Gourgues further explored the area, and, with the help of his allies theSaturiwa Indians, massacred the Spanish garrison in retaliation, but he did not capitalize on this action.
