Ribault, Fort Caroline, and the Clash for La Florida

On May 1, 1562, French navigator Jean Ribault landed at the mouth of the St. Johns River and claimed the region for France, nearly half a century after Spain had laid its own claim to La Florida.

Ribault and 150 Huguenot settlers were fleeing religious conflict at home, hoping to build a new life in a land neither France nor Spain was willing to ignore. They named the river “May” and continued north to establish Charlesfort on Parris Island, where Ribault left 27 men before returning to Europe. Seeking support, he turned to England and was quickly imprisoned in the Tower of London.

A year later, Capt. René Goulaine de Laudonnière arrived with 300 settlers and built Fort Caroline on St. Johns Bluff. Early cooperation with the Timucuans faded as food shortages and rival European claims tightened pressure on the settlement.

Ribault was released in 1565 and returned with a large fleet, only to meet storms and an advancing Spanish force led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. The Spanish captured Fort Caroline and later executed Ribault and most of his men at Matanzas Inlet. The conflict continued until 1568, when Dominique de Gourgues returned to destroy the Spanish fort in a final act of revenge.