Laudonniere & Fort Caroline: History and Documents

by Charles Henry Bennett, Jerald T. Milanich (Foreword)

This classic historical resource remains the most complete work on the establishment of Fort Caroline, which heralded the start of permanent settlement by Europeans in North America.  America's history was shaped in part by the clash of cultures that took place in the southeastern United States in the 1560s. Indians, French, and Spaniards vied to profit from European attempts to colonize the land Juan Ponce de Leon had named La Florida . Rene de Goulaine de Laudonniere founded a French Huguenot settlement on the St. Johns River near present-day Jacksonville and christened it Fort Caroline in 1564, but only a year later the hapless colonists were expelled by a Spanish fleet led by Pedro Menendez de Aviles. The Spanish in turn established a permanent settlement at St. Augustine, now the oldest city in the United States, and blocked any future French claims in Florida. Using documents from both French and Spanish archives, Charles E. Bennett provides the first comprehensive account of the events surrounding the international conflicts of this 16th-century colonization effort, which was the actual "threshold" of a new nation. The translated Laudonniere documents also provide a wealth of information about the natural wonders of the land and the native Timucua Indians encountered by the French. As a tribe, the Timucua would be completely gone by the mid-1700s, so these accounts are invaluable to ethnologists and anthropologists. With this republication of Laudonniere & Fort Caroline , a new generation of archaeologists, anthropologists, and American colonial historians can experience the New World through the adventures of the French explorers. Visitors to Fort Caroline National Memorial will also find the volume fascinating reading as they explore the tentative early beginnings of a new nation.

Genres: History

191 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 2001

Reviews

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laudonniere dies in the end

[Satie A · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites due to the Fort's Name and the French colonialization (albeit briefly) presence in my home state. If you ever visit the Fort, try to avoid summertime due to humidity and curtains of mosquitos that could literally carry you away or definitely pack the repellant. :) In regards to the Timuacuan Tribe explored in this book...I found it to be an unlikely tribe to realize the complexities of nature and the third gender (whether by recessive gene or an originating one that separated over time). This is why history is important to preserve..it helps us to understand even if we are not a representation of that part of nature...or disposition....it fills in the gaps of the present and the future. Protect our libraries...I hope we do not become another Alexandria....the beauty of conquering in unexploited love and not destruction or desolation.

[KB · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of the Huguenots efforts to colonize the New World, in particular what is now Parris Island, SC and Fort Caroline in present day Jacksonville, FL, and the Spanish effort under Pedro Menéndez to stop them, leading to the “matanza” the massacre. Includes translations of original documents.