Admiral Coligny a french nobleman, emerges as a hero.  He chooses Jean Ribault to lead an expedition to the New World. His mission?  Find a refuge for Huguenot Christian’s.

• Due to the violent persecution of Huguenots by the Catholic Church, Huguenot Christian’s search for a safe refuge.
• Determined to save his people, Admiral Gaspard de Coligny secretly worked on protecting his fellow Huguenots by attempting to establish colonies in the New World in which Huguenots could find refuge from the Catholic persecutions.
• Admiral Gaspard de Coligny chose Jean Ribault to lead an expedition to the New World to found a colony.
• February 18, 1562: Jean Ribault left Le Havre in France the leader of 2 ships carrying 150 Huguenot soldiers bound for the New World and Florida
• May 1, 1562: Jean Ribault enters the St. Johns River near modern Jacksonville, Florida and erects a stone column claiming the territory for France
• The French expedition sail to the north until they arrive at Port Royal Sound in present-day South Carolina.
• Jean Ribault’s expedition builds a small fort at the settlement on Parris Island. The outpost is called Charlesfort in honor of the French King Charles IX.
• June 11, 1562: Jean Ribault leaves 27 men at Charlesfort, gentlemen, soldiers, and mariners, and returns to France for supplies and settlers for the colony. Charlesfort is later abandoned and the men return to France.
• Jean Ribault returns to find the French Wars of Religion had broken out between the Roman Catholic majority and the Protestant Huguenots. He helps the Huguenots in Dieppe but is forced to flee to England
• Jean Ribault is accused of being a spy and is imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he writes about his experiences in the New World. He is released and returns to France.
• Meanwhile Gaspard de Coligny appoints Ribault’s former lieutenant, Rene Goulaine de Laudonniere, to replace Ribault in the North American colonies
  April 22, 1564: Rene Goulaine de Laudonniere sets sail and arrives in Florida 2 months later.
• Jean Ribault returns to France from England and is tasked with following him in Spring 1565 with reinforcements and fresh supplies. He is delayed and does not leave France until the summer.

Jean Ribault is imprisoned in England, his former lieutenant (Laudonnière) leads a 2nd expedition to the New World and builds Fort Caroline (present day Jacksonville, Florida).

The 1563 Peace of Amboise finally allowed Admiral Coligny to devote attention for a new voyage to North America. He appointed Ribault’s former lieutenant, René Goulaine de Laudonnière, to replace Ribault in the North American endeavors.

During this time, however, Charlesfort had fallen into despair. Captain Albert de la Pierria’s heavy discipline led the soldiers to a mutiny in which he was deposed and killed at Florida on October 12, 1565. Afterward, a fire destroyed most of the settlement’s meager stores. The survivors elected to build a crude vessel and attempt to sail back to France. The trip was arduous, and most of the participants died before they finally reached the English coast, where they were rescued. News of this reached France just before Laudonnière had embarked on his voyage.

Laudonnière ultimately set sail on April 22, 1564 and arrived at Florida two months later. The plan for Ribault was to follow him in Spring 1565 with reinforcements and fresh supplies. As Charlesfort was now abandoned, the expedition decided to found a new colony on the banks of the St. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, Florida, the same area Ribault and company had explored on the prior voyage. They christened the settlement Fort Caroline.

Fort Caroline sustained itself for the next year, but Ribault found himself caught up in the fresh outbreak of war in France and was unable to set sail at the appointed time. As a result, the colony experienced food shortages and deteriorating conditions, and some soldiers mutinied and became pirates, attacking Spanish vessels in the Caribbean. The situation was exacerbated by a clash with the Utina, a Timucua Indian tribe up the river to the south.

• Rene Goulaine de Laudonniere establishes a new colony called Fort Caroline on the banks of the St. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. Supplies run short and the settlement is under attack by Native Indians. Many of the men mutiny and Rene Goulaine de Laudonniere decides to return to France.