Nearly five decades before the Jamestown colony, the French Huguenots sought America as a destination to escape religious persecution and the War of Religions in France. The French attempted two colonies in the 1560s and some writings survived to tell the story.
Francis I painting by Jean Clouet
Henry II painting by Francois Clouet
Francis II painting by By François Clouet - This image comes from Gallica Digital Library and is available under the digital ID btv1b10544086n/f1, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=430394
Charles IX painting by Francois Clouet
Philip II painting by Sofonisba Anguissola Gaspard de Coligny painting by Workshop of Jan van Ravesteyn - www.rijksmuseum.nl : Home : Info : Pic, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2700685 Jean Ribault image by http://www.nps.gov/timu/historyculture/foca_jeanribault.htm
War of Religions photo courtesy of Jacksonville Public Library More on the Huguenots: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huguenots
Read “The Whole and True Discovery of Terra Florida” by Jean Ribault: https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00103082/00001/3x
Read Laudonniere’s account: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-141.pdf
Charlesfort courtesy of: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Alexrk
Read About M. John Hawkins Voyage: https://www.americanjourneys.org/pdf/AJ-030.pdf