The French Huguenots in Florida
During their brief tenure in northern Florida, French colonists also knew about the town of Acuera (near today's Leesburg), along with the surrounding peoples of the same name.
In 1562, as the Spanish were unsuccessful in establishing any viable settlements or defensive forts in the Southeast portion of North America, the French Hugeuenots were able to attempt their own claiming of the land.
Between 1562 to 1564, the French Huguenots, under the leadership of Ribault and Laudonnière, attempted to form settlements at the mouth of the St John River.
[Jean Ribault]
In 1562, Jean Ribault, a French Huguenot, arrived at the land of Florida with 150 French colonists.
The Huguenots were seeking to escape religious persecution and genocide, during a war between the Catholics and the Protestants in France.
He landed near the mouth of the St. Johns River, at what is now Jacksonville.
Since they landed in the month of May, Rebault named it the "Rivière de Mai" [River of May] and erected a stone column claiming the territory for France.
[René Goulaine de Laudonnière]
In 1564, led by René Goulaine de Laudonnière they founded Fort Caroline in present-day Jacksonville and attempted to establish further settlements along the St. Johns River.
[Fort Caroline]
The French settlers of Fort Caroline were in close contact with the Timucua and after After initial conflict, the Huguenots were able to establish friendly relations with the local natives in the area, primarily the Timucua under the cacique Saturiwa.
They explored the interior along the stream and became acquainted with the tribes of Saturiba (Satouiroua) and Timucua (Thimagoa), as well as with the Potano (Potanou) and the Yustaga (Hostaqua) that had already been visited by De Soto.
[Depiction of Athore, son of Chief Saturiwa, showing René Laudonnière a monument placed by Jean Ribault.
- Engraving based on Jacques le Moyne's drawing]
With the establishment of Fort Caroline in 1564 by French Huguenots, near the mouth of the St. Johns River, the Acuera, along with most other Timucua speakers, came into continuing contact with Europeans.
One Frenchman, Jacques le Moyne de Morgues, was able to create sketches of the Timucuans which have been of enormous interest to ethnographers studying the culture.
Much of what we know about early Timucuan culture comes not from the Spanish but from the French colony at Fort Caroline.
The sketches and notes made by Jaques le Moyne, one of the French settlers, are one of the few primary resources about the Timucua.
A map produced by Jacques le Moyne, shows a town called Aquouena (Acuera?) east of Eloquale (Ocale), on a tributary of the St. Johns River.
The French also recorded a chief named Acquera being a vassal of Chief Utina.
The Huguenots tried to convert the Timucuans to Christianity.
Though they were unsuccessful and were converted themselves to the habit of tobacco smoking.
However, they were no more successful than the Spanish.
The Timucua people resisted this conquest attempt just as effectively as they had resisted being colonized by the Spanish.
Another French Huguenot colony was established at the present site of the city of Astor along the St. Johns River.
They explored the interior along the stream and became acquainted with the tribes of Saturiwa (Satouiroua) and Timucua (Thimagoa), as well as with the Potano (Potanou) and the Yustaga (Hostaqua) that had already been visited by De Soto.
After the establishment of Fort Caroline, the French Huguenots came in contact with the Utina.
On one occasion they sent a contingent to help them to defeat the neighboring Potano.
A missionary letter dated to 1602 estimates the Utina population as 1,500, in this case thought to be an obvious understatement.
This tribe, known as the Utina or Timucua, is noteworthy for having given its name to the peoples of the Timucuan or Timuquanan stock now regarded as part of the Muskogean family, and as having been, next perhaps to the Potano, the most powerful tribe of this southeast American group.
In the following year, 1565, the Spaniards under the command of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés caught the Huguenots in a surprise attack and ransacked Fort Caroline, killing everyone but 50 women and children and 26 escapees.
The Spanish killed everyone there who did not swear they were Catholic.
Despite their peaceful relations, the Timucuan were persuaded to join in the Spanish attack upon the Huguenots at Fort Caroline.
The rest of the French had been shipwrecked off the coast and picked up by the Spanish, who executed all but 20 of them.
This brought all French settlements in Florida to an abrupt end.
With the French presence in Florida destroyed, the Spanish soon established the city of St. Augustine.