Jean Ribault Sails from Fort Caroline

A Hurricane, a Failed Attack, and the End of French Florida

On September 10, 1565, Jean Ribault made a decision that would help determine whether Florida would become French or Spanish.

Only two days earlier, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés had formally established the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine. To the north, on the St. Johns River, stood France's Fort Caroline.

Ribault intended to eliminate the new Spanish foothold before it could become firmly established. He loaded much of the French fighting force aboard his ships and sailed south toward St. Augustine.

Then Florida's weather intervened.

A hurricane struck the coast, scattered Ribault's fleet and drove his ships southward. The French attack never reached St. Augustine. Menéndez recognized the opportunity immediately. While the storm kept Ribault's soldiers away from their fort, the Spaniards marched north through the rain and attacked the weakened Fort Caroline.

Within days, French Florida was collapsing.

Two European Empires Meet in Florida

The struggle had begun years earlier. France established Fort Caroline in 1564 near the mouth of the St. Johns River under René Goulaine de Laudonnière. Many of the French settlers were Huguenots—French Protestants—at a time when religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants was tearing Europe apart.

But religion was only part of the problem. Florida sat beside one of Spain's most important maritime highways. Spanish treasure fleets carrying wealth from the Americas traveled through the Florida Straits and then followed the Gulf Stream northward before turning toward Europe.

A French settlement near that route was something Spain was unwilling to tolerate. King Philip II ordered Pedro Menéndez de Avilés to remove the French presence and establish a Spanish settlement in Florida.

Ribault Returns

Jean Ribault had first explored Florida's Atlantic coast for France in 1562. He returned in 1565 with reinforcements for Fort Caroline. But Menéndez was approaching Florida at almost exactly the same time.

The two fleets encountered one another near the coast. After an unsuccessful attempt to confront the French ships, Menéndez moved south. On September 8, 1565, the Spanish formally established St. Augustine.

That meant two rival European colonies now stood only a relatively short distance apart along Florida's northeast coast. The situation could not last.

September 10

Ribault chose to attack. On September 10, he sailed from Fort Caroline with most of his available soldiers aboard several ships. The target was St. Augustine.

Some French officers had reportedly warned against putting the colony's principal fighting force aboard ships during hurricane season. Those concerns proved justified.

A powerful storm struck. Instead of attacking St. Augustine, Ribault's ships were driven south along Florida's Atlantic coast. Several eventually wrecked.

Menéndez Makes His Move

The same hurricane that destroyed Ribault's plan created an extraordinary military opportunity for Menéndez. Fort Caroline had been left with only a reduced defensive force.

Rather than remain behind the walls of St. Augustine, Menéndez decided to attack. On September 17, he began marching north through miserable weather with approximately 500 men. They crossed flooded creeks, marshes and forests in driving rain.

On September 20, the Spaniards attacked Fort Caroline. The French were badly outnumbered and caught by surprise. Spain captured the fort. Laudonnière and a small number of survivors escaped, but the French colony had effectively been destroyed.

The Story Wasn't Finished

Ribault and hundreds of his men were still somewhere south of St. Augustine. Shipwreck survivors began moving north along the beaches.

Menéndez eventually encountered groups of them near an inlet south of St. Augustine. The inlet became known as Matanzas—Spanish for “slaughters”—after Spanish forces killed large numbers of French prisoners there. Ribault himself was among those killed in October.

The events remain one of the darkest episodes of colonial Florida.

Why September 10 Matters

What began on September 10 was much larger than a failed naval expedition. Had Ribault reached St. Augustine and destroyed Menéndez's new settlement, the history of Florida could have unfolded very differently.

Instead, a hurricane removed the principal French military force from Fort Caroline at almost precisely the moment Menéndez needed an opportunity. Spain seized it. Fort Caroline fell. French Florida disappeared. St. Augustine survived.

In September 1565, Florida's weather became a participant in the struggle for an empire.

Sources for Additional Reading

• National Park Service — Fort Caroline — History of the French settlement and struggle with Spain.
• National Park Service — Fort Matanzas National Monument — Colonial conflict and the Matanzas story.

Florida Learning Hub uses National Park Service and other U.S. government historical materials as public-domain source material where applicable and links readers to the originating institution.