French Officer Jean Ribault and 350 of his soldiers lose life

Fort Matanzas is now a National Monument. It was a Spanish fort that was constructed in 1740. The fort made out of coquina, was finished in 1742. The European struggle for dominance played out in this region. The Spanish for the most part controlled Florida for 200 years, until around 1819.

Although Fort Matanzas itself actually saw very little battle, it symbolizes the Massacre of the French during that fateful period of history in the 1500’s. A hurricane turned out to be the catalyst that hastened the French attack on the Spanish.

On Sep. 10, 1565, Jean Ribault, a French naval officer set sail on an attempt to clear out the Spanish at St. Augustine, Florida. A hurricane would take Ribault and his men below Daytona and wreck the ships on the beach. This proved to be fatal for the crew.

Simultaneously, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was attacking Fort Caroline in Jacksonville. Fort Caroline was defended by French Protestants called Huguenots. At the time, too few of them remained at the fort to defend it. On Sep. 20, the fort was captured. On that day, 140 French men were quickly put to death by the Spanish. Only about 60 women and children were spared, and about 40 fled from the scene.

On October 12, after wrecking their ships and walking north, Jean Ribault and the French men surrendered, hoping for mercy. But there would be no mercy. In batches of ten, the Frenchmen were rowed across to the mainland, hands tied behind their backs. The prisoners were asked if they were Catholics. If your answer was no, then you were put to the death with the knife by Menéndez’s Spanish soldiers. About 134 men were killed this time, including Ribault himself. Only a few survived this one. The total number that were killed in both battles cost the French about 350 lives.

St. Augustine was the most important settlement in Florida. Pedro Menéndez sighted land on August 28, 1565. It was Pedro Menéndez that secured St. Augustine for Spain, and initiated a Spanish stronghold that lasted on and off for 200 years.

There is a free boat tour of Fort Matanza if you’re ever in the area. It’s a must see if you happen to be a history buff.