Jean Ribault (1520 – October 12, 1565) was a French naval officer, navigator, and a colonizer of what would become the southeastern United States. He was born in the coastal village of Dieppe. In 1562, Ribault was chosen to lead an expedition to the New World to establish a haven for the Huguenots. With a fleet of 150 colonists he crossed the Atlantic Ocean and explored the mouth of the St. Johns River in modern-day Jacksonville, Florida.

Ribault’s fleet then proceeded north and chose to settle on Parris Island, one of the Sea Islands off the coast of present-day South Carolina. The colony was named Charlesfort in honor of the French king, Charles IX. Ribault oversaw the layout of the settlement, then returned home for supplies. Warfare had broken out during his absence from France between the Roman Catholic majority backed by Spain and the Protestant Huguenots backed by England. Ribault sought safety in England; despite a cordial welcome, he was arrested and detained in the Tower of London. English authorities feared he was plotting to steal their ships to use in French colonization efforts.

Meanwhile, Charlesfort fell into despair. A lack of supplies threatened the colonists' lives, most of whom followed René Laudonnière further south into Spanish territory to establish Fort Caroline at the mouth of the St. Johns River. The fort had early success, but the colonists had trouble feeding themselves after turmoil developed with the local Native American tribes. Some colonists sailed home while others deserted and became pirates. Following his release from prison, Ribault was dispatched by the French government to save the settlement.

Spanish troops led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés who had already established a fortified position at St. Augustine, Florida in 1565 were ordered to stop Ribault and attack him at sea. A naval confrontation was averted by Ribault steering his fleet off course, but the Spanish garrison stationed there to defend their territory were also ordered at the same time by Menendez to ambush Fort Caroline by land and destroy the French settlement and take the settlers as prisoners. Shortly afterward a tropical storm destroyed Ribault’s fleet still out at sea. The few sailors able to make it ashore near St. Augustine, including Ribault, were killed by waiting Spanish soldiers.

In 2005 Ribault was featured the "Conquest of the Southeast" episode of The History Channel's documentary miniseries Conquest of America. Several places and institutions in Jacksonville are named for him, such as Jean Ribault High School, the Ribault Club on Fort George Island, and a tributary of the Trout River, the Ribault River.

External links

• University of South Carolina: Santa Elena Project
• Charlesfort-Santa Elena National Historic Landmark

Donate to Wikimedia