Three Voyages
256
Three Voyages
256eBook
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Overview
This translation of an eyewitness account by a major participant offers valuable information about all three attempts to establish a French colony on the south Atlantic coast of North America.
Rene Laudonniere's account of the three attempts by France to colonize what is now the United States is uniquely valuable because
he played a major role in each of the ventures—first, in 1562, as second in command during the founding of the ill-fated Charlesport, then as commander for the establishment of Fort Caroline on Florida's St. Johns River in 1564, and finally as the one to welcome French reinforcements the following year. It was also Laudonniere's destiny to witness the tragic fall of Fort Caroline to Spanish claims one month later.
Laudonniere wrote his chronicle, L'histoire Notable de la Floride, in 1565 following the fall of Fort Caroline as he recuperated in England. Much more than an account of his feelings and adventures, Laudonniere's history reveals him to be an exceedingly able and accurate geographer with a highly developed interest in anthropology.
The first English translation was published by Richard Hakluyt in 1587. Charles E. Bennett's graceful and accurate rendering in modern English was first published in 1975 by the University Press of Florida. Besides the account, thoroughly annotated and with present-day names identifying sites visited by the Frenchman, this volume includes a valuable introductory essay. The appendices to the volume are four noteworthy documents, the last of which—a guide to plants of 16th-century Florida—will be of exceptional interest to naturalists, gardeners, and students of folklore. The account itself will fascinate professional historians and anthropologists as well as general readers interested in the exciting and often moving
events of early European settlement in the New World.
Rene Laudonniere was a French adventurer and explorer of the 16th century who wrote L'histoire Notable de la Floride. Charles E. Bennett is a historian and former Florida congressman. He was coauthor of the Moss-Bennett legislation and was instrumental in the establishment of the Fort Caroline National Memorial and the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve. Jerald T. Milanich is Curator in Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780817383473 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Alabama Press |
| Publication date: | 05/11/2001 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 256 |
| File size: | 5 MB |
About the Author
Rene Laudonniere was a French adventurer and explorer of the 16th century who wrote L'histoire Notable de la Floride. Charles E. Bennett is a historian and former Florida congressman. He was coauthor of the Moss-Bennett legislation and was instrumental in the establishment of the Fort Caroline National Memorial and the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve. Jerald T. Milanich is Curator in Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Read an Excerpt
Three Voyages
By René Laudonnière, Charles E. Bennett
The University of Alabama Press
Copyright © 2001 The University of Alabama PressAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8173-8347-3
CHAPTER 1
The First Voyage of the French to Florida, Made in 1562 by Captain Jean Ribault
THE ADMIRAL of Châtillon [Coligny], a nobleman more anxious for the public good than for his own, having learned of the desire of his king to explore new lands, set about promptly to equip the vessels and enlist the proper men for such an enterprise. Among these was Captain Jean Ribault, a true expert in marine affairs. Ribault, having received his orders, put to sea on February 18, 1562. He had only two ships of the king, but he was well supplied with gentlemen, of whom I was one, and with experienced soldiers with whom it would be possible to achieve notable and memorable deeds.
After having navigated for about two months, carefully evading the Spanish route, Ribault made port in New France, setting foot near a cape or headland. It was not a high place because the coast is flat there, with its elevation only in trees. Upon his arrival he called it Cape François, in honor of our country. This cape is about 30° from the equator.
Cruising from this place northward, he discovered a very large and beautiful river, which prompted him to drop anchor so that he could reconnoiter the place early on the following morning. He did this at daybreak, accompanied by Captain Fiquinville and other soldiers from his ship. When he arrived at the river bank, right away he saw many male and female Indians who had come to this place to receive the Frenchmen with gentleness and kindness. This was emphasized by the speech of their king and by the presentation of chamois skins to our captain. On the following day Captain Ribault erected a column of hard stone on the banks of this river, not far from the mouth of the river and on a little sandy knoll. The coat of arms of France was carved upon it.
This done, he embarked again to continue the survey of the northern coast as he had planned. After navigating a bit, he landed on the other side of the river and commanded everyone, in the presence of the Indians who purposefully waited on him there, to thank God that He had by His grace directed the French people to this strange land without danger or accident. The Indians, who had listened attentively, thinking, I suppose, that we were worshiping the sun because we always had our eyes lifted up to Heaven, rose up when the prayers were ended and came to salute Captain Jean Ribault. They asked to introduce their king, who had not arisen as they had done but had remained seated on green magnolia and palmetto leaves. The captain went forward and sat down near him and listened to his long discourse; but with little pleasure because he could not understand the language, much less the meaning.
At the leave-taking the king gave the captain a plume of egret feathers, dyed red, and a basket made from palm fiber, very artfully constructed, together with a great skin drawn upon and painted with pictures of various wild beasts, so vividly represented that they seemed almost alive. The captain, wishing not to appear ungrateful, gave him some little silver-plated bracelets, a sickle, a mirror, and some knives. The king indicated that he was very happy and fully satisfied. The better part of the day having passed in the visit with the Indians, the captain embarked on his ship to go over to the other side of the river. The king showed himself to be very displeased about this; nevertheless, not being able to prevent it, the king ordered us to be provided with fish, which was done speedily. They went to their weirs, or enclosures, made out of reeds like a maze, and loaded us up with trout, mullet, flounder, turbot, and a multitude of other species which are different from ours. This done, we entered our boats again and went toward the other shore.
Before we landed, we were greeted by another group of Indians who came out into the water up to their armpits, bringing us little baskets full of corn and freshly washed red and white mulberries. Others offered themselves to bear us to the shore. When we landed, we saw their king seated on a heap of cedar and magnolia boughs under a little arbor near the river bank. He was attended by two of his sons, each of great handsomeness and of strong body, and also by a band of Indians who had all their bows and bundles of arrows in excellent shape. The two sons received our captain graciously, but their father, the king, showed great solemnness and did nothing but slightly move his head. When the captain came up to salute him, the king retained such a grave dignity that he seemed indeed to warrant the title of king. The captain did not know how to judge this deportment and thought that the king might be jealous because we went first to the other side of the river, or perhaps that he was not very happy about the stone marker that we had erected. Not knowing anything else to do, we indicated by signs that we had come from a great distance on purpose to see him and to make known the friendship that we desired. In confirmation of this, Ribault took from a small chest a few trinkets, such as gilt- and silver-plated bracelets, and presented them to the king and gave a few others to his sons. This finally put the king in an amiable mood toward the captain and us.
After these indications of good will we walked through the woods, hoping to discover something new. We observed large numbers of white and red mulberries, and on the tops of these many silkworms. Following our course, we discovered a beautiful and large meadow interlaced with marshes, and then the wet condition of the ground caused us to turn back. The king was no longer present when we returned because he had retired to his home. So we went into our small boats to return to our ships. On our arrival we called this river the River of May because we had discovered it on May 1.
Shortly after we had returned to our ships, anchors were raised and sails unfurled for further exploration along the coast, where we soon discovered another beautiful river which the captain wished to reconnoiter. Having investigated that area with the king and the people there, he named it the Seine River because it resembled the Seine River in France. We left the river valley to go back to our ships, and on arriving, we let loose our sails in a northward journey to discover the shape of the coast.
We had not gone far when we discovered another beautiful river, and we dropped anchor to investigate it. Trimming out two boats for the reconnaissance, we discovered an island and a king, as affable as the others. We named this river the Somme River. From there we sailed about six leagues where we discovered another river, explored it, and named it the Loire River. Subsequently we discovered five others, the first of which we called the Charente, the second Garonne, the third Gironde, the fourth Belle, and the fifth Grande. All of these river valleys and their contents were reconnoitered by us. In less than sixty leagues we had seen many notable things along nine rivers.
Nevertheless, not being fully satisfied, we sailed yet farther northward, following a course that could bring us to the Jordan River, one of the best of the north land. As we followed this course, great fogs and heavy storms came, forcing us to abandon the coast and to sail out into the open seas. This caused us to lose sight of our barques for one day and one night. The next morning at daybreak when the weather became normal and the sea calmer, we discovered a river which we called Belle à Veoir. After we had sailed three or four leagues, we caught sight of our barques, which came straight toward us. At their arrival they reported to the captain that during the bad weather and the fog they had drawn back into a large river, exceeding the others in size and beauty. The captain was very happy about this because the primary purpose now was to find a haven to harbor his ships and to refresh ourselves for a space of time.
Pursuing this course, we arrived astraddle the river which we called Port Royal because of its beauty and grandeur. We lowered sails and dropped anchor in ten fathoms of water. The depth of the water is so great there, where the sea begins to flow, that the largest ships of France, yes the galleons of Venice, could enter there.
Being anchored, the captain landed with some of his soldiers. He was the first to land and found a place so pleasant that it was beyond comparison. It was completely covered with numerous tall oaks and cedars, and underneath them there were gums of such good aroma that they alone would have made the place most attractive. Strolling under the branches, we saw many turkeys flying through the forest, and some red and grey partridges, somewhat different from ours, chiefly in their large size. We also observed deer running through the woods, and some bears, wolves, panthers, and many other types of animals not known to us. Being pleased with this place, we went fishing there with our seine and took an unusually large number of fish. Among others, we took a species which we call saillicoques. They are none other than crayfish, and two draggings of the net were enough to feed all the company of our two ships for a whole day.
The river mouth is at least three French leagues wide. It is divided into two great arms, one running west and the other north. I believe that the arm which stretches to the north extends to the Jordan River and that the other goes into the sea, according to the information coming to us from those who lived in this place. These two arms of the river cover two great leagues. In the midst of these there is an island which points toward the opening of the great river and on this there were many sorts of strange animals. Among them there were large numbers of ordinary animals of excellent quality. It was a beautiful thing to see. Around there, everywhere, there were palm trees and many other kinds of trees, and flowers and fruit with rare shapes and attractive perfumes.
Seeing the night approach and the captain thinking about going back to the ship, we asked that he allow us to spend the night in this place. In our absence the pilots and master mariners had advised the captain that the ship should come farther up the river to prevent injuries from the winds that might spring up, since we were so near to the mouth of the river. So for this reason the captain sent for us, and arriving at our ships again, we sailed up the river three leagues and dropped anchor.
A little while afterwards, Jean Ribault, accompanied by a substantial number of soldiers, embarked to navigate the western branch of the river and to seek out its advantages. Having traveled a good twelve leagues, we observed a band of Indians who, on seeing our barques, became so frightened that they fled into the woods, leaving behind them a young wolf that they were turning on a spit. For this reason we called this place Cape Wolf. Proceeding farther, we found another stream, which flowed toward the east. The captain decided to sail up this, abandoning the larger river. Shortly afterward, we observed many Indians, men and women, half hidden in the woods. At first they were in doubt about our intentions and were fearful, but later on they were reassured. The captain showed them certain trading merchandise, and from this they could understand that he meant them no harm. They made a sign that we should come to land. This we did, for we did not want to refuse them.
Upon our coming ashore, some of them came to salute our general according to their native customs. Some gave him deerskins, others little baskets, and a few presented pearls to him, but not in large quantities. Then they began to build a shelter in this place to shade us from the heat of the sun; but we really did not wish to stay there any longer. The captain thanked them for their kindness and gave them each a present. He pleased them so much that when he started to leave, our sudden departure was not well accepted by them. Knowing him to be so generous, they wanted him to stay a little while longer and sought by every possible means to give him an occasion to stay, showing him by signs that should he stay just one day they could advise a great Indian king who had pearls in abundance and silver also, which would be presented to the captain when the king arrived. They said further that in the meanwhile we could pass the time until the great king came by visiting their houses and by them showing us some fun in archery and deer hunting. They pleaded with the captain not to deny them their request.
Nevertheless we returned to the ships. After having been there one night, the captain ordered us to load into a small boat a pillar of hard stone fashioned like a column, on which was cut the coat of arms of the king of France. He told us it was to be planted in the best place that we could find. This being ordered, we embarked and sailed three leagues toward the west. There we discovered a little river up which we navigated until at the end we found ourselves returning to the main current, making a little island separated from the high land. We landed on the island and planted the stone pillar there upon a hill, in a spot with an open view near a lake with a half fathom of very good fresh water. This was in accord with the order of the captain, for it was indeed a beautiful and pleasant place. On the island we saw two large deer exceeding in size all those we had ever seen before, and we might easily have killed them with our guns if the captain had not forbidden us to do so because of their great beauty and size.
Before leaving, we named the little river around the island the Liborne River. Then we embarked to look over another island which was not far from the first. On landing we found nothing but tall cedars, the most beautiful that we had seen in this country. So we called this the Isle of Cedars, and we re-embarked to return to our vessel.
Several days afterwards, Jean Ribault decided to return among the Indians who inhabited the west arm of the river and to take with him a large number of soldiers. His plan was to capture two Indians of that place and to take them back to France, as the queen had commanded him. Having arrived at this conclusion, we returned to the same place where we had first found the Indians, and we took two Indians by permission of their king. Thinking that they were more favored than the rest, they thought themselves very fortunate to be with us; but seeing that we were not going to land but stayed in the full stream of the river, they became alarmed and tried to leap into the water. Being such good swimmers, they could have been quickly away and lost in the forest. Knowing their feelings, we watched them carefully and sought to appease them. We did everything possible, giving them things they liked the most. But they disdained to accept and returned the things which they had already received, thinking by this that we would feel obliged to free them.
Knowing finally that nothing was going to do any good, they asked for the rejected things to be returned. We gave these things back right away, and then they joined each other in singing softly and sweetly in a way that made us think that they lamented the absence of their friends. They continued the singing all night long without stopping. During this time we were forced to remain at anchor because the tide was running against us, but we set sail the next morning and returned to the ships.
Upon arriving, each of us made an effort to please the two Indians and to be as pleasant as possible so that they would know of our desire to become better friends in the future. We gave them something to eat, but they refused and told us that before eating they were accustomed to wash their faces and then to wait until the setting of the sun. This is a ceremony among all the Indians in New France. Later they were constrained to forget their superstitions and to accommodate themselves to our customs, but it was all somewhat strange to them at first. They finally became a little more at ease, and then they tried to start a thousand conversations and were very sorry indeed that we could not understand them. In a few days they began to show me real affection, and it seemed that they would prefer death from hunger or thirst to taking food from anyone's hands but mine.
Observing such a friendly attitude on their part, I tried to learn some of the Indian terms, showing them things that I wished to name in their language. They were very happy to instruct me; and knowing of the desire that I had to learn their language, they invited me to ask them anything. So by putting in writing the terms and locations of Indian things, I came to understand the greater part of their conversations. Every day, without fail, they told me that they would be even kinder to me if we would return to their homes. They said that they would give me every pleasure that I could desire, such as hunting or seeing their secret feast ceremonies which they called "Toya." They observe this feast as religiously as we do our Sabbath.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Three Voyages by René Laudonnière, Charles E. Bennett. Copyright © 2001 The University of Alabama Press. Excerpted by permission of The University of Alabama Press.
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Table of Contents
ContentsForeword to Paperback Edition
Introduction
Three Voyages
Preface
The First Voyage
The Second Voyage
The Third Voyage
Appendices
A— Newly Discovered Portrait of Dominique de Gourgues
B— “Laudonnière's Shipping Contract of 1572”
C— Mutual Gift Agreement between René Laudonnière and His Wife
D— “Plant life in Sixteenth-Century Florida”
Notes
Notes to Introduction
Notes to Three Voyages
Notes to Appendix B
Index