VirginiaHuguenot
Puritanboard Librarian
Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, French Huguenot statesman, was born on February 16, 1519 and died on August 24, 1572.
He was a celebrated military officer and counsellor, who was the undisputed leader of the Huguenots in France until his death. He promoted the colonization of Brazil and Florida as a means of increasing the dominion of France and providing a safe haven for Huguenots. Although at one time he served as Catherine de Medici's counsellor, he was the victim of a would-be assassin sent by her, who attacked and wounded him on August 22, 1572. As he lay recovering in his home in Paris, her henchmen finished what she started by killing him on August 24, 1572. His death was the signal to commence the bloodshed known as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.
He was a celebrated military officer and counsellor, who was the undisputed leader of the Huguenots in France until his death. He promoted the colonization of Brazil and Florida as a means of increasing the dominion of France and providing a safe haven for Huguenots. Although at one time he served as Catherine de Medici's counsellor, he was the victim of a would-be assassin sent by her, who attacked and wounded him on August 22, 1572. As he lay recovering in his home in Paris, her henchmen finished what she started by killing him on August 24, 1572. His death was the signal to commence the bloodshed known as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.
