Fort Caroline Massacre

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VirginiaHuguenot

Puritanboard Librarian
This week is the 440th anniversary of the massacre of French Huguenots at Fort Caroline (near Jacksonville, Florida) by Spanish Roman Catholics, which took place on September 20, 1565. Approximately 150 men, women and children were killed, while about 50 women and children were captured alive and enslaved. Some escaped, among them René Goulaine de Laudonnière and Jacque Le Moyne deMorgues. Some of those killed were hanged on a nearby tree with this inscription: "Not as Frenchmen, but as Lutherans and heretics." :tombstone:
 
Darn they killed Calvinists on the American continent too... Does their merciless Inquisition know no geographical bounds?
 
I think I have learned more history reading posts by Andrew Myers than I learned in all of my government schooling.
 
It just so happens that I am writing an historical novel on the subject of the Fort Caroline colony, so I have studied it quite a bit. I was not taught anything about it in public school either. History is a hobby of mine but I have had to re-educate myself. The history of the French Huguenots in Florida is a story worth reading.
 
O.I.A. Roche, in his book The Days of the Upright, a History of the Huguenots, writes that

"Huguenot" is "a combination of a Flemish and a German word. In the Flemish corner of France, Bible students who gathered in each other's houses to study secretly were called Huisgenooten, or "house fellows," while on the Swiss and German borders they were termed Eidgenossen, or "oath fellows," that is, persons bound to each other by an oath. Gallicized into "Huguenot," often used deprecatingly, the word became, during two and a half centuries of terror and triumph, a badge of enduring honor and courage."
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As a nickname whether pejorative or not -- it's use was banned in the regulations of the Edict of Nantes which Henry IV (Henry of Navarre, who himself earlier was a nominal Huguenot) issued in 1598. The French Protestants preferred to refer to themselves as "réformees" (reformers) as opposed to "Huguenots."
 
Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot
It just so happens that I am writing an historical novel on the subject of the Fort Caroline colony, so I have studied it quite a bit. I was not taught anything about it in public school either. History is a hobby of mine but I have had to re-educate myself. The history of the French Huguenots in Florida is a story worth reading.
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Do you have pictures of the Fort? Or are you not going to use pictures in your book?

I live about 45 minutes from Fort Caroline, and don't know all the history.
 
Originally posted by BJClark
Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot
It just so happens that I am writing an historical novel on the subject of the Fort Caroline colony, so I have studied it quite a bit. I was not taught anything about it in public school either. History is a hobby of mine but I have had to re-educate myself. The history of the French Huguenots in Florida is a story worth reading.
Click to expand...

Do you have pictures of the Fort? Or are you not going to use pictures in your book?

I live about 45 minutes from Fort Caroline, and don't know all the history.
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I don't plan to use pictures in my book, but I have pictures taken from my last visit to the Fort. Have you ever been there? It's a wonderful place to visit. There is a memorial to the French Protestants there. Fort Caroline and Fort Matanzas (a little south of there) are the only two national parks devoted to the history of the French Huguenots. I would love to visit again soon, dv.

[Edited on 9-19-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot]
 
It's been years since I've been to either one.

Fort Matanzas I've been to more recently, and the last time we were headed to Fort Caroline, the car broke down and we just haven't taken the time to go back over that direction.

We have traveled other places around the state though, like over to Gainesville, Cedar Key, Ocala, Orlando, Fort Christmas, just haven't take the time to drive the 45 minutes across town. LOL
 
Originally posted by Puritanhead
O.I.A. Roche, in his book The Days of the Upright, a History of the Huguenots, writes that

"Huguenot" is "a combination of a Flemish and a German word. In the Flemish corner of France, Bible students who gathered in each other's houses to study secretly were called Huisgenooten, or "house fellows," while on the Swiss and German borders they were termed Eidgenossen, or "oath fellows," that is, persons bound to each other by an oath. Gallicized into "Huguenot," often used deprecatingly, the word became, during two and a half centuries of terror and triumph, a badge of enduring honor and courage."
Click to expand...

As a nickname whether pejorative or not -- it's use was banned in the regulations of the Edict of Nantes which Henry IV (Henry of Navarre, who himself earlier was a nominal Huguenot) issued in 1598. The French Protestants preferred to refer to themselves as "réformees" (reformers) as opposed to "Huguenots."
Click to expand...

I've heard multiple explanations for the origin of the term Huguenot, some of which are pejorative and some are not. I like Roche's book, but I don't think his is the only valid explanation, although it is plausible.

I have read the Edict of Nantes and am unable to find where the term Huguenot was banned. Could you shed any light? I know that the common way Huguenots (and others) referred to themselves early on was to the "New Reformed Religion." Others called them Lutherans for a time.

So many terms used to describe the orthodox have interesting etymologies and so many were derogatory: Puritans, Protestants, Covenanters, etc. My own Huguenot ancestors did not shy away from the word Huguenot, so I am comfortable using it.
 
Originally posted by BJClark
It's been years since I've been to either one.

Fort Matanzas I've been to more recently, and the last time we were headed to Fort Caroline, the car broke down and we just haven't taken the time to go back over that direction.

We have traveled other places around the state though, like over to Gainesville, Cedar Key, Ocala, Orlando, Fort Christmas, just haven't take the time to drive the 45 minutes across town. LOL
Click to expand...

There is a lot of great history, culture and geography in Florida. I'm the same way here in DC. I work next to the White House and within walking distance of the Smithsonian but it's been a long time since I visited those places. C'est la vie! :lol:
 
Fort Caroline:

fort%20caroline%20florida.jpg
 
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