170 l^he DISCOFERY and CONQUEST Book I. 
Power. The more the Admiral converfed with this 
Gentleman, the better he was pleafed v/ith him •, he 
found him brave and enterprizing ; a Man of found 
Senfe, eloquent, and a good Scholar ; therefore he 
opened to him freely the Caufe of his taking this Affair 
fo much to heart *, which was, the fettling in a good 
Soil and wholfome Air, a Proteftant Colony : That in 
Cafe the Affairs of his Friends hiould ever come to be 
totally ruined in France^ they might have fome Place 
to which they might repair out of the Reach of their Ene- 
mies. The Sieur de Villegagnon very readily approved 
what his Patron defired, and undertook the Execution 
of it. Upon which the Admiral reprefented Things fo 
to the King, that three Veffels of convenient Size were 
fitted out in the moft effedlual Manner, with a fufficient 
Number of Seamen, as well as Adventurers, on board : 
And in the Month of May^ ^555) fmall Squadron 
failed from Havre de Grace for Brazil^ where, after a 
tedious and, troublefome Voyage, they arrived in No- 
vember. At firfl they landed upon a Rock, which they 
found to be uninhabitable, and therefore, marching farther 
within Land, they fixed upon a very commodious Spot of 
Ground almoft under the Tropic of Cafricorn.^ where they 
erected a convenient Fortrefs for their Security, both 
againft the Natives and the Portugueze., which they 
called Fort ColUgny. When they were there fixed, the 
Sieur de Villegagnon fent the Admiral a large Account of 
his Proceedings and Situation ; he defcribed to him both 
the Country and the Inhabitants i obferved to him, that 
it was extremely praclicable to maintain themfelves there, 
and to make it both a ufeful, and a thriving Colony •, 
but at the fame time he remarked, that fuch as were fent 
over to him, muff not expedt the Delicacies of Europe ; 
that they had no other Bread there but what was made 
of a certain Root ground to Powder, no Wine, much 
Filh, and fome Venifon •, and that People who could 
live contentedly upon fuch Provifion would be welcome 
to him, and find a fecure Retreat at his Fort in Brazil. 
The Admiral, as foon as he had received this T >etter 
communicated it to the famous John Calvin of Geneva.^ 
who prevailed upon a Dozen of zealous Proteftants of 
that City, to engage in the Defign of improving this 
new Settlement. One Du Pont., a Man of good Senfe 
and Charadler, was put at the Flead of this Affair, and 
with him were joined two Minifters, Peter Richer., who 
had been formerly a Carmelite., and William Chartier •, 
very good Men, but withal great Zealots : They fet 
out all together, from Geneva, in the Month of September, 
1556 i and went firff of all to Chatillon, where they were 
very kindly received by the Admiral, and by his Affift- 
ance, joined to their own Intereff, foon got together three 
hundred Men, who embarked at Honfleur on board three 
Veffels well provided, about the Middle of November 
following. They arrived at Fort ColUgny on the yth of 
March, 1557, and were received with great Joy and 
Satisfadlion •, but it was not long that Things continued 
in this State, for the S>\t\xx de Villegagnon and the Vinifter 
Richer fell out about Religion, and their Difputes rofe fo 
high, that the former drove the latter, and all his Ad- 
herents, out of the Colony upon which they failed up 
the Rio Janeiro, and- effablifhed themfelves upon the 
Continent, where they continued about eight Months, 
and then, either through the Difficulty they found in 
fubfifling, or from their being weary of a Country 
which lodittle anfwered their Expedfations, they return- 
ed home to France where they did not fail to reprefent 
the Sieur de Villegagnon in the blackeft Colours, as a 
Traitor and Apoftate. This did his Bufinefs effedfually 
with the Admiral, who, as he had no other View than 
ferving the Proteftant Caufe by protedling this Eftabliffi- 
ment, fo when he found it would not anfwer that End, 
he gave himfelf no farther Concern about it. 
The Sieur de Villegagnon, finding himfelf thus aban- 
doned, loft all Patience, and, taking the beftMeafures 
he could for the Security of the Colony in his Abfence, 
returned to France, where he publiflied an Apology for 
his own Condiidl, in which he painted out the Minifters 
in a Light as bad as that in which they had placed him ; 
and finding this produced no Good, he retired to a 
Commandery of his own Order, and fpent the remainder 
of his Days in writing againft the Proteftants. The 
Portugueze, in the mean time, laid hold of this Oppor- 
tunity to rid themfelves of their new Neighbours, and 
tne very next Year, 1578, Emanuel Sa, then Governor of 
Brazil, cut off the French that were left behind, and 
demolifhed their Fort, i have dwelt the longer upon 
this Story becaufe it is very inftrudlive, and fhews the 
Folly of attempting to raife Colonies upon any other 
than a national Intereft. Before I quit this Point, there 
is one curious Circumftance which I muft relate, for the 
Information of the Reader ; The French, during the 
fliort time they were poffeffed of this Settlement, Inade 
a greater Progrefs in Trade, and eftabhffied a more 
friendly Correfpondence with the Natives than the Por- 
tugueze had been able to do in about fifty Years ; fo that 
the Lofs of this Colony was a very great Difadvantao-e 
to that Nation. 
We muft not, however, attribute this to better Con- 
dud, or Superiority of Genius; for it was owing to nei- 
ther, but the Effed of a very odd Accident ; About 
twenty Years before, a Ship from Normandy had been 
loft upon that Coaft; fome of the Men got aftiore, were 
well received by the Natives, married amongft them, 
grew as much Savages as themfelves ; and having perfed- 
ly learned their Language, without abfolutely forgettino- 
their own, did the new Colony, in quality of Inter- 
preters, great Service; yet I do not find that they 
joined it, or laid hold of this Opportunity to return to 
France ; which I the lefs wonder at, becaufe I have al- 
ways obferved that the French have a greater Propenlity 
to thefe fort of Meafures than any other Nation, and it 
is this that fecures them fo great an Intereft with all the 
Savages bordering upon their Settlements in North 
Nmerica. But to return. 
8. The Portugueze after this, continued to enjoy their 
Settlements quietly, till the Year 1612, when they were 
again difturbed by the French. It is true, that in this 
Space ot Time there happened fome Difputes between 
them and the Spaniards, but thofe were about Limits 
only, had no extraordinary Confequences, and were 
quickly adjufted ; but in regard to the it fell out 
quite otherwife : One Capt. Riffaut, who had been cruiz- 
ing on the Spaniards, happened to touch at the Ifland of 
Maragnan, on the Coaft of Brazil, and there contraded 
fo great an Intimacy with the Indian Chief of the Eland, 
that he invited him to bring a fufficient Number of his 
Countrymen to fix a Settlement there, affuring him in 
the firft place, that it would turn to a very good Ac- 
count ; and in the next, that he would give him all the 
Affiftance in his Power in fupport of fuch a Defign. 
Which Offer the French Captain readily embraced, and 
promifed to make Ufe of all thejntereft and Credit he 
had to carry this Scheme into Execution. 
Accordingly, in the Year 1594, he found means to 
equip three Ships, and thofe too fo effedually, that 
there might have been juft Grounds to have hoped 
fome extraordinary Succefs from the Expedition ; but, 
whether it be really an eafier matter to deal with Sa- 
vages, than with thofe who take themfelves to be the 
moft civilized People in the World, fo it was, that 
Captain Riffaut had three or four Mutinies to quell 
before he could reach his intended Ifland ; upon the Coaft 
of which, either by Accident, or by the Quarrels among 
his own People, the biggeft of his three Ships ran affiore 
and was loft, which obliged him to return to France 
without doing any thing ; but, however, fome few of 
his People, and amongft them one Mr. de Vaux, chofe to 
ftay with the Savages, who made them very welcome. 
This young Gentleman was very brifk and adfive, liked 
the climate, and continued there fome time very well 
pleafed. Flis Behaviour to the Brazilians was fo engag- 
ing, and he proved ufeful to them in fo many Refpefts, 
that they made the fame Applications to him as the In- 
dian Chief had formerly done to Captain Riffaut, which 
at laft engaged him to think ferioufly upon the Subjedl ; 
the Confequence of which was, that he took the firft 
Opportunity of going home, in order to bring about 
what his Friends feemed to define fo earneftly. 
On 
