by Robert Baer
First published 2014
In 1564, French Huguenots establish their first European settlement near present-day Jacksonville, Florida. The colonists at Fort Caroline face immediate challenges in the New World as they attempt to create a Protestant refuge. Spanish forces under Pedro Menéndez arrive to eliminate what they see as a threat to their territorial claims. The conflict escalates when storms wreck French ships along the coast. Spanish soldiers hunt down the shipwrecked survivors near Matanzas Inlet and execute them. The story follows the colonists through their brief year of survival before Spanish forces destroy their settlement entirely. Baer draws from a 1705 Dutch manuscript by Pieter Vander Aa that compiled original French memoirs from Fort Caroline survivors. The narrative captures the desperation of religious refugees seeking freedom in an unforgiving landscape, only to face violent opposition from European rivals. The book reveals the human cost of colonial competition through the voices of those who lived and died in this forgotten chapter of American history.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, american-history
Vibes: emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: colonial-rivalry, religious-refugees
Setting: Florida, Fort Caroline, Matanzas Inlet
Period: 1564, 1705
230 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Content warnings: death, violence