In 1555, in an effort to find refuge against persecution for the Huguenots, French vice-admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon led 600 soldiers and colonists to Guanabara Bay. There they founded Fort Coligny on the small island of Serigipe (here called I. De Villegagnon). The French continued to colonize La France Antarctique for 12 years, both on several islands in Guanabara Bay as well as on the mainland, in the area that later became Rio de Janeiro. The Portuguese, who had made a more concerted effort to colonize South America, began to feel threatened by the French colony, and ordered it destroyed. The French largely gave up their efforts to colonize South America, focusing instead on their influence in North America and the Caribbean.

References: Pastoureau, DUVAL VI A #5.

Condition: A

Original color on watermarked paper with a couple of tiny spots and light toning primarily confined to blank margins.