LAUDONNIERE, 1L'fidYnyite, RENk DE ( ? e.1586). A French navigator of the sixteenth century. In 1562 he was with Ribant (q.v.) when the latter made his unsuccessful at tempt to establish a Huguenot colony at Port Royal in South Carolina, and two years later was dispatched at the head of a second expedition to the New World. On June 25, 1564, lie arrived off the mouth of the Saint John's River, Florida, and, sailing up the river for a distance of five miles, began the erec tion of a fort, which he named Caroline, in honor of Charles IX. Laudonniere's management in volved the colonists in quarrels with the Indians, upon whom they were dependent for supplies. of the number, mostly impoverished gentle men, who resented the hard labor to which they were put, revolted against the rule of their leader, and forced him to sanction a marauding expedi tion to pillage the Spanish settlements in Cuba. Affairs went front bad to worse, and the colony was threatened with destruction for want of food. On August 3. 1565. Capt. John Hawkins, the celebrated English slaver and privateer, arrived off the mouth of the river and supplied the colo nists with provisions, selling them also one of his ships, on which Laudonniere intended to return to France. On August 29th Jean Ribald arrived with seven ships and some 300 men, and super seded Laudonniere in the command, the latter being ordered home to defend himself against accusations of tyranny and treason. llis depar
ture for France was delayed by the appearance of a Spanish fleet under Menendez de Aviles, which had been dispatched for the purpose of driving out the French. On September IOth Ribaut set out in his ships to attack the Spaniards at Saint Augustine, leaving Landonniere in com mand at the fort. About ten days later Menen dez de Aviles stormed the fort, and a massacre of the colonists ensued. Landonniere suc ceeded in effecting his escape. With the rest of the survivors of the massacre he was rescued by the remnant of the French fleet. He went to Eng land, and did not return to France until 1566. Twenty years later lie published L'histoire no table de la Floride, con tenant les trots voyages faites en ieelle par des eapitaines et des pilotes franca is, translated in Ilaklnyt's Principal Yuri gat i0118 ( 1589), and in French's Historical Collec tions of Louisiana. The last-named book also contains other original documents relating to this episode, which is fully treated in Markman, Pioneers of France in the Neu. World (Boston, 1865). See MENENDEZ DE AVILES; BIRAUT.