[dreamingmark]

Can anyone steer me to some good historical books or websites about the brief French presence in Florida? I mean I know there are some French-sounding names down South, like Tavernier, but I always wondered about them.. thanks.. lol

[riveree]

The Fort Caroline National Monument is here in Jacksonville. This was a location for the French in the 1500's. It's a beautiful area on some of our highest land here. The monument is on the bluffs overlooking the river - you can see how it was a great military lookout.

Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve & Fort Caroline National Memorial - Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve & Fort Caroline National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)

Today Fort Caroline is a really nice part of Jacksonville to live in. Lots of trees and great access to the river and the ocean .

[Floridienne]

Originally Posted by dreamingmark

Can anyone steer me to some good historical books or websites about the brief French presence in Florida? I mean I know there are some French-sounding names down South, like Tavernier, but I always wondered about them.. thanks.. lol

Hi Mark,
I live in Southwest Florida myself and like you I wondered about the number of French names I have seen around here. I decided to do some research and will let you know what I have found.

[bale002]

The French, British and Spanish competed for trading and military interests in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico region for centuries, and Florida was a battleground for that competition: in fact, in what is today the territory of the United States, the battleground ranged from Florida (St. Augustine was the capital) to New Orleans, at least as far as the French are concerned.

You can probably find in any half-decent bookstore general history books that have chapters on Florida during the European colonial period, and if you want more detailed sources you probably have to go to a research university library or possibly a historical society library.

Hope this helps and good luck!

[BlueWillowPlate]

I just read this article recently:
A French Connection
Snippet:
Long before the Pilgrims sailed in 1620, another group of dissident Christians sought a haven in which to worship freely. These French Calvinists, or Huguenots, hoped to escape the sectarian fighting between Catholics and Protestants that had bloodied France since 1560.

Landing in balmy Florida in June of 1564, at what a French explorer had earlier named the River of May (now the St. Johns River near Jacksonville), the French émigrés promptly held a service of “thanksgiving."

[riveree]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

I just read this article recently:
A French Connection
Snippet:
Long before the Pilgrims sailed in 1620, another group of dissident Christians sought a haven in which to worship freely. These French Calvinists, or Huguenots, hoped to escape the sectarian fighting between Catholics and Protestants that had bloodied France since 1560.

Landing in balmy Florida in June of 1564, at what a French explorer had earlier named the River of May (now the St. Johns River near Jacksonville), the French émigrés promptly held a service of “thanksgiving."

Along similar lines, I recently found out that the First Coast (NorthEast Florida coast) was a hotbed of missions. When you look at a map of spanish missions, the greatest concentration of Spanish missions is in and around St. Augustine (and the oldest one being in St. Augustine as well).

[Strel]

Originally Posted by dreamingmark

Can anyone steer me to some good historical books or websites about the brief French presence in Florida? I mean I know there are some French-sounding names down South, like Tavernier, but I always wondered about them.. thanks.. lol

Tallahassee was a French trading post at some point, or had one. Lafayette was supposed to retire here and never did, but some French royalty fled to the area after the Revolution, I understand.

We are one of the few cities in the US that celebrates Bastille Day.

[Floridienne]

The Huguenot settlers had to leave or were massacred by the Spaniards in the 16th and 17th century.

Lafayette never visited the land that was granted to him. He used it to grow limes, olives and to produce silk. The colony failed and most of the residents went back to France or New Orleans. A few remained, living in an area called Frenchtown.

I know that in those days people had a lot of children but does that justify the number of French names you find in Florida now?

[tallrick]

This is interesting because I know that my relatives in Lake City included French desendants. However, I always thought they were just Cajuns or something. It would be something to see what the real story was.