René Goulaine de Laudonnière (abt. 1529 - abt. 1574)

Born about 1529 in Poitou, France

Died about 1574 at about age 45 in St. Germain-en-Laye, France

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Biography

The “first” Thanksgiving held by the Pilgrims in 1621 was not the first celebration held in America or the New World. History records several “giving thanks” events were mentioned by early explorers such as Coronado, Juan Ponce de Leon, or Hernando de Soto. It was pretty much standard after crossing the Atlantic in a tiny boat or wandering across the continent with no map for guidance to be very thankful for having arrived at a destination. Florida claims two “first” Thanksgiving celebrations. One at what would become St. Augustine in 1565 and the other in 1564 at what was called Fort Caroline on the May River whose true location has become a source of a dispute between Georgia and Florida. ^[1] Florida claims the May River is now known as the St Johns River, at what became Jacksonville, Florida. ^[2] While new archeological evidence now points to a different location, on the Altamaha River in Georgia. ^[3]

The French had been attempting to colonize the southeastern coast of what are now the states of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida as early as 1562 in an expedition led by Jean Ribault. [6]. Unfortunately, this effort was unsuccessful and in 1564 a second expedition led by Ribault’s former Lieutenant (René Laudonniére ) was sent in a second attempt at colonization. A three ship fleet commanded by René Goulaine de Laudonniére departed Le Havre de Grâce, France on April 22, 1564 with 300 colonists many of them French Huguenots. (Another list itemizes the 300 people as: 110 sailors, 120 soldiers, and the rest artisans, servants, and page boys. Four women were also aboard and, reportedly, this caused trouble.) ^[4] The Fleet arrived on the shore of what they called New France on June 22, 1564. [7] The claim of a “Thanksgiving” event rests on a description (dated 30 June 1564) which was mentioned by Laudonniere in his memoir published a few years after the events he describes. “On the morrow, about break of day, I commanded a trumpet to be sounded, that, being assembled, we might give God thanks for our favorable and happy arrival. Then we sang a psalm of thanksgiving unto God, beseeching him that it would please him of his grace to continue his accustomed goodness toward us, his poor servants, and aid us in all our enterprises, that all might turn to his glory and the advancement of our King. The prayer ended, every man began to take courage.” ^{[5] [6]} Reportedly joining Laudonniere and the French settlers were members of the local Timucuan tribe who shared a feast of Thanksgiving. ^[7]

There are few facts known about Rene Laudonniere. Another variation of his name was Rene de Launniere. He never married. He was born about 1529 in Poitou, France and was considered to be a Huguenot nobleman from either the Goulaine or Burdigale families. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

Of the years after his return to France author Charles Bennett wrote: “After returning to France from Fort Caroline, Laudonniere followed the sea. Little is known of his activities after 1572 when he was a merchant mariner, at La Rochelle. A recently found manuscript shows that he was serving his king in 1573 as "Captain of the Western Fleet."...”^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.legendsofamerica.com/fl-fortcaroline.html#Dispute
2. ↑ Derby, Kevin. “The First Thanksgiving on Florida’s First Coast”. November 19, 2011. [1]
3. ↑ Florida Highjacks Discovery of Fort Caroline - Examiner Feb 22, 2014 Oldest Fortified Settlement In North America May be Located in Georgia - Science Daily, Feb 21, 2014 Scholars say ancient Fort Caroline nowhere near Jacksonville The Florida Times Union, Feb 21, 2014
4. ↑ The Spell of the West. René Goulaine de Laudonnière http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/america/1564laudonniere.html
5. ↑ Laudonnière, René Goulaine de. History of the First Attempt of the French (The Huguenots) to Colonize the Newly Discovered Country of Florida. Page 237 (30 June 1564) [2]
6. ↑ French, B.F. (editor). Historical Collections of Louisiana and Florida, including Translations of Original Manuscripts Relating to Their Discovery and Settlement, with Numerous Historical and Biographical Notes. (New York: J. Sabin & Sons, 1869). Pages 165-362.[3] Wisconsin Historical Society 2003
7. ↑ Laudonnière, René Goulaine de, and Charles E. Bennett. Three Voyages. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2001.
8. ↑ [4] Armand Guéraud, in Biographie Bretonne, ed. M. Levot, for the Goulaine theory
9. ↑ A.F.Lièvre, Histoire des protestants et des églises réformées du Poitou, p.46 for the Bourdigalle claim.
10. ↑ Osbourne, Peyton. Rene de Laudonniere [5] Blog dated 6 September 2012
11. ↑ Charles Bennett and Jerald T. Milanich. Laudonniere & Fort Caroline: History and Documents. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 2001. https://muse.jhu.edu/ (accessed December 3, 2016). http://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/300674.

• Wikipedia [8]
• Renè Goulaine de Laudonnière A Frenchman's Time in the New World [9]
• The French of Fort Caroline and The Timucua of Florida http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/amerbegin/exploration/text4/lemoyne.pdf