Military
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Jean Ribault arrived at la Caroline on August 28, 1565, with reinforcements for the failing colony as a Spanish flotilla bent on ejecting the French followed close behind. After escaping near-capture, Ribault sailed south to destroy the Spanish, but a violent storm wrecked his fleet. Assuming la Caroline was now vulnerable, Spanish commander Pedro Menéndez ordered an overland assault, and a French traitor led 500 Spaniards through jungle and swamp to capture the poorly guarded colony. The Spaniards killed 143 French colonists but spared 70 women and children. Laudonnière, le Moyne, and 40-50 others escaped into the woods and eventually back to France, while only one Spaniard died. Seeking revenge, a French force led by Dominique de Gourgues returned to Fort de la Caroline, then called San Mateo, in April 1568; with Timucuan help the French surprised the Spaniards and captured the fort, after which Gourgues sailed home and the Spanish reoccupied it until 1569.
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