Person

Jean Ribault

1520–1565 · 16th century

Jean Ribault was a French Huguenot naval officer who led French attempts to colonise Florida. Backed by Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, he explored the coast in 1562 and left a garrison at Charlesfort, in present-day South Carolina. In 1565 he brought reinforcements to Fort Caroline, but his fleet was wrecked by a storm, and he and most of his men were killed by the Spanish under Pedro Menéndez de Avilés at Matanzas Inlet.

Jean Ribault
Image: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

French Florida

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Jean Ribault. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jean-ribault
MLA
“Jean Ribault.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jean-ribault. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Jean Ribault.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jean-ribault.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Jean Ribault’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jean-ribault (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻