- Fort Coligny
Fort Coligny was a fortress founded by
Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon inRio de Janeiro ,Brazil in1555 , in what constituted the so-calledFrance Antarctique historical episode.For protection against attacks by hostile Indians and the Portuguese, Villegaignon built the fortress with the help of the 500 colonists who travelled with him in two ships armed by the king of France, on a small
island called Serigipe by the Indians of the region, near the mouth of the largeGuanabara Bay . The island was rocky and almost barren, but served Villegaignon's purpose of being near the shore, at the same time achieving a good defensive position against attacks from sea and land.The fortress fell and was destroyed in
1560 under the siege ofPortugal 's navy and troops under the command ofMem de Sá , thirdGovernor-General of Brazil. Villegaignon had already returned to France, in1558 .The fortress was named as such in honor of Villegaignon's supporter and friend, the French
Admiral and leader of theHuguenots ,Gaspard de Coligny . After the foundation of Rio de Janeiro in1565 byEstácio de Sá and the expulsion of the French in1567 a new fortress was built there by the Portuguese, in order to defend the mouth of the Guanabara Bay, by crossing fire with two other fortresses, Guajará and Santa Cruz. This fortress was almost totally destroyed by bombardment in a revolt of the Navy, in1893 . Today, the island, which was renamed "Island of Villegaignon ", is home to the Naval School since 1938, and is now permanently connected to the continent, near theSantos Dumont Airport .ee also
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History of France
*French colonization of the Americas
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