Equinoctial France

The Equinoctial France represented the second attempt by the French to settle in Brazil, in the Maranhão region between 1612 and 1615.

The origin of the name is related to the territory of conquest, since it was close to the Equator line, which was previously called the Equinoctial line.

This event took place after France Antarctica, a French colony that lasted about fifteen years in Rio de Janeiro.

Historical Context:Summary

Since the arrival of the Portuguese in America, other European peoples had been disputing the lands found in order to explore them.

In the meantime, Portugal, the greatest European maritime power of the 15th and 16th centuries, was disputing territories in America, alongside Spain. The Spaniards took the lead when Christopher Columbus reached the Caribbean in 1492.

Furthermore, French and Dutch sought to establish themselves on the coast of the Portuguese colony in America during the 16th and 17th centuries.

There were several attempts, however, the Portuguese defended the territory fighting the invasions.

We need to remember that at first, Portugal did not settle settlers in the territory. The activity was limited to trading pau-brasil with the indigenous people. However, with the siege of the region, the Portuguese Crown began to send people with the intention of populating and establishing a colony.

Populating the land was an important tactic found by the Portuguese Crown in order to consolidate the Portuguese presence in the territory. In this way, the invasions that were increasingly increasing in the face of the eagerness of the European peoples for exploration and conquest were avoided.

French in Rio de Janeiro (1555)

At that time, France was going through difficult times, with clashes between Protestants and Catholics. Thus, the Protestants who were being persecuted by the Catholic Church and the French crown found in Portuguese America a more peaceful stronghold.

When they arrived here, in 1555, they took possession of the city of Rio de Janeiro and built a fort in Guanabara Bay, the current Villegagnon fort.

Thus, the first French colony in the country was founded:France Antarctica, by French Calvinist Nicolas Durand Villegagnon.

In 1560, the Portuguese prepared to expel the French invaders who had the support of the Tamoios Indians. However, they were not victorious, being defeated during the government of the third governor general of Brazil, Mem de Sá, in 1567.

Daniel de La Touche's Expedition (1612)

From then on, the French decided to occupy another part of Portuguese colonial territory. In March 1612, an expedition led by Daniel de La Touche (1570-1631) allied with the Tupinambás Indians.

The indigenous tribes and the French were already familiar with each other, as navigators from France already roamed the region. La Touche himself has been there twice.

The natives, in turn, nicknamed the French yellow parrots , for these were blond and chatty like birds.

With this, they founded a second French colony called “Equinoctial France ”, whose capital was the city of São Luís in honor of the king and patron saint of France.

Despite being of a Calvinist religion, Daniel de La Touche had Capuchin (Franciscan) friars in his squadron who said the first mass for the foundation of the city. In three years, the French territory expanded to the current states of Pará, Amapá and Tocantins.

The Portuguese, at this time, were linked to the Spaniards by the Iberian Union. However, they did not neglect the colony's affairs and it must be remembered that the Spaniards were historical enemies of the French.

They appointed commander Jerônimo de Albuquerque and Alexandre Moura, who gathered a large number of Portuguese-Spanish and indigenous soldiers. After many battles, the French were expelled for good in 1615.

The French, however, never gave up on establishing a colony in South America. Finally, they managed to do it in the territory that is now French Guiana, with the foundation of Cayenne in 1637.

Curiosities

• São Luís is the only capital of the country founded by the French.
• The French would return to Rio de Janeiro in 1711, kidnap the city and demand a ransom so as not to destroy it. The Cariocas managed to gather the necessary sum and got rid of the enemy.
• On September 8, 2014, the Casa de Cultura Huguenot Daniel de La Touche was opened in São Luís, with the aim of preserving the memory of the French who founded the city together with the Tupinambá indigenous people.
• The French colony in Maranhão was the theme of the sama Grande Rio school, at Carnival 2002, in Rio de Janeiro, with the theme "Yellow Parrots in the Enchanted Lands of Maranhão".