where did france settle in the new world
French colonization of the Americas
In 1560 Mem de Sá , the new Governor - General of Brazil , received from the Portuguese government the command to expel the French . With a fleet of 26 warships and 2,000 soldiers , on 15 March 1560 , he attacked and destroyed Fort Coligny within three days , but was unable to drive off their inhabitants and defenders , because they escaped to the mainland with the help of the Native Brazilians , where they continued to live and to work . Admiral Villegaignon had returned to France in 1558 , disgusted with the religious tension that existed between French Protestants and Catholics , who had come also with the second group ( see French Wars of Religion ) . Urged by two influential Jesuit priests who had come to Brazil with Mem de Sá , named José de Anchieta and Manuel da Nóbrega , and who had played a big role in pacifying the Tamoios , Mem de Sá ordered his nephew , Estácio de Sá to assemble a new attack force . Estácio de Sá founded the city of Rio de Janeiro on March 1 , 1565 , and fought the Frenchmen for two more years . Helped by a military reinforcement sent by his uncle , on January 20 , 1567 , he imposed final defeat on the French forces and decisively expelled them from Brazil , but died a month later from wounds inflicted in the battle . Coligny 's and Villegaignon 's dream had lasted a mere 12 years .
In 1560 Mem de Sá , the new Governor - General of Brazil , received from the Portuguese government the command to expel the French . With a fleet of 26 warships and 2,000 soldiers , on 15 March 1560 , he attacked and destroyed Fort Coligny within three days , but was unable to drive off their inhabitants and defenders , because they escaped to the mainland with the help of the Native Brazilians , where they continued to live and to work . Admiral Villegaignon had returned to France in 1558 , disgusted with the religious tension that existed between French Protestants and Catholics , who had come also with the second group ( see French Wars of Religion ) . Urged by two influential Jesuit priests who had come to Brazil with Mem de Sá , named José de Anchieta and Manuel da Nóbrega , and who had played a big role in pacifying the Tamoios , Mem de Sá ordered his nephew , Estácio de Sá to assemble a new attack force . Estácio de Sá founded the city of Rio de Janeiro on March 1 , 1565 , and fought the Frenchmen for two more years . Helped by a military reinforcement sent by his uncle , on January 20 , 1567 , he imposed final defeat on the French forces and decisively expelled them from Brazil , but died a month later from wounds inflicted in the battle . Coligny 's and Villegaignon 's dream had lasted a mere 12 years .