Customer Reviews

Laudonniere & Fort Caroline: History and Documents

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Charles E. Bennett, the distinguished and long-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Jacksonville, Florida, spent his spare time while in Washington, D.C. combing the U.S. National Archives, the special collections of the U.S. Library of Congress and -- while home or traveling -- in various university collections in Florida, Spain and in the Caribbean tracking down and securing translations of various documents and letters regarding the early exploration and history of Florida. This book is a direct result of such efforts and Bennett is to be commended for producing a book that few other scholars who would have had the interest, determination and financial resources to produce.

While much of the focus of early American history is on the English colonies and the efforts of the British to colonize New England, Virginia and Georgia, the reality is that -- for Florida -- it was the conflict between the French trying to establish themselves at Fort Caroline (along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville) and the Spanish (who landed and established themselves in and around what is now Saint Augustine) that laid-out the initial foundation of the early history of what would become Florida.

Divided into two parts -- "The History" and "The Documents" -- and, supplemented, with illustrations and a modest index, this volume serves readers and historians as one of the best single-source books on the place and role of the French in early Florida history. The text is very readable as well; one can sense immediately that Bennett put his heart and a great deal of time into the compilation and writing of this book.

Highly recommended for students interested in early Florida history and an essential purchase for college and public library collections in Florida and Georgia.

R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University

Kudos to U Alabama Press for publishing this volume in paper! The documents, ably selected, narrate the fascinating backstory behind the founding of St. Augustine. Bennett's explanations lean heavily on the idea of Ft. Caroline, in present-day Jacksonville, as America's crucible of religious freedom (an ahistorical claim at best). But the readings are thoughtfully introduced, nicely presented, and fascinating on their own. This book is a "must have" for all aficionados and students of early Florida.