Battle of Rio de Janeiro (1558)

Battle of Rio de Janeiro
Part of France Antarctique
1550s accounts–based 1660s map of France Antarctique in the Guanabara Bay, 1555
Date 1558 Location Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Result Portuguese victory Henriville destroyed
Belligerents
Portugal	France Tamoyo allies
Commanders and leaders
Mem de Sá	Bois-le-Comte
Strength
260 men	1,150 men
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Rio de Janeiro took place in 1558 on the French town at Rio de Janeiro, called Henriville. The Portuguese, though in far smaller numbers, defeated the French and made them flee to the jungle. The French town was then burnt by Mem de Sá, the Portuguese governor.

Background

Further information: France Antarctique

A few years before, the French admiral and colonist Villegagnon and his friend and comrade, Admiral Coligny, managed to build a fort in the area of modern-day Rio de Janeiro which they called Fort Coligny. As the French colony grew in size and power it was named Henriville and became a serious threat to the Portuguese establishment in Brazil.

References

• A Tentativa dos Franceses se estabelecerem no Brasil (in Portuguese)