Villegagnon Island (former Serigipe Island—original Portuguese: ''Ilha de Villegagnon''—also known in English as: Villegaignon Island, Island of Villegagnon or Island of Villegaignon) is located near the mouth of the large

Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay ( pt, Baía de Guanabara, ) is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói a ...

, in the city of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

History

The island's name was given in honor of its first European occupier, the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon Nicolas Durand, sieur de Villegaignon, also Villegagnon (1510 – 9 January 1571) was a Commander of the Knights of Malta, and later a French naval officer (vice-admiral of Brittany) who attempted to help the Huguenots in France escape persecutio ...

, whose troops occupied the island in 1555, consequently building

Fort Coligny Fort Coligny was a fortress founded by Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1555, in what constituted the so-called France Antarctique historical episode. For protection against attacks by hostile Indians and the Portugues ...

on the island when attempting to establish the

France Antarctique France Antarctique (formerly also spelled ''France antartique'') was a French colony in Rio de Janeiro, in modern-day Brazil, which existed between 1555 and 1567, and had control over the coast from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio. The colony quickly ...

colony. With the arrival of more Portuguese troops from the São Vicente ''Capitania'' on March 15, 1560, Villegagnon Island became the stage for the attack from the Portuguese army commanded by

Mem de Sá Mem de Sá (c. 1500 – 2 March 1572) was a Governor-General of the Portuguese colony of Brazil from 1557 to 1572. He was born in Coimbra, Kingdom of Portugal, around 1500, the year of discovery of Brazil by a naval fleet commanded by Pedro Á ...

, who deployed his troops on the island. Two days later the French abandoned the fort looking for refuge with the Tamoios, a native tribe from Brazil. The fort was destroyed and on March 17, 1560 the first Portuguese mass was celebrated on the island.

's victory was facilitated by the information about the fort which had been provided by Jean de Cointra and Jacques Le Balleur, French dissenters who had escaped from Villegaignon. A new fortress was established by the Portuguese in the following century. Since 1938, the island has been the home of the

Brazilian Naval School The Naval School ( pt, Escola Naval, EN) is a higher education military academy which aims to train officers for the Brazilian Navy. It is located in Rio de Janeiro, on Villegagnon Island just inside of Guanabara Bay. History The Brazilian ...

, under the responsibility of the

Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= " Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship '' Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibio ...

References

{{Coord, 22, 54, 50, S, 43, 09, 35, W, display=title, source:ptwiki Atlantic islands of Brazil Guanabara Bay Geography of Rio de Janeiro (city) Landforms of Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazilian Navy France Antarctique