Dominique de Gourgue

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Dominique de Gourgue, or Domingue de Gourgues, was a french noble man and soldier who led an attack against Spaniards in North-Florida in 1568. He was a captain in King Charles IX's army.

[edit] Youth

Dominique's early life is not well known. He descended from the old and powerful family of Gourgue, which was one of the most important family of the french city of Bordeaux. It is known that he learned to fight very early, being captured by Spaniards when still very young. Then he was used as a galley slave and was treated very rudely.

[edit] Situation in the colonies

Philippe II of Spain was such a cruel king. He was a catholic king and hated Huguenots. He and his troops murdered many French Huguenots in the colonies, and King Charles IX of France did not really care about it, by the fact he had himself not too much consideration for his own Huguenots. The families, orphans and wives of the killed Huguenots where sad that the King himself had no care about what happened. So they signed and sent him a letter telling the king they wanted him to do something for them. He trew that letter away and paid no more attention to the problem. But Dominique, as an Huguenot himself, thought he could not let that situation without issue. He wanted to do something.

[edit] The revenge

Dominique could not do anything. He cared for the honor of France, and wanted the Huguenots to be avenged. So he sold everything he had at that time to build a crew an to charter three boats. He borrowed the rest he needed from his brother Antoine de Gourgue. He sailed to Cuba with two hundred men, never telling them the goal of their trip. Once in Cuba, he told them, and then they approve his choice of revenge.