8 November 2025 14:40

France Antarctique, the forgotten French outpost on the coast of Brazil


Almost 500 years ago, French ships landed in what is now Brazil with a mission to found ‘France Antarctique’, a new colony on South America’s Atlantic coast. Riven by religious divisions and stormed by Portuguese rivals, the project lasted just a few years – but would end up reshaping Europeans’ understanding of the so-called New World.

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