Equinoctial France

De la Ravardière had discovered the region in 1604 but the death of the king, Henry IV postponed his plans to start its colonization.

An important difference in relation to France Antarctique is that this new colony was not motivated by escape from religious persecutions by Protestant Huguenots (see French Wars of Religion).

A Portuguese army assembled in the Captaincy of Pernambuco, under the command of Alexandre de Moura, was able to mount a military expedition, which defeated and expelled the French colonists in 1615, less than four years after their arrival in the land.

A few years later, in 1620, Portuguese and Brazilian colonists arrived in number and São Luís started to develop, with an economy based mostly in sugar cane and slavery.

It was only after 1674, when the colony came under the direct control of the French crown and a competent Governor took office, that France Équinoxiale became a reality.