Many believe that some of America’s earliest Protestant settlers were the Pilgrims, in 1620. French Protestants, known as Huguenots, settled on the South-east coast of the United States long before that. They provide a perfectly fascinating moral lesson as to what happens when self-will overwhelms obedience. From an early history book:
Meanwhile things went badly indeed at Fort Caroline. The Indians had been friendly, but the soldiers had quarreled among themselves. When provisions became scarce and there was no sign of help, they mutinied and killed their captain. They said they would return home at all hazards, for they could not longer bear life in the wilderness.”
After the murderous mutineers killed their commanding officer, they made themselves a little boat. They planned to return to France by sailing it across the Atlantic. Some in the mutinous crew had the ability to properly anticipate the amount of necessary provisions.
The calculations were as simple as: “We will need one and a half pounds of food for each crew member for 45 days.” We may assume that such obvious calculations were made. We may also assume that mutineers would not stop reacting with extreme hostility toward anyone wanting to apply intelligent analysis to a problem.
“Nob0dy can tell us what to do.”, those who urged the accumulations of provisions before departure were told.
Too soon, the boatload of mutineers sailed for France.
A week or so after putting out to sea, they ran out of food. They were starving. Their tiny boat tossed on the endless ocean. One of the mutineers volunteered to let his shipmates kill and eat him so that they might survive. They did exactly that.
A day or two later, the surviving Huguenots were rescued by an English ship. The world soon heard the whole, sordid story. French Huguenots in America: mutiny, murder, and cannibalism. History was given a perfect example of how the results of spiritual disobedience were visited upon those who preferred self-will to obedience.
Obedient Spanish Catholics didn’t resort to mutiny when they didn’t get their own way. French Huguenots, trying to find a place for their disobedient schism, did. Obedient Catholics did not end up as mutinous cannibals. Some observers rightly understood:
Spanish Catholics settled the new world as good Catholics. French Huguenots settled in schism. They ended up as mutinous cannibals. Catholics didn’t.
French Huguenots in America: mutiny, murder, and cannibalism.
