First Protestant Confession of Faith in the New World

The first Protestant colony in the New World was known as La France Antarctique, at the site of what is now known as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was settled by French Huguenots under the direction of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny in 1555 and came to an end when destroyed by the Portuguese in 1567. The colony itself was led by Nicholas Durand de Villegaignon, who for his treachery against the Reformed later came to be known as the "Cain of America." Jean de Léry wrote a fascinating account of his interactions with the local Tupinamba Indians, entitled History of a Voyage to the Land of Brazil. In 1559, pastors were sent to minister to the colony by John Calvin. But by this time, Villegaignon was beginning to show his true colors. The persecution suffered by the Huguenots, including Jean du Bourdel, Matthieu Verneuil, Pierre Bourdon and André la Fon, gave rise to a 1559 Confession of Faith, written by the aforementioned in response to queries from Villegaignon, known as the Guanabara Confession, or Martyrs' Confession, that was the first Protestant Confession of Faith written in the New World. Within 12 hours after it was written, its authors were executed by Villegaignon. The Confession was recorded by de Léry, brought back to Europe and published by Jean Crespin. The Guanabara Confession is due to be included in the forthcoming second volume of James T. Dennison, Jr.'s series of Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries in English Translation.