resistance. The first French expedition to Florida occurred in 1562, composed of Protestants, and was led by Jean Ribault and permitted the short-lived establishment of Fort Caroline, named after the French king Charles IX. These first attempts at Huguenot colonization would be taken over by Catholics, following the Huguenot repression in the French wars of religion. Expansion (17th century) North America Towards the end of his reign Henry IV of France started to look at the possibility of ventures abroad, with both America and the Levant being among the possibilities. In 1604, the French explorer Samuel Champlain initiated the first important French involvement in Northern America, founding Port Royal as the first permanent European settlement in North America north of Florida in 1605, and founding the first permanent French establishment at Quebec in 1608. In 1632, Isaac de Razilly became involved, at the request of Cardinal Richelieu, in the colonization of Acadia, by taking possession of the Habitation at Port-Royal (now Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) and developing it into a French colony. The King gave Razilly the official title of lieutenant-general for New France. He took on military tasks such as ordering the taking of control of Fort Pentagouet at Majabigwaduce on the Penobscot Bay, which had been given to France in an earlier Treaty, and to inform the English they were to vacate all lands North of Pemaquid. This resulted in all the French interests in Acadia being restored. Robert de La Salle departed from La Rochelle, France, on July 24, 1684, with the objective of setting up a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi, eventually establishing Fort Saint Louis in Texas. The French colonial drive increased in the 17th century, the "conquest of the souls" being an integral part of the constitution of Nouvelle-France, leading to the development of the Jesuit missions in North America. The efforts of the Jesuits in North America were paralleled by the Jesuit China missions on the other side of the world. In France, the Huguenots were finally defeated by Royal forces in the Siege of La Rochelle (1627–1628): Cardinal Richelieu blockaded the city for 14 months, until the city surrendered and lost its mayor and its privileges. The growing persecution of the Huguenots culminated with the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685. Many Huguenots emigrated, founding such cities as New Rochelle in the vicinity of today's