The Huguenots were an offshoot of Calvinism, founded by a protestant John Calvin. Calvinism had a staunch belief in per-destination and has many similarities to Puritanism. Much like the Puritans, the Huguenots were driven out of France; by the end of the 16th century more than 200,000 had left.
On this day November 1st, in 1555, the Huguenots found the colony of France Antarctique. French military leader Nicolas Duran de Villegaigon helped the Huguenots find refuge in Brazil, in what is modern day Rio de Janeiro.
The Huguenots built Fort Coligny as soon as they got there, but this did not stop the Portuguese from destroying the colony in 1567, to keep rivals from settling on their land. Rio de Janeiro is now the second largest city of Brazil. This main sector of the city has a population of around 6.3 million with another 12 million in its metropolitan area, making it one of the largest cities in the world.