In the meantime the Portuguese Court had not been inactive, and measures were taken to expel these intruders upon the territory granted to Portugal by the famous bull of Pope Alexander VI. Information of the actual state of the colony was first procured, but the death of D. Joao IV postponed action for a time. The growth of the colony finally aroused the Portuguese Court, and the governor-general of Bahia, Mem de sa, was furnished with a few vessels from Portugal and ordered to proceed at once to expel the French from Portuguese territory. Mem de Sa left Bahia—then the capital of Brazil—on January I0th, I560, and, after touching at various points along the coast in quest of volunteers, entered the bay of Rio de Janeiro on’ February 21st. Villegagnon had left for France in October, I559, and the colony was in a very disordered condition. On March 15th, 1560, the Portuguese opened fire on Fort Coligny, and on the following day affected a landing and engaged the French in a hand-to-hand struggle. The fight was stubbornly contested on both sides, but the French were finally overpowered and retreated to the mainland under cover of the night. Mem de Sa then razed the fortifications and carried off the guns, but did not attempt to pursue the French to the mainland, probably through fear of their Indian allies. He proceeded at once to S. Vicente, near the present city of Santos, and thence on June 18th to Bahia, where he was received with great manifestations of joy over his victory. Immediately after the departure of the Portuguese, the French returned to the ruins of Fort Coligny, which they reconstructed. They also fortified the nearest point on the mainland, thus making their position more secure than before.