Natal, Brazil
Natal, is a city located in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 712.317.
Geography
Natal is located at 5° 46' South, 35° 12' West, in the far northeast of South America. The city has a total area of 170 km². Natal lies on the Atlantic Ocean, by the mouth of the Potengi river.
History
The northeastern tip of South America, cape Sao Roque, 20 miles to the north of Natal, was first visited by European navigators in 1501, in the 1501-1502 Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci, who named the spot after the saint of the day. For decades thereafter, no permanent European settlement was established in the area, inhabited by the Potiguar tribe.
In 1597, after some years during which French pirates, led by Jacques Riffault, established regular commercial activities with the native population, the ninth Portuguese Governor-General of Brazil, Francisco de Sousa, ordered the expulsion of the buccaneers. The successful expedition was led by the Captain-Major of the Captaincy of Pernambuco, Manuel de Mascarenhas Homem, with the assistance of Jerônimo de Albuquerque Maranhão.
Albuquerque Maranhão began on January 6, 1598 the construction of the Fort of the Holy Kings or of the Magi-Kings ("Forte dos Santos Reis" or "Forte dos Reis Magos"), named after the Three Wise Men, honored in the Christian feast of the Epiphany, celebrated on that day.
On December 25, 1599, Natal (whose name means Nativity or Christmas in Portuguese) was established as a village outside the fort.
