History
Natal is situated where the river Potenji meets the atlantic. The right side of the river where choosen as good strategical location 1597 because the portuguese settlement needed to protect themselves against france who wanted to do business with the local indians, potiguares. In 1598 the building of the Fortress of three wise kings was started by a group lead by Manuel Mascarenhas Homem, the governor of Pernambuco. Later in the end of 1599 the city Natal was founded, to be exactly it was on the 25th of december. Natal means christmas in portuguese.
In 1633 the dutches claimed Natal as their city, but in 1654 the portuguese took the city back. Because of the sandy soil they didn´t see any possibility to grow sugar cane and Natal wasn´t growing as fast as Pernambuco. The sugar cane dominated the farms from Bahia to Paraiba. The dutch people were also strong in Pernambuco and Olinda where you today can find traces from that time.
For a time, the kingdom of Portugal moved to and settled in Rio de Janeiro. In 1817 the people of the northeast was trying to get more independance from Portugal but the revolution failed, but later the independence was a fact in the year 1822. When the northeast province went independent from the rest of the country it was one of the most liberated parts of brasil. They ended with slavery ten years before the rest part of brasil.
Natal was in the beginning of the 19th century divided in two parts. The lower part of the city in the surrounding of the pier were named Cidade Baixa. The higher part of the city were named Cidade Alta situated on the hills with church and government office. At that time the city was still small and in 1930 people were more and more moving in to the city. The fastest changes of Natal were taken place during the second world war. At that time the airport was constructed to be used as a base for the american military supplying the allied in africa. The american soldiers brought new products to the region and also their open minded way of thinking, making a big change to the life in Natal.