Background, foundation and Dutch occupation , landmark of the city's founding, photographed from the
Newton Navarro Bridge , Natal's zero milestone On 25 December 1597, a new squadron entered the mouth of what is now the
Potengi River. The first measure taken by the expeditionaries was to secure themselves against attacks from Indigenous groups and French corsairs. The following year, on 25 December 1599, a mass was celebrated where the Parish Church of Our Lady of the Presentation now stands, marking the foundation of Natal. There is no consensus among historians regarding the true founder of the city, as historical documents about Natal's foundation were destroyed during the Dutch occupation of Rio Grande do Norte. Some historians credit Jerônimo de Albuquerque, while others attribute the founding to Manuel de Mascarenhas Homem. In 1601, by decree of the
Portuguese Crown, the Parish of Our Lady of the Presentation was created — the first
parish in Rio Grande do Norte. In 1631, a fleet of fourteen ships departed from
Recife and landed in
Ponta Negra, intending to conquer the Captaincy of Rio Grande, but the attempt failed. Only in December 1633 did the Dutch occupation truly begin, when Dutch forces arrived in Natal, wounded the captain-major Pero Mendes Gouveia, and seized the Barra do Rio Grande Fortress, renaming it Castle of Keulen. The fortress, previously built of clay, was reconstructed in masonry, and Natal was renamed New Amsterdam, in reference to the Dutch capital. The occupation ended only in 1654, when the Dutch were expelled by the Portuguese and New Amsterdam regained its original name, Natal. In 1661, the Netherlands officially recognized Portuguese sovereignty over northeastern Brazil through the
Treaty of The Hague. After the occupation, the Portuguese resumed control of the territory, expanding inland. However, this process was far from peaceful, as many Indigenous peoples were persecuted and decimated. Stability in the Captaincy of Rio Grande would only come at the end of the 17th century, under the governance of Bernardo Vieira de Melo.
From the 18th to the 19th century At the beginning of the 18th century, construction began on the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black People, completed in 1714. On 21 November 1753, a group of fishermen found a wooden box stranded on rocks along the right bank of the Potengi River, near the present-day Rosary Stone (
Pedra do Rosário). Inside was a statue of
Our Lady of the Rosary and a message stating that no misfortune would befall the place where the image rested. In the second half of the 18th century, construction began on the Church of Saint Anthony, the third Catholic temple in Natal, later nicknamed the "Church of the Rooster." In 1817, during the
Pernambucan Insurrection, the Rio Grande do Norte region joined the movement under the leadership of André de Albuquerque Maranhão, a wealthy sugar mill owner. On 29 March, he seized power in the city and formed a provisional government, but it lacked popular support. After the revolutionaries defeat in
Pernambuco, the movement lost momentum, and André was overthrown and wounded on 25 April, imprisoned in the Fortress of the Three Wise Men, and died the next day. On 7 September 1822, Brazil's independence from
Portugal was proclaimed in
São Paulo, but due to the distance, the news took time to reach Rio Grande do Norte. The province, now part of the
Empire of Brazil, celebrated independence in Natal on 22 January 1823, when the city had about 700 inhabitants. In 1862, the construction of the tower of the Parish Church of Our Lady of the Presentation was completed. On 4 August 1878, the telegraph service was inaugurated. On 28 September 1881, the Ribeira Railway Station was opened — the oldest train station in Rio Grande do Norte, currently operated by the Brazilian Urban Train Company. In 1888, the Natal City Council renamed Matriz Square as
André de Albuquerque Square, which marks the city's zero milestone, surrounded by important historical buildings. Finally, on 15 November 1889, with the fall of the monarchy and the
Proclamation of the Republic, Rio Grande do Norte became a state, with Natal remaining its capital. The second half of the 19th century was marked by the city's growth, driven by the
cotton cycle, along the banks of the Potengi River, where the
Port of Natal stands today.
Early decades of the 20th century The first decades of the 20th century were marked by intense modernization in the city. In 1901, the neighborhood Cidade Nova was created — corresponding today to the districts of Tirol and Petrópolis. On 24 March 1904, the Carlos Gomes Theater (
Alberto Maranhão Theatre since 1957) was inaugurated. Four years later, the first animal-drawn trams began operating, running from Silva Jardim Street to Priest João Maria Square. According to the 1920 census, Natal's population reached 30,696 inhabitants, almost double the 16,596 recorded in 1900. , was donated to the city by
Benito Mussolini From 1927 onward, Natal began to gain importance in the history of aviation, as seaplanes started landing on the waters of the Potengi River. On 19 March 1928, Januário Cicco founded the Natal Maternity Hospital, later renamed in his honor on 12 February 1950. In 1929, the office of
intendente (municipal administrator) was officially transformed into mayor, and Omar O'Grady, who had served since November 1924, became Natal's first mayor, remaining in office until 8 October 1930, when all mayors in Rio Grande do Norte were removed during a
revolutionary movement. On
New Year's Day of 1931, the Italian ship
Lazzaro Malocello, commanded by Commander Carlo Alberto Coraggio, arrived in Natal carrying the Capitoline Column, a piece of
Ancient Rome, donated by
Benito Mussolini to commemorate the first flight from Natal to
Rome, completed in 1928. On 6 January 1931, the city was visited by the
Italian Air Force, and two days later, the Capitoline Column was formally inaugurated. On 21 October 1932, a presidential decree created the
Port of Natal, which began operations three days later. ,
Getúlio Vargas, and the
United States,
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, during the
Potengi Conference, held aboard the
USS Humboldt on 28 January 1943, with
Harry Hopkins, Roosevelt's advisor (left) and
Jefferson Caffery,
US ambassador to Brazil (right) On the night of 23 November 1935, during a graduation ceremony at the Carlos Gomes Theater, the
Communist Uprising (
Intentona Comunista) erupted, targeting first the 21st Infantry Battalion Barracks, now the Winston Churchill State School. Two days later, rebels seized control of the city, forming a revolutionary popular committee. Several people were killed, and banks, warehouses, and shops were looted. The uprising spread to Recife the next day and to
Rio de Janeiro by 27 November, but it quickly lost strength as troops from
Ceará and
Paraíba arrived to suppress it. The rebels abandoned the city and were eventually defeated in the Doctor's Mountain (
Serra do Doutor) region, in
Campo Redondo, as they attempted to flee toward
Seridó.
World War II On 28 January 1943, the USS Humboldt docked at the Port of Natal, carrying
U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, returning from the
Casablanca Conference in
Morocco. On this occasion, Roosevelt met with
Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas. The meeting became known as the Potengi Conference, during which both leaders discussed Brazil's entry into the war — leading to the creation of the
Brazilian Expeditionary Force. With the advent of
World War II, Natal continued to grow rapidly, driven by the presence of Brazilian and Allied troops, especially Americans. Close relations developed between the locals and U.S. military personnel, with numerous social gatherings and dances, which introduced foreign musical styles and gradually transformed the city's cultural habits. Natal's population grew from 54,836 in 1940 to 103,215 in 1950, nearly doubling in just one decade. Due to its location near the "corner of South America," the
U.S. Department of War considered Natal "one of the four most strategic points in the world," alongside the
Suez Canal (
Egypt), the
Bosporus Strait (
Turkey), and the
Strait of Gibraltar (between
Africa and
Europe).
From the postwar period to the 1990s In 1946, during the administration of Mayor Sylvio Pedroza, the Circular Avenue — currently known as President Café Filho Avenue — was inaugurated. The following year, by the papal bull
Arduum Onus issued by
Pope Pius XII, the Diocese of Natal was elevated to the dignity of an
archdiocese, and Bishop Marcolino Esmeraldo, who had served since 1929, became its first archbishop, remaining in office until his death in 1967. On 24 August 1954, following the suicide of Getúlio Vargas,
Café Filho, a native of Natal, assumed the presidency of Brazil for the following fourteen months, becoming, to this day, the only person from Rio Grande do Norte to occupy the position. In 1956,
Djalma Maranhão, also from Natal, was appointed mayor by Governor Dinarte Mariz, and in 1960 he won the first direct mayoral election in the city's history. Among his achievements was the "Barefoot Campaign Also Learn to Read" (
Campanha de Pé no Chão Também se Aprende a Ler), which brought significant advances to local education. In 1964, with the establishment of the military regime in Brazil, Djalma Maranhão had his mandate revoked and was imprisoned in army barracks in the city, later being transferred to Recife and then to
Fernando de Noronha. After being released by a
habeas corpus from the
Supreme Federal Court (STF) in December 1964, he went into exile in
Montevideo,
Uruguay, where he lived until 1971, the year of his death. On 7 September 1965, the International Hotel of the Three Kings (
Hotel Internacional dos Reis Magos) was inaugurated on Meio Beach, operating for thirty years until 1995, and remaining abandoned until its demolition in January 2020. On 12 October of the same year, the Ministry of Aeronautics officially created the first rocket launch base in South America — the
Barreira do Inferno Launch Center — located in the municipality of
Parnamirim, earning Natal the nickname "Brazil's Space Capital." In 1967, the city's first master plan was drafted, and five years later the Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco Stadium (Castelão) was inaugurated, later renamed João Cláudio de Vasconcelos Machado Stadium (Machadão) in 1989. In May 1969, Mayor Agnelo Alves, who had governed Natal since 1966, was stripped of his political rights and imprisoned by the
military regime. From that date onward, the city's mayors were appointed by the
governor of Rio Grande do Norte, under Institutional Act No. 3 of 1966, which imposed
indirect elections for state governors and granted them the power to appoint the mayors of their capitals. On 26 September 1970, In 1974, the Municipal Building Code was established, construction began on the Ponta Negra Viaduct, The following year, the road to Ponta Negra was paved — later becoming Engineer Roberto Freire Avenue — and the BR-101 highway between Natal and Parnamirim was doubled. Also during the 1970s, the central campus of the
Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte was built on a 123-hectare area of the current Lagoa Nova neighborhood. That decade and the following ones saw rapid population growth: between the 1960 and 1970 censuses, the population jumped from 160,253 to 264,379 inhabitants, reaching 416,898 in 1980 and 606,887 in 1991. and in the early morning of 25 February 1984, during Carnival, the "Baldo tragedy" occurred— nineteen people were killed and twelve injured after being run over by a bus driver seeking revenge after being told he would have to work overtime. On 6 April 1984, the city hosted the
Diretas Já movement, when more than sixty thousand people gathered around Gentil Ferreira Square demanding the return of direct
presidential elections in Brazil. , an expressway between the
Atlantic Ocean and the
Natal Dunes State Park, significantly boosted local tourism starting in the 1980s. After being initiated in the late 1970s during Governor Tarcísio Maia's administration, the
Via Costeira — officially Senator Dinarte Mariz Avenue (RN-301) — was opened to the public in 1985 by Governor
José Agripino, son of Tarcísio. The road, which runs between the
Atlantic Ocean and the
Natal Dunes State Park, significantly boosted local tourism, especially in
Ponta Negra, which evolved from a small fishing village into one of the city's most upscale and valued areas. After two decades, Natal held direct elections for mayor again in 1985, when Garibaldi Alves Filho was elected and served between 1986 and 1989. In the following election, held in 1988,
Wilma de Faria became the first woman elected mayor in the city's history. That same year saw the first edition of Carnatal, which would later enter the
Guinness Book as the world's largest street carnival. In 1996, Wilma was elected for her second term as mayor, and on 16 January 1997, a state law created the
Greater Natal, initially composed of the capital and five neighboring municipalities.
From the fourth centennial to the present day In 1999, Natal celebrated its 400th anniversary. As part of the commemorations, the Portico of the Three Wise Men was inaugurated to welcome visitors arriving via the southern section of the BR-101 highway. On 25 February 2000, the Fourth Centennial Viaduct was opened, connecting the avenues Senator Salgado Filho and Prudente de Morais. That same year, Ponta Negra Beach gained a four-kilometer boardwalk with kiosks along its stretch, replacing the numerous beach huts that once stood there. On 21 November 2007, three years after construction began, the
Newton Navarro Bridge was officially opened to traffic. The new bridge connects the neighborhoods of Santos Reis and Redinha and was built as an alternative to the Igapó Bridge, being named after the renowned local artist Newton Navarro Bilro. On 31 May 2009, Natal was announced as one of the twelve host cities for the
2014 FIFA World Cup. In 2010, the Via Costeira was doubled, On 27 August 2012, the city witnessed the Bus Revolt after the municipal government announced a 20-cent fare increase, which was revoked on 6 September following strong protests. In the municipal elections held on 28 October of the same year, former mayor Carlos Eduardo was elected for a third term, Before Carlos Eduardo's inauguration on 1 January 2013, the city went through two interim mayors in less than two months. On 15 May 2013, two days after another bus fare increase was announced, new protests broke out, intensifying the following month. Natal thus became one of the first cities to experience the
June Journeys (
Jornadas de Junho), a wave of nationwide demonstrations initially sparked by fare hikes but soon expanding to broader social and anti-corruption demands. On 22 January 2014, after nearly two and a half years of construction, the
Arena das Dunas Stadium was inaugurated on the same site where the old Machadão stadium once stood. The stadium hosted four World Cup group-stage matches. During the tournament, the city declared a state of public calamity due to heavy rainfall between 13 and 16 June causing floods and landslides. In the Mãe Luíza neighborhood, a major slope collapse extended from Guanabara Street to Areia Preta Beach, destroying several homes. In that area, the city later built the Mãe Luíza Stairway, officially named
Portal do Sol Klebson Nascimento, inaugurated in December of the following year. In October 2016, Carlos Eduardo was re-elected in the first round. Taking office on 1 January 2017, he resigned on 6 April 2018, to run for governor, being succeeded by his vice,
Álvaro Costa Dias. In that election, the capital gave Carlos Eduardo an 80,000-vote lead in the first round, extended to over 90,000 in the second; nevertheless, he was defeated statewide by
Fátima Bezerra. In 2020, Álvaro Dias was re-elected mayor of the city. In the 2024 elections, former city councilor and federal deputy Paulinho Freire was elected mayor in the runoff with 55.34% of the valid votes. ==Geography==