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Rio Grande do Norte (pron. ) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the edge of the South American continent. History
The first European to reach the region may have been the Spaniard Alonso de Ojeda in 1499. The northeastern tip of South America, cape São Roque, 20 miles to the north of Natal, was first officially 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. The Vespucci expedition also named the Potengi (Tupi-Guarani for "River of Shrimps") river, whose considerably large mouth contrasted with the nearby bodies of water, "Rio Grande" (Portuguese for "Great River"), after which the Captaincy, Province, and State were named. For decades thereafter, no permanent European settlement was established in the area, inhabited by the Potiguar tribe. In the 16th century (between 1535 and 1598), it was explored by French pirates in search for brazilwood. In 1598, the Portuguese built the Forte dos Reis Magos and, in the following year, founded the city of Natal. Rasing cattle and sugarcane plantation lifted the local development and economy. In 1633, the area became a battleground between the expansionistic Portuguese, seeking to take more land for their Brazilian territories, and the Dutch, who gained a foothold in South America. After a short period of peace and prosperity in Olinda and Recife, the sugar prices went down in the market of Amsterdam and the region entered into a serious economic crisis. The economical problems lead the Portuguese settlers and native Brazilians to revolt against the Dutch in what is known today as the massacres of Cunhaú and Uruaçu. The religious confrontations (the Portuguese-Brazilian Catholicism and the Dutch Calvinism), Portugal's restoration of the throne in 1640 and the reconquest of Maranhão in 1643 lead the Portuguese-Brazilians to the 1645 uprising, leaded by André Vidal de Negreiros and João Fernandes Vieira. The governor of Bahia promised new Portuguese troops, but most of the rebels were Africans and Amerindians. In 1654, the Dutch were finally cast out. During World War II, Rio Grande do Norte was used as an Allied airbase from which to launch air raids on German-occupied North Africa. In 1964, Latin America's first space launch site was constructed in Rio Grande do Norte; Barreira do Inferno (Hell's Barrier), which is often referred to as the "Brazilian NASA". Research Tips
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