Potiguara

The Potiguara are an Indigenous people of the northeastern Brazilian coast, traditionally associated with lands between Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte. They belonged to the Tupi-Guarani linguistic family and lived along a coast of rivers, estuaries and forests. Their territory became a focus of rivalry among European powers seeking control of the coast.

In the late sixteenth century the Potiguara resisted Portuguese expansion and allied with French traders. Portuguese expeditions and their Tabajara allies fought them over the Paraíba coast; after the loss of French support and a devastating epidemic, a peace was agreed in 1599. The peace opened a period of cooperation with Portuguese authorities. In the following century the Dutch-Portuguese war divided Potiguara leaders between rival alliances, drawing their communities into another struggle over the region.

The later city of Natal lies here.