The northeastern tip of South America, Cape
São Roque, 20 miles (32 km) to the north of Natal and the closest point to
Europe from Latin America, 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