Our last day in Natal,
we visited the Forte dos Reis Magos or
Fort of Three Wise Men.
This fortress was considered the first "milestone" of the city,
since Natal was founded on Christmas Day (thus, natal means Christmas) of 1599 & this fortress had begun it's construction in January of 1598. It took several years to build (according to one site, 30). It was held by the Dutch from 1633 to 1654 when the Portuguese retook it.
Besides being a fortress, it was also used as a prison first by the Portuguese to hold those people trying to revolt against Portugal & gain independence and then later used by the "brazilians" to confine any Portuguese.
The fortress is surrounded by reef, which would make it impossible for any ship to enter without it sinking from the reef. It is also near a river in order to watch any indians who might come by boat along the river. You can also see the city of Natal in the distance. It was a perfect place to construct this fort.
All the sites from this place were breathtaking. Our guide was so knowledgeable and unfortunately although this is a historical landmark, their guides are volunteers. They make all their money off of tips from the tourists, which I bet they end up making more money in tips than any other job they could hold. So it works out, but I wish that Brazil would invest more in taking care of their historical landmarks. They used some of the ORIGINAL rooms in the fort as a lanchonete (lunch place) and as a store. Ah! I almost died. Made me think about the 12,000 year old cliff paintings we saw with no protection.
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| this is where the captain would escape during battle. |
