History about the discovery of Fernando de Noronha is filled with controversy. A map of the area from 1502 shows the archipelago as “Lent Island”. Its discovery was attributed to Gaspar de Lemos, captain of Cabral’s supply fleet. Other versions suggest that the discovery was made by expeditions between 1501 and 1502 which, by mistake, attributed its property to Fernao de Loronha. Portuguese historian Jaime Cortesao believes there must have been another expedition to Brazil between 1502 and 1503 under the command of Fernao de Loronha who took over the island for himself.
There are different opinions, but the fact is that the first to describe the island was Americo Vespucci who traveled with Gonzalo Coelho’s expedition in 1502 – 1503. In 1504 a decree by Don Manuel I, gave the archipelago to Fernao de Loronha. It was the first hereditary concession of lands in Brazil. Loronha’s descendants kept possession of the island by a royal decree until 1692. In 1534, the archipelago was invaded by England and from 1556 to 1612 it was under French domain.
In 1628, there was a Dutch invasion. The Dutch controlled the islands for 21 years. It was used by the army as a base to treat the diseases of its troops.
30 years later, a royal command ordered fortification and provisioning for the island so as to prevent constant invasions. However, this command was ignored and the island remained at the mercy of invaders.
In 1736, the French found the island inhabited and named it “Isle Dauphine”. A year later it was occupied, with no resistance, by the Brazilians. Forts Nossa Senhora dos Remedio, Nossa Senhora de Conceicao and Santo Antonio were built to prevent further attacks from the French. The church of Nossa Senhora dos Remedios was finished in 1772.
By this time, the first prisoners were sent to the island. The thick vegetation was dramatically reduced to prevent prison escapes. Also foreign animal species were introduced and the consequences of these changes can still be seen.
In 1837, during the republican revolution in Pernanbuco, the government ordered the demolition of the island fortifications and the return of prisoners to the continent. In 1877, the administration and custody of the island was transferred to the Ministry of Justice. In 1891, Noronha was again under Pernambuco’s control.
In 1897, the government took over the prison a turned it into a state prison, until 1938 when the Brazilian Ministry of Justice made it a political one.
At the beginning of last century, the English came to the island to provide telegraphic services. Later, the French brought the cable in and the Italian brought Intelcable. In 1942, during World War II, the archipelago was declared Federal territory and ordinary and political prisoners were deported.
Fernando de Noronha was administered by the Brazilian Navy until 1981, by the Brazilian Air Force until 1986 and by the High Command of the Armed Forces until 1987.
Most part of the infrastructure of the island, including the airport, roads, school and hospital was built during this period of civil administration by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This period finished in 1988, when the new Constitution of Brazil made the archipelago a part of the state of Pernambuco again. Nowadays, it is administered as a district by a general administrator designated by the governor of Pernanbuco and approved by state legislation.
Besides its historical value, the archipelago has been the object of attention of scientists who researched its flora, fauna and geology. One of the first pieces of work was published more than 100 years ago by Pocock (1890) Other works were published by Bjornberg (1954), Lopes y Alvarenga (1955), Almeida (1958) and Paiva (1967) among others.
In December of 1995, a constitution for the archipelago was promulgated and in March of 1996 the first elections were carried out by the district town council, a representative board that is the local government of the archipelago.