Early History of Santa Catarina

First Contacts
The coastal region of Santa Catarina was always inhabited, before the colonial era, by indigenous tribes, and after that, was initially visited by French, Spanish and Portuguese. In 1504, the first colonial expedition took place, where in nowdays is the city of São Francisco do Sul, the first settlement in the Catarinense coast. In 1514, the Island of Santa Catarina, nowdays Desterro, was named as Island of the Ducks, where 17 people were settled in the same year.

The coast of Santa Catarina was the stopping point for several navigators who traveled to the Plate River. With the advance of the Portuguese towards the south, was founded the town of São Francisco do Sul, the first city of the south of the Portuguese colony.