Historic Centre of São Luís

At the helm of a fleet of 18 vessels, the Dutch Jan Cornelisz Lichthart and Colonel Koin Handerson landed in São Luís around 1641. Their aim was to explore the land with a view to the expansion of the region's sugar industry. The invasion resulted in frightened residents and the imprisonment of Portuguese noble Governor Bento Maciel Parente. However, the war between the Portugueses and Dutch began in 1642, extending until 1644, when the Dutch left the city of São Luís, completely destroyed.