Human occupation of Fernando de Noronha has fluctuated in quantity and cultural diversity over the last five hundred years.

The official record of the discovery of Fernando de Noronha is dated August 10, 1503, with the sinking of one of the ships of the 2nd Exploratory Expedition, of which Amerigo Vespucci was a member, who described the episode.

In 1988 the Archipelago was re-annexed to the state of Pernambuco, in the category of State District, contrary to the will of the population of Noronha, who, under the command of Governor Fernando César Mesquita, mobilized so that Fernando de Noronha would continue to belong to the Union, but they were unsuccessful.