 According to José de Alencar, the Potiguara were allies of the Portuguese during Brazil's colonial period, especially during the Dutch invasion of Brazil.António Filipe Camarão, a chief of the Potiguara in the seventeenth century was rewarded with a noble title and membership in the prestigious Order of Christ for his loyal service to the crown against the Dutch invaders in Brazil.Indigenous peoples were recruited as allies on both sides of the conflict in which ultimately the Dutch were defeated and expelled.