1600
Dutch forts at the beginning of XVII century
|
Two wooden forts (Fort Nassau and Fort Oranije) on the eastern
shore of the Xingu River are built by colonists from Zeeland.
|
1616
|
A Zeeland expedition under the command of Pieter Adriaenszoon Ita sails with
150 men. They arrive on the shore of the Ginipape River where they build a
fort on a peninsula. This colony survives for six years. Historical information
about these settlements is incomplete, but for the first twenty years of the
XVII century the Dutch hold some forts in this region. Here they trade with
the natives. |
1621
Dutch West Indies flag
Map of the port of the city of Salvador da Bahia de Todos-os-Santos.
Illustration from the work by Gaspar Barleus, Rervm per Octennivm in Brasilia
et alibi nuper gesterum sub Praefectura Illustrissimi Comitis I. Mavritii,
Nassoviae, &c…, (Amsterdam, J. Blaeu, 1647).
|
Dutch West Indies Company
(WIC) is founded in Amsterdam so as to regulate and protect the contreband
trade being carried by the Dutch in the American and African possessions of
Spain and Portugal and establish colonies on both continents. The Dutch set
their eyes on the most important town of Portuguese Brazil: Salvador da Bahia
de Todos os Santos. |
1624
|
Dutch troops land
a few miles from Salvador, advance and enter the town in the morning of 10
May 1624. The Portuguese governor, Diogo de Mendonça surrenders. Johan Van
Dort becomes governor of the city. |
1625
|
A combined Spanish-Portuguese armament recovers Salvador.
|
1628
|
Piet Heyn
after a battle takes over a Spanish galleon full of gold and silver which allows
the Dutch to form a new force. |
1630
|
A fleet sent by the WIC of 67 ships, 1170 guns and 7000 men under general Hendrick
Corneliszoon Lonck captures Pernambuco, the metropolis of a rich sugar growth
district in the north of Brazil. The Dutch are masters of Recife, Olinda and
the island of Antonio Vaz. |
1631
|
A Dutch expedition of 366 men under the command of Crestofle d Artischau Arciszewski,
a Polish captain, is sent to the island of Itamaracá. Fort Orange is built
in the extreme south. |
1632
|
A Portuguese Mulatto, Domingo Fernandes Calabar deserts to the Dutch. He was
born at Porto Calvo (Alagoas) and he knows the country very well; his desertion
is very useful for the Dutch. |
1633
|
Van Ceulen captures the Fort of Reis Magos (Dutch Fort Ceulen) at the mouth
of the Rio Grande. |
1634
View of Paraíba - by Frans Post
|
The West Indies Company allows free trade. The Dutch conquer the city of Paraíba.
|
1635
|
St Augustine cap falls to the Dutch.The Dutch control the entire coastline
from Cabo de Santo Agostinho to Rio Grande. |
1636
Portrait of Johan Maurits of Nassau, etching made from a drawing
by Frans Post
|
The WIC directorate decide to put a Colonial Governor at the head of the Brazilian
colony or Nieuw Holland.32-year old Johan Maurits, count of Nassau – Siegen
is the man selected for this office. |
