 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2022) |
Dutch Brazil Nederlands-Brazilië | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1630–1654 | |||||||||
 Map of Dutch Brazil from 1630-1654, overlayed on a modern-day map of Brazil. | |||||||||
| Status | Dutch colony | ||||||||
| Capital | Mauritsstad | ||||||||
| Common languages | Dutch Indigenous languages Portuguese | ||||||||
| Religion | Dutch Reformed (official), Catholicism, Judaism, Indigenous American religions, Traditional African religions | ||||||||
| Government | Colony | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1637–1643 | John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen | ||||||||
• 1643–1654 | Dutch West India Company | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| 16 February 1630 | |||||||||
• Arrival of Maurice of Nassau | 23 January 1637 | ||||||||
| 19 April 1648 | |||||||||
| 19 February 1649 | |||||||||
| 28 January 1654 | |||||||||
| Currency | Braziliaanse Guldens (Brazilian Guilders) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Brazil | ||||||||
Dutch Brazil (Dutch: Nederlands-Brazilië), also known as New Holland (Dutch: Nieuw-Holland), was a colony of the Dutch Republic in the northeastern portion of modern-day Brazil, controlled from 1630 to 1654 during Dutch colonization of the Americas. The main cities of the colony were the capital Mauritsstad (today part of Recife), Frederikstadt (João Pessoa), Nieuw Amsterdam (Natal), Saint Louis (São Luís), São Cristóvão, Fort Schoonenborch (Fortaleza), Sirinhaém, and Olinda.
From 1630 onward, the Dutch Republic conquered almost half of Brazil's settled European area at the time, with its capital in Recife. The Dutch West India Company (GWC) set up its headquarters in Recife. The governor, John Maurice of Nassau, invited artists and scientists to the colony to help promote Brazil and increase immigration. However, the tide turned against the Dutch when the Portuguese won a significant victory at the Second Battle of Guararapes in 1649. On 26 January 1654, the Dutch surrendered and signed the capitulation, but only as a provisional pact. By May 1654, the Dutch Republic demanded that New Holland was to be given back. On 6 August 1661, New Holland was formally ceded to Portugal through the Treaty of The Hague.
While of only transitional importance for the Dutch, this period was of considerable importance in the history of Brazil. This period also precipitated a decline in Brazil's sugar industry, since conflict between the Dutch and Portuguese disrupted Brazilian sugar production, amidst rising competition from British, French, and Dutch planters in the Caribbean.[1]
- ^ Lockhart and Schwartz, Early Latin America, p. 252.