Dutch Brazil 1654
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1654 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Brazil | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | South America | Natural Earth |
| Coordinates | -8.0539, -34.8808 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
Dutch Brazil (Dutch: Nederlands-Brazilië; Portuguese: Brasil Holandês), 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 the capital and the Dutch West India Company (GWC) 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 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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Dutch Brazil (revision 1378583719), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Recife (1630) 1630 · 0 km
- Second Battle of Guararapes 1649 · 16 km
- Action of 12–17 January 1640 1640 · 35 km
Browse more: battles in Brazil · South America · Early modern battles