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In 1581, Holland proclaimed its independence, freeing itself from Spanish rule. In retaliation, Philip II closed all ports of the empire Luso - Spanish
to Dutch ships. This measure dealt a violent
blow in the Dutch economy, entirely based on trade in colonial products. The powerful Dutch merchants turned then to the
conquest of marketsproducers. One such market was
the Brazilian Northeast, the largest sugar producer inthe
season.
Netherlands and Portugal maintained intensive economic relations since the Middle Ages. In modern
times, the Portuguese colonial trade in the products was largely done by
the Dutch. The conquest of the Brazilian Northeast, organized by the East India Company, had clear economic goals.
A news
that the West Indies Company in the Netherlands prepared a powerful
fleet to attack Bahia came
to Brazil to perform well before the invasion. The Governor - General,Diogo
de Mendonça Furtado, organized
resistance to the invaders. As the
Dutch soon to arrive, the preparations to
receive them were relaxed. On 9 May 1624,
the 26 ships of the
Netherlands entered the bay of All Saints, resistance proved futile. The desertionswere many, the
Dutch conquered Salvador.
The loss suffered by the Company of the West
Indies, with the failure of Bahia, was rewarded when the Dutch admiral Piet
Heyn captured a Spanish fleet laden with silver, which was traveling from
Mexico to Spain. The huge profit achieved by this imprisonment was used to
finance a new expedition to Brazil. This time the Dutch attacked the
captaincy of Pernambuco, the largest sugar colony.
The governor of Pernambuco, Matias de
Albuquerque, prepared his forces to resist the invaders, using only the material
and human resources available in Pernambuco, as the troops that Spain placed at
his disposal consisted of only 27 soldiers.
The Dutch troops landed on the beach
of the Yellow Wood and marched across to Olinda, which was taken after much
struggle. Matias de Albuquerque was prepared to resist in
Recife. Ordered the burning warehouses and ships were in port and
distributed his men at strategic points.
The Dutch have mastered Recife, and
Maria de Albuquerque was forced to retire to a distant location, which was
about six kilometers from Recife and Olinda. The Dutch managed to set fire
to Olinda and Recife focused on where they remained trapped for two years,
hindered by the ambush of Pernambuco to broaden their achievements.
The West India Company thought about
giving up the occupation of Pernambuco, when occurred the defection of Domingos
Fernandes Calabar, who then fought on the side of Pernambuco. It was
providential for the Dutch aid provided by Calabar, who knew the weaknesses of
the defense of Pernambuco and the paths in the area where the fighting
unfolded. At the same time, the Dutch sent reinforcements and the
resistance of the colonists, deprived of Spanish support, began to
weaken. After many struggles, the Dutch acquired some allies in Brazil:
Blacks, Indians and mulattos who went to support the Flemings in view of its
promises of liberty; planters who, seeing with concern its plantations
threatened by war and slaves running away, begun to assess the advantages
of establishing peace with the invaders.
In 1637, the Dutch sent a fleet to
Pernambuco. It was the new governor of Dutch Brazil, Count John Maurice of
Nassau