The Dutch invasion of Salvador in 1624

Historical context

In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Brazil, still under the rule of the Portuguese Crown, became the target of foreign interests due to its strategic and economic importance.

In particular, the Bay of All Saints became a vital point on the trade routes, attracting the attention of powers such as the Netherlands, which was at war with Spain during the Iberian Union (1580-1640).

In this context, the Dutch, anxious to secure control of the lucrative sugar trade, began a series of attempts to invade the Brazilian capital, Salvador.

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The Dutch invasion of Salvador in 162425:32

Invasão Holandesa de Salvador em 1624: O que Aconteceu?

The Dutch invasion of Salvador in 1624

The first of these incursions took place in 1599 under the command of admirals such as van Leynssen, followed by further attempts in 1604 and then a full-scale invasion in 1624.

These attempts, although initially unsuccessful, demonstrated the growing Dutch ambitions for Iberian possessions in the New World and the growing tensions in the Atlantic.

History of the 1624 Dutch invasion of Salvador

The first attempted Dutch invasion of Salvador took place in December 1599, when Admiral van Leynssen sent seven ships to Brazil, commanded by Captains Hartman and Broer.

At the beginning of the 17th century, Salvador was one of the most important cities in the Americas, the capital of Brazil, a Portuguese state controlled by the Spanish during the Iberian Union (1580-1640). The attacks in the Bay of All Saints lasted almost two months. The Dutch sank several Portuguese ships and plundered mills in the Recôncavo, but failed to capture the city.

In the following years, Dutch pirates continued to attack Spanish and Portuguese ships on the high seas, both in the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. In 1604 they tried again to conquer Salvador, this time with a squadron of six ships commanded by Paul van Caerden. The attack was similar to the first and the result was the same failure.

The great invasion of 1624

In 1621, the Dutch founded the West India Company (West-Indische Compagnie), a company sponsored by the Dutch government, with the participation of private investors, primarily for the commercial exploitation of the Americas.

The city dawned under the domination and effects of the bombardment of a Dutch squadron of 26 ships under the command of Jacob Willekens. The Dutch invasion of Salvador took place on 9 May 1624. The day before, under crossfire from the Fort of Santo Antônio, the Dutch managed to hit the cannons at Ponta do Padrão and landed at Porto da Barra.

The vanguard followed the Ladeira da Barra and the cliffs to the Porta de São Bento. The Dutch spent the night in the monastery, “enjoying the wines and sweets” they found there, and waited for daybreak to take the city centre.

According to Ricardo Behrens in Salvador and the Dutch Invasion of 1624-1625, “Portuguese and Dutch accounts tell us that the confrontation began the day before, when the inhabitants of the city fired on a barge sent by the fleet with a peace flag, even before they heard the message.

In response, the invaders unloaded their cannons on the city walls, forts and ships in the harbour.

The sight of the armada alone caused most of the inhabitants to panic and flee. As much as they were aware of the likelihood of attack, the city had no specific strategy. D’El Rey had made no provision for armaments.

The Dutch, whose fleet left the port of Texel in December and whose voyage lasted almost six months, were determined to invade the capital of the Kingdom of Brazil and had plenty of ammunition.

The devastating cannon fire during the Dutch invasion and the vandalism of the invaders caused much damage to the city, including the City Hall, which housed the Historical Archive, whose documents were completely destroyed by fire.

According to the historian Affonso Rui, in his book História política e administrativa da cidade de Salvador, “the officials responsible for documentation fled to Abrantes, along with a large part of the population”.

The 3,400 men, including adventurers and mercenaries, who made up the invading Dutch squadron met with little resistance when they captured the colony’s governor-general, D. Diogo Mendonça Furtado, and imprisoned him in the so-called House of Governors (in what was to become the Rio Branco Palace, now the Praça Tomé de Souza), in the heart of one of the most important cities in the Americas, then the capital of Brazil.

The Portuguese ruler had already shown concern about Brazil’s lack of military preparedness and even clashed with the Church, which saw no need for military concerns. So the Dutch had little trouble taking the city, and Diogo Mendonça Furtado signed his surrender a day later.

He was taken to Amsterdam with 12 other people, including auxiliaries and Jesuits, from where they were not released until 1626.

Resistance and return

The Dutch stayed in Bahia for almost a year. It was Bishop Marcos Teixeira, later called Bishop Warrior, who led the resistance. He used ambush tactics to prevent the invaders from leaving the city. On March 27th 1625, the Portuguese-Spanish reinforcement squadron, commanded by the Spaniard Fradique de Toledo Osório, arrived in Bahia.

The battle lasted more than 40 days and on 1 May the first surrender was obtained.

The international context and the expulsion of the Dutch

February 1630. Dutch ships and cannons once again enter Brazilian waters. This time they invaded Pernambuco, the world’s largest sugar producer at the time. They landed on the coast of Pernambuco and conquered Olinda and Recife with relative ease.

The governor at the time, Matias de Albuquerque, retreated inland with men and weapons and built the Arraial do Bom Jesus, a fortress from which the attacks on the invaders were launched. As in the invasion of Bahia, the Portuguese-Brazilians adopted a war of ambush to prevent the Dutch from penetrating into the areas where most of the mills were located.

The resistance did not stop the Dutch advance, however, and they even received support from local residents such as Antônio Fernandes Calabar. The collaboration, much more than treason, was aimed at getting rid of Portuguese rule. Defeated, Matias Albuquerque set fire to the sugar cane fields around him and retreated to Alagoas. Before he did, however, he managed to arrest Calabar and have him executed.

Seven years later, in 1637, the West India Company decided to rebuild the mills in order to make a profit from Brazilian sugar. To lead this project, they sent Count João Maurício de Nassau-Siegen to Brazil with the title of Governor-General.

The accumulation of wealth by the West India Company was reflected in the administration and reconstruction of Recife, the capital of Dutch Brazil. Maurício de Nassau was able to invite some plantation owners to take part in the administration, while maintaining religious tolerance and not forcing the Portuguese-Brazilian settlers to convert to Dutch Protestantism.

In 1640 Portugal gained independence from Spain. In August 1645, the Portuguese-Brazilian settlers won an important victory at Monte das Tabocas. The government of Bahia sent help and Recife was besieged. The victory, however, was not enough to dislodge the Dutch, who were well entrenched by sea. The fighting continued for three years.

At the end of 1648, the Dutch suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Guararapes. Despite this, Recife remained in the hands of the West India Company. However, the international situation helped to break the deadlock in the conflict between the Dutch and the settlers in Brazil. England declared war on Holland in a dispute over the supremacy of the seas, and the English came to the aid of the anti-Dutch rebels in Brazil.

Taking advantage of the invaders’ weakness, the Portuguese sent a large reinforcement to the colonists in Brazil at the end of 1653. Finally, in January 1654, the Dutch surrendered, ending the period of Dutch rule in Brazil. However, it wasn’t until 1661 that the Dutch government recognised that it no longer had any rights over Brazil.

Conclusion

The Dutch invasion of Salvador in 1624 and subsequent events mark a significant period in Brazilian history, reflecting the complexity of international relations and tensions between colonial powers. The legacy of this invasion is still felt in the historical and cultural memory of Brazil today.

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