Spanish and Portuguese South America during the Colonial Period; Vol. 2 of 2

by Robert Grant Watson

1629.

The West India Company lost no time in preparing fresh enterprises against Brazil. This time their efforts were directed on Pernambuco, from which province they estimated that one hundred and fifty vessels might annually be freighted with sugar; whilst its harbours were conveniently situated as points of departure whence their cruisers might sail to intercept more rich prizes from the Spanish Main. In order to ensure secrecy as far as possible, the preparations for their fleet were distributed over several ports, and the ships were to rendezvous at the Cape de Verds. Nevertheless, information of what was going on was brought to Lisbon, and the court of Madrid was duly warned. The governor of Brazil was accordingly instructed to place both Bahia and Olinda in a state of defence; whilst Mathias de Albuquerque was sent out from Madrid, with some men and stores, to the assistance of his brother, the captain of Pernambuco.

1630.

On his arrival at Olinda, Mathias found the place almost utterly undefended; nor did he himself do much to make things better. He had brought out the news of the birth of a prince and heir of Spain; and whilst Olinda was occupied in merry-making over this joyous event, a pinnace arrived from the Cape de Verds announcing the assemblage there of the Dutch fleet and its departure for Brazil. That fleet consisted of fifty sail, under Henrik Loncq as general and Peter Adrian as admiral. Eight of these had driven off the Spanish fleet near Teneriffe. On the 15th of February they appeared before Olinda, having on board about seven thousand men. The whole force of the town, such as it was, was collected to oppose them, and the summons which Loncq sent in was answered by a discharge of musketry. The entrance to the harbour had been blocked by sunken vessels, and the sea was so rough that the Dutch could not use their guns with effect.

But whilst a harmless cannonade was being carried on, Colonel Wardenburg, taking sixteen ships some miles to the north of the town, was able to land without opposition. Retaining only a few gunboats with eleven pieces of artillery, he divided his troops into three divisions, and on the following morning began his march towards Olinda. The news of his landing had already produced a panic, and all were anxious that their families and portable property should be placed in security in the country. Under these circumstances, Wardenburg advanced without any serious opposition, although it would have been easy in a wooded country to impede his progress. Indeed, the river Doce was itself an obstacle, and the Dutch had to delay its passage until low tide, when they forded it breast-high. At this point some shots from the gunboats caused a general stampede. The redoubt at the entrance of Olinda checked the invaders for a moment; but it was soon overcome, and the town was given up to be plundered.

The Portuguese governor had retreated to Recife, which place, however, he had now not sufficient men to defend. As there was no hope of preserving it, he set fire to the ships and warehouses, which contained much valuable property; and there remained only for the invaders to reduce the two forts of St. Francisco and St. George, which commanded the entrance to the harbour. Five days were suffered to elapse before the latter was attacked. It was defended by Vieira and a band of young men who had volunteered with him, with a courage and pertinacity which formed a bright contrast to the confusion and pusillanimity displayed by their countrymen. The two forts, however, could not hold out long, and the Dutch fleet entered the harbour in triumph. Their hold upon Pernambuco was still further confirmed by the arrival, nine days later, of another fleet with reinforcements.

When the fugitive inhabitants of Olinda, relieved from the actual presence of the invader, found themselves unpursued in the country, they began to collect their reason and to recover their composure. Their general now pointed out to them that the object of the Dutch was gain rather than glory; that they coveted the sugar and tobacco which Pernambuco could produce, and that the surest way to frustrate their plans was to prevent them from cultivating these articles. Works were accordingly begun at a distance of three miles from Olinda and Recife, and were prosecuted with the utmost alacrity by the population in general, whilst four pieces of cannon were procured from the wreck of a Dutch ship. Indeed such was the speed with which the camp was constructed that it was already in a state of defence when the knowledge of its existence first came to the ears of the invaders; and an attempt to gain it by surprise was frustrated by the vigilance of Mathias de Albuquerque. On this occasion the Dutch fled, leaving forty slain.

Emboldened by this success, the Portuguese now assumed the offensive and laid an ambush for the Dutch general, who with six hundred men was proceeding from Recife to Olinda. He was taken by surprise, and owed his safety to the flight of his horse. The danger of passing from one of these towns to the other was so considerable, and afforded so good an opportunity for Portuguese attack, that it gave rise amongst these to the enrolment of a force who from the nature of their duties were called bush-rangers. They consisted, for the most part, of peasants, who came to the camp when they could spare time from their proper occupations. These men, who were only occasional visitors to the camp, were well off; but the fugitives from Olinda, some fifteen thousand in number, who dwelt at Bom Jesus, as the camp was called, suffered excessively from lack of provisions.

In the above respect the Dutch were no better off, for they could only hope for relief from the sea, whilst the only water to be found at Recife was collected from pits dug in the beach, and was scarcely fit for use. And although forests were before them, these were so well guarded by the Portuguese that their only fuel was that which they had brought with them. So pressing were the necessities of the Dutch, that the high prices which it was worth their while to offer were sure to tempt some of their mongrel opponents, three of whom were hanged by Mathias after having been detected in a forbidden traffic with the invader. The Dutch had nothing better to do but to endeavour to extend their conquests by sea. Their first expedition was against the island of Itamaraca, which contained twenty-three sugar-works, and was situated eight leagues to the south of Olinda. They did not succeed, however, in conquering it, and contented themselves with building a fort opposite the neighbouring shore commanding the entrance of a port. In Fort Orange they left eighty men with twelve guns before returning to Recife.

Whilst these events were passing, information of which was, of course, conveyed to the court of Madrid, that Government was not wholly idle. Nine vessels were despatched for the relief of the camp of Bom Jesus, some of which fell into the hands of the enemy’s cruisers, so that but little good resulted from their expedition. The inhabitants of the province of Pernambuco were on the whole left to defend their own interests, it being hoped that the harassing warfare which they were prosecuting would prove the best means of inducing the Dutch to withdraw from the country. When it appeared, however, that the Low Countries were fitting out a strong fleet to be sent to Pernambuco under the command of Admiral Hadrian Patry, who was to take out with him many Dutch families as settlers, the Fabian policy of the court of Madrid was no longer pursued. Again a fleet was equipped at Lisbon, the command of which was given to Don Antonio Oquendo. Of this force, which was ultimately to proceed to Spanish America, ten vessels, with one thousand men and twelve pieces of cannon, were destined for Pernambuco.