The remembrance of the capture of the Mexican fleet by Heyne now induced the Company to send out a large squadron, under the experienced Jol, to attempt a similar feat. The old captain set out from Recife in great hopes, which were, however, doomed soon to disappointment. He indeed met the Mexican fleet, which he resolutely engaged; but his captains did not support him, and so the Spaniards escaped. This futile attempt, by drawing away men at a moment when Nassau was sorely in want of succours, was the cause of much embarrassment to that general in the execution of his plans. Early in the following year [1639], Artisjoski brought out a small reinforcement; but he himself soon returned to Holland, after having brought some absurd charges against Count Nassau, which were at once refuted.
At this period the West India Company were in possession of six provinces in Brazil, extending from Seregipe in the south to Ceará in the north. Of these the first had been laid waste, whilst their hold on the last-named was confined to one small fort. Nevertheless the natives were friendly allies of the Dutch. The important captaincy of Pernambuco contained five towns, namely—Garassú, Olinda, Recife, Bella Pojuca, and Serinhaem; it likewise possessed several considerable villages. Previously to the Dutch invasion there had been one hundred and twenty-one sugar-works, of which thirty-four were now deserted. In Itamaraca fourteen works still survived, of three-and-twenty which had existed before the conquest. Paraïba still possessed eighteen works out of twenty; whilst Rio Grande had one out of two. In the whole Dutch dominion one hundred and twenty survived. The tenths of their produce were leased—in Pernambuco for 148,500 florins; in Itamaraca and Gojana for 19,000; and in Paraïba for 54,000. With other items, the whole tenths amounted to 280,900 florins.
Whilst the country had suffered severely from the Dutch invasion, the city of Recife, being the seat of government and of commerce, had thriven. Colonists were greatly wanted; more especially there was a constant demand for skilled labour,—three, four, and six florins a day being given as wages to builders and carpenters. The Portuguese inhabitants of these provinces were held in subjection only by fear, with the exception of the Jews, who were excellent subjects. With the native Brazilians the Dutch had considerable trouble; whilst negroes were more scarce, and consequently more dear than before, some having followed their Portuguese masters in their emigration, and others having joined the black community at the Palmares. The military force of the Dutch amounted to rather more than six thousand men, and they reckoned on a thousand native auxiliaries; but all this force was required for garrisons. On the whole, the colony could scarcely be pronounced flourishing. Without supplies from Holland it could hardly furnish its own food, since so many cultivators had been driven away. All possessors of land were compelled under heavy penalties to devote a certain portion of it to the cultivation of mandioc.
Count Nassau, who took a large-minded view of the future of his countrymen in Brazil, now set about building himself a palace, which he called Friburg, on an island near Recife; and to his gardens on this spot he transplanted seven hundred full-grown cocoa-trees, as well as lemons, citrons, and pomegranates. In order to relieve the crowded state of Recife, he proposed to build another city on this island; the marshy ground was soon drained by canals; streets were laid out, and houses rapidly arose in Mauritias, which was to be connected by a bridge with Recife. After the expenditure of a hundred thousand florins, the contractor gave up the attempt in despair; but what could not be effected by means of stone pillars was possible with the aid of wood, and in two months the bridge was completed by Count Maurice himself. On the success of this undertaking, Nassau next built another bridge over the Capivaribi; thus connecting Recife with the opposite country through Mauritias. It is remarkable, if it be the case, as stated, that these should be the first bridges erected in a region so well watered as Portuguese America.
Nassau’s measures, showing as they did that the Dutch fully believed in their power to retain what they had taken, were not a little calculated to dishearten the Portuguese. But all hope was not lost at Lisbon. One of the ministers obtaining an audience of the king, so forcibly represented the ruinous consequences of the manner in which Brazilian interests were treated, that the favourite, Olivares, found himself compelled to make an effort for their relief. A grand fleet was equipped, the command being given to the Count Datorre, who was named governor of Brazil. This fleet, like so many others coming from the same country, was destined to misfortune, its first calamity being to be sent to the Cape de Verds, there to await its Spanish consorts, and where it endured a terrible mortality, more than a third of the men being cut off. When it had reached Recife, instead of being in a condition to blockade that place, and so to reduce it by famine, its commander was compelled by the numbers of sick on board to proceed to San Salvador [Bahia] as to a sanatorium. In this healthy climate his men recovered, but a whole year elapsed before he was again in a position to put to sea.
Meanwhile, before starting, the governor sent forward troops divided into small parties, who were to carry fire and sword into the enemy’s provinces, and finally to unite in one body and join operations with the fleet when it should appear in sight. Nassau, however, had time to prepare, and the opposing forces met at sea on the 12th of January 1639 near Itamaraca, when the Dutch admiral fell. Three more naval actions ensued,—the last off the Potengi, so far had the Portuguese been driven by the winds and currents beyond their destination. Thus by superior manœuvering and by the advantages of weather, was a very inferior force enabled to baffle a fleet consisting of no less than eighty-seven vessels, and carrying two thousand four hundred pieces of cannon. Once beyond Recife at that season, that place was perfectly secure for the meantime; for it was hopeless for the fleet to attempt to retrace its way against the currents and the prevalent winds.
Under these circumstances the military force of thirteen hundred men, together with the native allies, landed north of the Potengi. These troops had before them the terrible task of finding their way by land to Bahia over a distance of three hundred leagues, through such a country as is Brazil, and without any stores beyond what each man could carry. After this the Count Datorre went before the wind to the West Indies and thence to Europe. We are not surprised to learn that on reaching Lisbon he was thrown into prison. His subordinate, Vidal, who was at the head of the land forces, had no choice but again to break them up into small parties. These being joined by the troops from the north, made their way back, as well as was possible, to Bahia, which place the fugitives reached in safety, having meanwhile subsisted, as it is said, mainly upon sugar.
Nassau was not slow in pursuing the work of retaliation for the havoc committed by the Portuguese. Two thousand Tapuyas, in alliance with the Dutch, were let loose upon Bahia, their families being meanwhile kept as hostages in the island of Itamaraca. Admiral Jol was next sent to the Reconcave to lay it waste with fire and sword. The whole of the sugar-works in that extensive bay were destroyed. But ere long both parties saw the folly of this desolating warfare, and the new Viceroy, the Marquis of Monte Alvam, entered into negotiations with the Dutch for suppressing it; but these bore no fruit until the province of Pernambuco had been by his secret orders in turn laid waste. His predatory bands, however, were so well acquainted with the country that they eluded the vigilance of the Dutch, and their proceedings were publicly disowned by the Viceroy.
An important change in Europe at this time altered the face of affairs in Brazil. In 1640 the Duke of Braganza recovered the throne of Portugal. On information of this event reaching the Viceroy, measures were at once taken for disarming the Spanish portion of the garrison; after which King John was proclaimed. This news was received with enthusiasm throughout Brazil, as it had been throughout Portugal. It had an important bearing on the relations between Portugal and Holland, inasmuch as either country was now at enmity with Spain, and it was accordingly duly communicated to Nassau. A strange turn now took place in the fortunes of the Viceroy himself. Two of his sons, it appeared, had deserted the cause of their country and fled to Madrid, with the result that Vilhena, a Jesuit, was sent to Bahia with conditional instructions to depose the Viceroy, in case he too should have followed the same party. Although he had behaved most loyally to Portugal, he was now improperly and outrageously superseded and sent a prisoner to Lisbon.
1641.