Dutch Brazil

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Dutch Brazil Nederlands-Brazilië
1630–1654
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Dutch Brazil from 1630-1654, overlayed on a modern-day map of Brazil.
Status	Dutch colony
Capital	Mauritsstad
Common languages	Dutch Indigenous languages Portuguese
Religion	Dutch Reformed (official), Catholicism, Judaism, Indigenous American religions, Traditional African religions
Government	Colony
Governor
• 1637–1643	John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen
• 1643–1654	Dutch West India Company
History
• Established	16 February 1630
• Arrival of Maurice of Nassau	23 January 1637
• First Battle of Guararapes	19 April 1648
• Second Battle of Guararapes	19 February 1649
• Defeat by the Portuguese	28 January 1654
Currency	Braziliaanse Guldens (Brazilian Guilders)
Preceded by Succeeded by Colonial Brazil Colonial Brazil
Today part of	Brazil

Dutch Brazil (Dutch: Nederlands-Brazilië), 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 its capital in Recife. The Dutch West India Company (GWC) set up its 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 was to 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. This period also precipitated a decline in Brazil's sugar industry, since conflict between the Dutch and Portuguese disrupted Brazilian sugar production, amidst rising competition from British, French, and Dutch planters in the Caribbean.^[1]