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Recife (Dutch Brazil stronghold)

Type Object Region Americas Time 1631–1640

In the 1630s Recife was the core port and administrative center of the Dutch West India Company's colonial system in Nieuw Holland;…

Timeline

  1. 1631–1635Antônio Vaz Island, Recife · BrazilAfter the Dutch West India Company seized Pernambuco in 1630, it used Recife and the surrounding islands as a base to control sugar mills and export sea lanes; in the early 1630s the city was rapidly colonized in terms of fortifications, warehouses, and a slave-labor system, becoming the frontline capital challenging Portuguese rule in Brazil.
  2. 1637–1640Recife · BrazilAfter Prince Maurice of Nassau became governor of Dutch Brazil in 1637, Recife introduced religious tolerance and experiments in urban planning, attracting European craftsmen, Jewish merchants, and artists; by 1640 the city had become a commercial and cultural hub linking Amsterdam with the sugar plantations, though it constantly faced the pressure of Portuguese counterattack.

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