Religious Tensions in the Dutch Brazil

  • Thiago Cavalcante dos Santos Universidade Estadual de Maringá – UEM
Keywords: Calvinists, Jewish, Dutch.

Abstract

Formed in 1621, the West India Company (WIC) occupied the northeastern of Brazil, the region that produced sugar. Featuring mixed investments, the company would have been conceived by Calvinists who fled from Belgium because of religious persecution that occurred in that country. In Amsterdam, the capital of the province of Holland, those Calvinists made an association with merchants who wanted to trade spices in the New World. Since 1599, in the context of the Iberian Union, ports in the sugar region were closed by the Crown of Castile in order to block the Dutch (enemies of Castile) from the lucrative spice found there. The alliance between Belgian and merchants was strengthened with the approach and encouragement of the Jewish community of Amsterdam. Short time after its creation, the company would set forth to the conquest of the Portuguese America and begin a new cycle in the colonial history of the Americas.

Author Biography

Thiago Cavalcante dos Santos, Universidade Estadual de Maringá – UEM
Graduado em História pela Universidade Estadual de Maringá – UEM; Mestrando em História pela Universidade Estadual de Maringá – UEM. E-mail: biro@uol.com.br
Published
2010-08-27
Section
Artigos Originais