Distant views of Ft. Margaret (left) & Ft. Orange (right) in the mid-17th century
Silhouettes of images from Tarciso Couceiro
Four of our ancestors were born in or near Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, when this region was a Dutch colony from 1630-54, and spent their early childhood there before coming to North America. This area, shown on the map below, is situated in the country's northeast corner, which stretches into the Atlantic toward Africa.
Following its "discovery" in 1500, Brazil was claimed by Portugal, but the militarily superior Dutch gained a sizable foothold there in 1630 and named their territory 'New Holland'. The Dutch West India Company, a newly-formed trading/colonizing agency, was charged with its administration. The combined forces of Spain and Portugal, then united, failed to drive the settlers out. Northeast Brazil was highly coveted as the richest sugar-producing region in the world and had been the most prosperous jewel in the Portuguese colonial empire.
In early 1654, after a nine-year rebellion that brought diminution and economic ruin to the colony, Brazilian-born Portuguese subjects finally recaptured the entire colony through a brutal land/sea siege of its headquarters in Recife. The Dutch had been virtually abandoned by their homeland, which was preoccupied with its war against the English. All of the colonists were shipped 'back' to the Netherlands - a place unfamiliar to many of them.
During the early 1640's, in New Holland's heyday, roughly half of its resident 3,000 European civilians were Jews, who had come seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity. Fearful, upon Portuguese victory, of persecution by the Inquisition, the Jews who remained were relieved to be permitted to depart with the others.
Arriving in the Netherlands, the displaced colonists were encouraged by the Dutch West India Company to go back across the ocean to New Netherland (destined to be seized ten years later by the British and re-named New York). Our ancestors did so, with the exception of Teuntje Straitsman's first two husbands, who had died in Brazil (her third was missing), and the parents of Catharina VanderWerven, whose fate is unknown. The Fredrex family had already moved to New Amsterdam in 1651.
Our four ancestors who were born in Brazil are listed below, following their parents:
Silhouettes of images from Tarciso Couceiro
Fort Margaret was the Dutch designation for Fort Catherine, built by the Portuguese in 1586, which the Dutch captured in December 1634. Strategically located on the peninsula of Cabedelo, at the mouth of the Paraiba River, about 100 km north of Recife, this star-shaped fort commanded the only deep-water anchorage on that stretch of coast and was consequently the focus of many battles. It is no wonder that Teuntje's first two husbands were probably killed there. Fort Orange was built by the Dutch in 1633 after their capture of Itamaraca. Brazil has restored both forts as historic landmarks.
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by Charles Acree. All rights reserved.