Groot Desseyn
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The ''Groot Desseyn'' (Dutch for "Grand Design") was a plan devised in 1623 by the
Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...
to seize the Portuguese/Spanish possessions of the
Iberian Union pt, União Ibérica , conventional_long_name =Iberian Union , common_name = , year_start = 1580 , date_start = 25 August , life_span = 1580–1640 , event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession , event_end = Portuguese Restoration War , ...
in Africa and the Americas, in order that the Spanish would not collect enough money for their war against The Netherlands.


History

After the
Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a sovereign n ...
ended, the
Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...
was founded on 3 June 1621. This company was granted the monopoly on trade in the Atlantic by the States-General of the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
. After capital had been raised for the company, the company's directors, the Heeren XIX, devised the ''Groot Desseyn'' in October 1623. The plan was to first seize the capital of Brazil, São Salvador da Bahia (Salvador), and then the main Portuguese fort on the coast of
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
, São Paulo de Loanda (Luanda). In this way, the company would control both the lucrative sugar plantations in Brazil and the
Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...
. Control of the trade itself was necessary because of the high mortality rate from the plantations' harsh conditions and tropical diseases such as
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
.


First attempt (1624–1625)

A fleet was swiftly assembled to capture Salvador. In December 1623 and January 1624, the fleet left the Republic in two groups, which were assembled in the
Cape Verde islands , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
. Under
Jacob Willekens Jacob Willekens or Wilckens (1564–1649) was a Dutch admiral on a fleet to the Dutch Indies, and a herring seller, who went to sea again at the age of fifty for the Dutch West Indies Company. His most well-known success was the conquest of ...
, the force captured Salvador on 8 May 1624. The Dutch in Salvador then assembled a force to attack Luanda. Under Piet Hein, the fleet tried to capture the city but failed, because Filips van Zuylen had tried to capture the city a few months earlier as well and prompted the Portuguese to fortify and add reinforcements. In Brazil, however, the Dutch were more successful. Despite already being anticipated by the Spanish-Portuguese Empire, the Dutch siege succeeded when 1,000 Dutchmen surrounded the fort and caused most of its defenders to flee. When the Spanish Crown heard of the sudden loss, a fleet with 12,000 men was assembled to recapture the city. They succeeded after a long siege, capturing the fort in May 1625 - one whole year after the fort had previously been taken. After the capture of Elmina on the
Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...
of Africa failed, the ''Groot Desseyn'' was temporarily abandoned. The Dutch would still succeed in their original ''Groot Desseyn'' attempt in 1637 by conquering both the previous two targets and much of the nearby lands; the rich West African (Dutch) Gold Coast and Brazilian New Holland included. Although conflict with the native peoples continued, Spain would decisively drop its claims at the end of the Eighty Years' War.


Second attempt (1630–1650)

Things changed for the better for the company when Piet Hein captured the Spanish treasure fleet in 1628. The company was suddenly flush with resources and set out to try once again to capture the Portuguese Atlantic colonies. The slave port of
Gorée (; "Gorée Island"; Wolof: Beer Dun) is one of the 19 (i.e. districts) of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an island located at sea from the main harbour of Dakar (), famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade ...
in
Senegambia The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone,Barry, Boubacar, ''Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade'', (Editors: David Anderson, Carolyn Brown; trans. Ayi Kwei Armah; contributors: David Anderson, American Council of Le ...
had already been seized in 1627. A fleet under the leadership of
Hendrick Lonck Adm. Hendrick Corneliszoon Lonck (or Loncque and Loncq) (born 1568, Roosendaal – 10 October 1634, Amsterdam), a Dutch naval hero, was the first Dutch sea captain to reach the New World. Early years He was born in Roosendaal in the southern ...
then managed to capture Recife and
Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state capi ...
in early 1630. A separate group took
Arguin Arguin ( ar, أرغين, pt, Arguim) is an island off the western coast of Mauritania in the Bay of Arguin. It is approximately in size, with extensive and dangerous reefs around it. The island is now part of the Banc d'Arguin National Park. H ...
in 1633; in 1637, Elmina also fell.
Two 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
attempts to recapture Salvador failed, however. In 1641, a fleet under the leadership of
Cornelis Jol Cornelis Corneliszoon Jol (1597 – 31 October 1641), nicknamed ''Houtebeen'' ("pegleg"), was a 17th-century Dutch corsair and admiral in the Dutch West India Company during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic. He was on ...
finally managed to capture Luanda. The Dutch West India Company was now at the height of its power, and the ''Groot Desseyn'' seemed to have more or less succeeded. The tide soon began to turn, however. In 1645, the Dutch lost the Battle of Tabocas on the Portuguese mainland, which would prove the first of many defeats in Brazil. Meanwhile, the cost of constant warfare brought the company at the brink of
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
. In 1647, at the end of its charter, the company was recapitalized with 1.5 million
Dutch guilders The guilder ( nl, gulden, ) or florin was the currency of the Netherlands from the 15th century until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro. The Dutch name ''gulden'' was a Middle Dutch adjective meaning "golden", and reflects the fact that, wh ...
from the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
and the Dutch Republic took over the war effort in Brazil. Luanda was recaptured by Portugal in 1648, and two Battles of Guararapes, the first in 1648 and the second in 1649, effectively ended Dutch involvement in Brazil. Between 1652 and 1654, the Dutch tried to recapture Recife, to no avail. The ''Groot Desseyn'' had failed.


See also

*
Dutch–Portuguese War The Dutch–Portuguese War (; ) was a global armed conflict involving Dutch Republic, Dutch forces, in the form of the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, as well as their allies against the Iberian Union, and after 1640, t ...


Notes


References

* {{cite book , last=Den Heijer , first=Henk J. , title=De geschiedenis van de WIC , publisher=Walburg , year=1994 , location=Zutphen , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C9S4AAAAIAAJ , isbn=9060119126 Dutch West India Company 17th century in the Dutch Empire African slave trade Slavery in Brazil Slavery in the Netherlands