The Legacy of Dutch Brazil

Abstract

This book argues that Dutch Brazil (1624–54) is an integral part of Atlantic history and that it made an impact well beyond colonial and national narratives in the Netherlands and Brazil. In doing so, this book proposes a radical shift in interpretation. The Dutch Atlantic is widely perceived as an incongruity among more durable European empires, whereas Brazil occupies an exceptional place in the history of Latin America, which leads to a view of Dutch Brazil as self-contained and historically isolated. The Legacy of Dutch Brazil shows that repercussions of the Dutch infiltration in the Southern Hemisphere resonated across the Atlantic Basin and remained long after the fall of the colony. By examining its regional, national, and cosmopolitan legacies, thirteen authors trace the memories and mythologies of Dutch Brazil from the colonial period up until the present day and engage in broader debates on geopolitical and cultural changes at the crossroads of Atlantic and Latin American studies.