9 - Expansion in the Atlantic (1621–1654)

Summary

The voc came to full maturity in Asia in the early decades of the seventeenth century, but a comparable trading company for the Atlantic area was slow to get off the ground. This was in large part due to the negotiations preceding the Twelve Years’ Truce of 1609–1621 that would temporarily end the war between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Crown. During the negotiations the Spanish had demanded a prohibition of Dutch transatlantic trade, while the Republic insisted on maintaining the status quo. As a concession to Spanish concerns they had shelved the plan to establish a West Indies company. This ensured the continuity of trade, but temporarily suspended any Dutch expansion in the Atlantic area. Only after August 1618, with the fall of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt — one of the greatest proponents of a lasting peace with Spain — was there a clear path to the resumption of war. Almost at once, plans to establish the West India Company were dusted off. Negotiations with the States General regarding the company's charter lasted for almost three years. Ultimately, the plan adopted was one that the States of Holland had already proposed in draft in 1606. It contained no surprises. Like the voc, the West India Company — known by its acronym wic — would be an important instrument in the war against the Spanish and Portuguese. On 3 June 1621, barely two months after the Twelve Years’ Truce expired, their High Mightinesses assented to the charter and the foundation of the wic became a reality. In theory, at least, the struggle with the Iberians could begin.

This chapter will discuss the wic's military actions in the Atlantic area, central to which was the development and implementation of the strategic plan of the Company's board, which would go down in history as the groot desseyn or ‘grand design’. Agreed in 1623, the plan provided for a massive assault on Iberian targets in the Americas and West Africa. The historical literature characterises the Grand Design as the first wave of a Dutch offensive on the Portuguese empire in South America between 1624 and 1626, but the effects of these strategic decisions would carry through until the downfall of Dutch Brazil in 1654. How did the wic take military action and why did it end up falling back on state support from the Dutch Republic?