The Amazon Connection: Tupi and Tapuia Exchanges in Dutch Atlantic Trade (1600-1641)

Abstract

In the early 17th century, Dutch agents carried out commercial activities along the rivers of the Portuguese Amazon, which did not align with the geopolitical interests of the Spanish and Portuguese authorities in the region. In Portuguese documentation, the Dutch were portrayed as “pirates,” “smugglers,” and “heretics.” However, many of those who traveled to the farthest reaches of the rainforest were respected merchants in Europe who saw an opportunity for profit in the peripheral regions of the Hispanic Empire. The trading post system was not only used to bring Amazonian products to world markets but also connected the Indians of Maranhão and Grão-Pará with the financial circuits of Dutch cities. The objective of this text is to examine the exchanges between Amazon Indians and northern European commercial networks during theIberian union, a period often referred to as “Dutch Brazil.”