THE Battle of the Guararapes were clashes that involved Portuguese, enslaved Africans, indigenous and Dutchmen at the Northeast of Brazil, between the years 1648 and 1649, during the Brazil Colony.
The stage of these battles was the Morro dos Guararapes, in the region of the city of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Pernambuco.
The Portuguese Crown emerged victorious from the conflict, thanks to the indigenous people who knew the territory and to guerrilla techniques.
The Battles of Guararapes was responsible for bringing new elements to the country history:
- Militarily: Emergence of guerrilla tactics;
- Socially: Joint action between Indigenous, African and European.
Furthermore, the occurrence of these battles was one of the factors that weakened the Dutch power in the Portuguese colony.
Historical context of the Battles of the Guararapes
The two Battles of the Guararapes took place during the Dutch occupation in the northeast of the Portuguese colony.
This occupation took place when Portugal came under the command of Spain, after the death of the Portuguese king, Dom Sebastião, in 1580.
As the monarch had left no heir and the King of Spain, Philip II, was the closest relative, the Spanish Crown came to command both the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Portugal.
The Netherlands, which was a Spanish possession, was at war for independence.
Holland was the main province among the Netherlands. Aiming to attack the Spaniards, the Dutch decide to occupy the Portuguese colonies.
For the onslaught to succeed, the country created the Dutch East and West India Companies.
The one from the West was responsible for the occupation of the northeast region of the Portuguese colony. In 1624, the Dutch set out for the Bahia. However, they were expelled from the region after one year.
In 1630, Holland manages to occupy the captaincy of Pernambuco, the mouth of the São Francisco River (alagoas and Sergipe) to the state of Ceará.
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The main objective of the Dutch was to explore the production of sugar. The increase in taxes and debts made by planters to the Dutch West India Company, made the relationship between the Portuguese and the Dutch weaken.
Thus, the population itself decides to unite to expel the Dutch from the territory. The main battles took place in Morro dos Guararapes, with the participation of the Portuguese, Africans and indigenous people against the Dutch.
1st Battle of the Guararapes
On April 19, 1648, two armies, one commanded by Sigmund von Schkoppe and the other by Francisco Barreto, began fighting.
The army led by Schkoppe, which aimed to defend Dutch interests, had about 4,500 soldiers and 1,000 indigenous people.
Barreto, who represented Portuguese interests, brought together 2,200 men, including enslaved Africans, Europeans and indigenous people.
Even with fewer fighters, the Portuguese-Brazilians stood out, managing to guarantee victory over the Dutch.
2nd Battle of the Guararapes
In 1649 another conflict occurred. The Portuguese-Brazilian army presented a new tactic in the February 19 battle.
The army split in two, one group north of the hill and the other south, so that the soldiers hid in the cane fields to protect themselves from the blazing sun and the Dutch fighters.
The Dutch army, on the other hand, settled on the open part of the hill, receiving all the sunlight. Thus, the Portuguese-Brazilian army awaited the Dutch movement until three in the afternoon.
When they moved, they received sudden attacks. With that, the victory of the Luso-Brazilians was less painful than the previous one.
The balance of victims of the Dutch totaled 1,044 dead and more than 500 injured. The Luso-Brazilians lost 47 lives and 200 were injured.
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