The “Battle of the Guararapes ” was an armed confrontation involving the Kingdom of Portugal, supported by the Luso-Brazilian defenders of the Empire and the invading army of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces (Holland), for the domain of the northeast region of Brazil, in the period known as Colonial Brazil.
In fact, the fight lasted from April 1648 to February 1649 and took place in Morro dos Guararapes, a region of the municipality of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, near Recife, where the two battles of the conflict took place in which colonial troops of the Portuguese Crown were crowned. they were victorious against a force far superior to their own, thanks to guerrilla techniques that took advantage of the native knowledge of the territory.
Nevertheless, this battle is considered the symbolic mark for the origin of the Brazilian Army, since a feeling of patriotism and Brazilian nationalism aligned Europeans, Luso-Brazilians, blacks and indigenous people to expel the Dutch.
The names of the main "Patriot" commanders of this battle were inscribed in the "Book of Heroes of the Fatherland", among them João Fernandes Vieira, André Vidal de Negreiros, Francisco B. de Meneses, Filipe Camarão, Henrique Dias and Antônio Dias Cardoso.
To learn more:Brazil Colony
Historical Context
With the end of the War of Restoration between the kingdoms of Portugal and Spain, which resulted in the reestablishment of Portuguese independence in 1640, the Dutch see their dominions in northeastern Brazil threatened, especially by the Pernambuco Insurrection (1645-1649), an uprising involving the main sugar producers in the region against the Dutch, creditors of the debts of those planters. Thus, Holland decides to conquer the Cape region, in Pernambuco, in order to guarantee the “sweet” and profitable trade of the sugar that was produced there.
To learn more:Pernambuco Revolution
1st Battle of Guararapes - April 19, 1648
Under the command of Sigismund von Schkoppe and Johan van den Brinken, the Dutch troops (7,400 men and 6 artillery pieces) crossed the Estrada da Batalha, where the Guararapes hill is located, a place conducive to ambushes.
Surprisingly, 60 scouts from Portuguese-Brazilian troops attacked the Dutch vanguard, luring the Dutch into a deadly trap in a narrow passage between the hills and the mangrove called Boqueirão (big mouth), where they were caught on the flanks and torn apart by patriotic infantry and artillery. (2,200 men and 6 artillery pieces).
As a result, there were 1,200 casualties and 700 wounded among the Dutch and 84 dead plus 400 wounded among Portuguese-Brazilian forces.
2nd Battle of Guararapes - February 19, 1649
On February 18, 1649, the Dutch army leaves Recife for a rematch, with more than five thousand experienced soldiers, including hundreds of Indians, blacks and volunteer sailors.
Once again, the Portuguese-Brazilians destroyed the Dutch forces at Boqueirão, where they were positioned with 6 squadrons and two artillery pieces. Believing that Commander João Fernandes Vieira's forces (800 soldiers) were all that was left of the resistance, the Dutch attacked with full force and were left vulnerable from the flanks, where they were taken by surprise by 2,600 infantry and 50 horsemen, resulting in an impressive number of casualties for the Batavians (2,000 dead, including their best commander Van den Brinck and 90 wounded), while the Luso-Brazilian coalition forces remained almost intact (47 dead and 200 wounded).
With no hope of victory, the troops of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces fled to Recife, where they were besieged for years, until they surrendered in 1654 and left Brazil, abandoning all their possessions in the Portuguese colony.
See more texts on the subject :
- Dutch Invasions
- Iberian Union
- History of Pernambuco