Dutch expedition to Valdivia

Dutch expedition to Valdivia
Part of the Eighty Years' War

Hendrik Brouwer organised and led the expedition until he died in Chiloé
Date6 November 1642 – 28 December 1643
(1 year, 1 month, 3 weeks and 1 day)
LocationThe Pacific coast of Spanish South America
Belligerents
Dutch Republic Dutch Republic Spain Spain
Commanders and leaders
Dutch Republic Hendrik Brouwer
Dutch Republic Elias Herckmans		 Spain Pedro de Toledo
Spain Andrés Herrera
SpainFernando de Alvarado
Strength
Several ships
600 men

The Dutch expedition to Valdivia was a naval expedition, commanded by Hendrik Brouwer, sent by the Dutch Republic in 1643 to establish a base of operations and a trading post on the southern coast of Chile. With Spain and the Dutch Republic at war, the Dutch wished to take over the ruins of the abandoned Spanish city of Valdivia. The expedition sacked the Spanish settlements of Carelmapu and Castro in the Chiloé Archipelago before sailing to Valdivia. The Dutch arrived in Valdivia on 24 August 1643 and named the colony Brouwershaven after Brouwer, who had died several weeks earlier. The short-lived colony was abandoned on 28 October 1643. Nevertheless, the occupation caused great alarm among Spanish authorities. The Spanish resettled Valdivia and began the construction of an extensive network of fortifications in 1645 to prevent any similar intrusions. Although contemporaries considered the possibility of a new incursion, the expedition was the last one undertaken by the Dutch on the west coast of the Americas.

Background

In 1598 a general uprising developed among the Mapuche and Huilliche people of southern Chile. On 23 December they ambushed and wiped out a Spanish column at the Battle of Curalaba. The subsequent Arauco War was to smolder for over 250 years but its immediate effect was the so-called "Destruction of the Seven Cities": the Spanish cities of Angol, La Imperial, Osorno, Santa Cruz de Oñez, Valdivia and Villarrica were either destroyed or abandoned.[1] Only Chillán and Concepción resisted the Mapuche sieges and attacks.[2] With the exception of the Chiloé Archipelago all the Chilean territory south of Bío Bío River became free of Spanish rule.[1] The abandoned city of Valdivia turned into an attractive site for Spain's enemies to control since it would allow them to establish a base amidst Spain's Chilean possessions.[3]

In 1600 local Huilliches joined the Dutch corsair Baltazar de Cordes in attacking the Spanish settlement of Castro in Chiloé.[4][5] While this was an opportunistic assault, the Spanish believed the Dutch could attempt to ally with the Mapuches and establish a stronghold in southern Chile.[6] The Spanish were aware of the Dutch plans to establish themselves at the ruins of Valdivia and so attempted to re-establish Spanish rule there before the arrival of the Dutch.[7] These efforts were thwarted in the 1630s by the impossibility of establishing an overland route through the territory of the hostile Mapuches. The ruins of Valdivia, at the head of its splendid natural harbour, remained a tempting target for Spain's enemies.[7]

Expedition

The location of Valdivia, Carelmapu and Staten Island within the modern boundaries of Chile and Argentina

In 1642, the Dutch East India Company joined with the Dutch West Indies Company in organising an expedition under Hendrik Brouwer to Chile to establish a trading base at Valdivia, long abandoned.[8] The expedition was small compared to the Dutch forces that had taken over much of Portuguese Brazil, but it was anticipated that it would be supported by the fiercely anti-Spanish Mapuche-Huilliche confederation once it reached Chile.[9] The expedition was issued formal instructions to capture the gold mines, capture Valdivia, make alliances with the indigenous peoples, the Mapuches and the Huilliches, and to explore Santa María Island.[10][11] Except for Brouwer and other leaders, the true objectives were not known to the participants of the expedition; they were led to believe that it was a raiding and trading voyage.[9]

Brouwer and a small fleet of an unknown number of vessels left the Netherlands on 6 November 1642 with 250 men.[9] The fleet called at Mauritsstad (modern Recife) in Dutch Brazil where John Maurice of Nassau resupplied it and provided an additional 350 men.[8][9][10] As the expedition was aimed at cold southern latitudes woolen clothes were rationed among the crew and passengers. The supply ship Orange Tree became detached near Cape Horn but managed to return to Recife with a broken mast. The loss of this ship strained the expedition's supplies.[9] While rounding Cape Horn, the expedition established that Staten Island was not part of the hypothetical Southern Land, since it sailed east and south of the island.[9][10]

Chiloé

In May 1643, the expedition arrived at the Chiloé Archipelago.[12] The Spanish at the small fortified settlement of Carelmapu spotted the Dutch on 20 May and sent infantry and cavalry to prevent them from landing.[12][13] In the face of this threat, the Dutch had to land further away from Carelmapu at Punta de la Arena.[13] With a force of 200 musketeers and arquebusiers the Dutch advanced on Carelmapu, starting bushfires to clear their way.[13] The Spanish emptied the fort of Carelmapu and hid their women and children in the forests. After the well-ordered Dutch troops opened fire on the Spanish forces they retreated hastily into the woods.[13] The Dutch entered the fort of Carelmapu, capturing much equipment, supplies and horses. A counter-attack by the Spanish ended in failure and the death of the Spanish Governor of Chiloé, Andrés Herrera.[14] Carelmapu was subsequently sacked and its Catholic church vandalised.[12][13][14] The plunder of Carelmapu gave the Dutch the opportunity to replenish their depleted food supplies but they had revealed their presence to the Spanish.[12][15] However, in Carelmapu the Dutch learned that their arrival had been expected as they recovered a letter sent to the settlement's corregidor from Pedro de Toledo, the Spanish viceroy in Peru, warning of a Dutch expedition and ordering the use a scorched earth strategy against them.[12] The Dutch captured a Spaniard who later guided them to the Spanish settlement of Castro and other places in the archipelago.[14]

Fernando de Alvarado succeeded Andrés Herrera as military commander of the Spanish in Chiloé. Upon hearing of the Dutch advance on Castro the Spanish removed the straw roofs of the houses and the wood shingle roof of the church to render them useless as shelters and more difficult to burn. As in Carelmapu, the Dutch sacked the settlement and vandalised its church. According to contemporary Spanish chronicler Diego de Rosales, the Dutch insulted the prisoners in Spanish, Latin and Portuguese, called them cowards, and encouraged them to reveal where they could find their women.[14] In July, the expedition returned to Carelmapu where 470 Mapuche-Huilliches agreed to join the expedition to Valdivia. The expedition spent May to mid-August, the southern hemisphere winter, resting, reorganising and repairing ships and equipment. It also gathered intelligence on the Chiloé Archipelago.[12] On 7 August, Brouwer died in Puerto Inglés.[10][12] Maurice of Nassau had foreseen that this might happen and had provided the expedition with a sealed letter to be opened in this eventuality.[16] The letter transferred command to Vice-General Elias Herckmans, who had until then been in charge of the ship Vlissingen; he had previously been governor of Paraíba.[10][12][16]

Valdivia

The expedition set sail for Valdivia on 21 August and reached their destination within three days.[12] Herckmans arrived at the mouth of Valdivia River in Corral Bay on 24 August. From there the Dutch had difficulties sailing up the Valdivia River to the site of Valdivia as they lacked experience of sailing on rivers.[16] The ruins of Valdivia were reached the same day. In Valdivia the Dutch established a new settlement, which Herckmans named Brouwershaven after Brouwer, who was buried there.[10] By September the Dutch had established a friendly relationship with Manquipillan, a local tribal leader. A ship under Captain Elbert Crispijnsen was sent back to Dutch Brazil on 25 September to report on the positive development of the colony and request additional supplies.[12] In Valdivia the Dutch begun the construction of a fort.[11]

The Mapuches begun to realise the Dutch had no plans of leaving and their search for gold caused suspicion, leading the locals to halt their deliveries of food.[12][11] The Mapuche chief Manqueante, from Mariquina, provided relief to the hungry Dutch in the form of cattle. This relief was only temporary since Manqueante probably considered it a farewell gift.[12] The Dutch failed to find the anticipated gold mines.[17] In view of these problems on 15 October they took the decision to retreat to Mancera Island, thus abandoning Valdivia.[11] Before leaving, Manqueante was contacted by Herckmans to let him know that the Dutch intended to return with 1,000 African slaves to take care of mining and agriculture in order to leave the indigenous peoples free of forced labour. This promise was never fulfilled.[12]

Return to Brazil

The expedition finally left Chile on 28 October and reached Recife on 28 December. In Brazil the reinforcements and provisions asked for by Crispijnsen were ready to sail for Valdivia and John Maurice of Nassau was disappointed to learn that the colony had been dismantled. The Pernambucan Insurrection broke out in Dutch Brazil in 1645, recapturing most of the Dutch territory and putting great pressure on the local Dutch leaders. With no resources to spare, Dutch pretensions in Chile were at an end.[18]

Spanish response

A view of Niebla Fort, one of the many forts the Spanish established around Corral Bay following the Dutch occupation of Valdivia.
A map of Corral Bay, showing the location of the finished coastal defences. The four largest forts are marked with red.

Having been told by Manqueante that the Dutch planned to return, Pedro de Toledo ordered 2,000 men to march over land from Central Chile in 1644 to resettle Valdivia and fortify it. These troops never arrived in Valdivia, probably due to Mapuche resistance. De Toledo also sent twenty ships and 1,000 men from El Callao in Peru. The large fleet, which gained a further two ships in Chile, was unprecedented in the region and astounded contemporary observers. It arrived at Valdivia without incident and disembarked the soldiers with their equipment and supplies. The Spanish disinterred and burned Brouwer's body.[18][10]

The soldiers of the new garrison and the artisans despatched with them commenced construction of a system of defensive fortifications. These would become the Valdivian Fort System, the most important defensive complex of the American South Pacific coast. It is an exceptional example of the Hispanic-American school of fortification. The building and maintenance of the fortifications became a heavy burden for the Spanish colonial finances but this was felt necessary in order to defend the southern approaches to Peru, the colony which, along with Mexico, constituted the main source of wealth for the Spanish Crown.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Villalobos et al. 1974, p. 109.
  2. ↑ Bengoa 2003, pp. 324–325.
  3. ↑ "Valdivia colonial (1552–1820)". Memoria Chilena (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "La encomienda". Memoria Chilena (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  5. ↑ Urbina Burgos, Rodolfo (1990). "La rebelión indigena de 1712: Los tributarios de Chiloé contra la encomienda" (PDF). Tiempo y Espacio (in Spanish). 1: 73–86. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  6. ↑ Clark 2006, p. 13.
  7. 1 2 Bengoa 2003, pp. 450–451.
  8. 1 2 Lane 1998, p. 87.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lane 1998, p. 88.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kock, Robbert. "Dutch in Chile". Colonial Voyage.com. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Intento de colonización". Memoria Chilena (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Lane 1998, p. 89.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Rosales 1878, p. 219.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Rosales 1878, p. 220
  15. ↑ Clark 2006, p. 157.
  16. 1 2 3 Montt 1971, p. 22.
  17. ↑ Montt 1971, p. 23.
  18. 1 2 3 Lane 1998, p. 90.

Bibliography

  • Bengoa, José (2003). Historia de los antiguos mapuches del sur (in Spanish). Santiago: Catalonia. ISBN 978-956-8303-02-0.
  • Clark Berger, Eugene (2006). Permanent war on Peru's periphery: Frontier identity and the politics of conflict in 17th century Chile (PDF) (Ph.D.). Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  • Lane, Kris E. (1998). Pillaging the Empire: Piracy in the Americas 1500–1750. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-76560-256-5.
  • Medina, J. T. (1928). Feliú Cruz, Guillermo, ed. Opúsculos varios (PDF) (in Spanish). III. Santiago de Chile: Imprenta Universitaria. OCLC 31175378.
  • Montt Pinto, Isabel (1971). Breve Historia de Valdivia (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Editorial Francisco de Aguirre. OCLC 1397610.
  • de Rosales, Diego (1878). Vicuña Mackenna, Benjamín, ed. Historia general de el reyno de Chile. Flandes indiano (PDF) (in Spanish). III. Valparaíso: Imprenta de El Mercurio. OCLC 55283128.
  • Villalobos, Sergio; Silva, Osvaldo; Silva, Fernando; Estelle, Patricio (1974). Historia de Chile (in Spanish) (14th ed.). Santiago de Chile: Editorial Universitaria. ISBN 978-956-11-1163-9.
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