Service* The Difficulties they met with in their Pailage, 
when outward bound, were repeated in that which 
brought them home ; fo that Bankert died before the 
Fleet arrived in Holland^ and fo did feveral of his Of- 
ficers almoft as foon as they came affiore but the Sieur 
Shuk^ who was fent home by the Adminiftration in Bra- 
furvived ; and upon his Application to the Statssy 
and his moft particular and affedling Account of the 
Pofture of things in that Country, they refolved to make 
one general and great Effort for the Prefervation of fo va- 
luable an Acquifition •, and accordingly gave Orders for 
equipping a ftrong Fleet of fifty Sail of large Men of War, 
and embarking therein fix thoufand regular Troops, the 
Command of which they gave to Admiral JVitte-Wittezeny 
at that Time efteemed the ableft Officer in their Service. 
This Armament alarmed the Crown of Portugal to 
fuch a Degree, that Orders were fent to the Embaffador 
then refident in Hollandy to promife the States any thing 
that might prevent their profecuting this Defign, which, 
at firfl, had fome Effed •, but the Dutchy receiving at 
this Time the- melancholy Account of what had hap- 
pened at the Receify determined not to be the Dupes of 
fuch a Negotiation ; and therefore, towards the End of 
the Year 1650, they not only difpatched Admiral JVitte- 
Wittezen with his Fleet, but likewife projeded the fend- 
ing another Fleet after him, with an additional Supply of 
between five and fix thoufand Men more. One would 
have, imagined. Succours like thefe, exceeding, if I am 
not miftaken, any thing that has been done by other 
Maritime Powers, in Support of any fingle Colony, 
would have anfwered the End effedually, more efpecially 
as Portugal did not arm in any Proportion, or fend over 
any regular Troops, at this Time, to But, how- 
ever, ail proved vain and ineffedual ; for the Elements 
declared as fierce and as inflexible a War againft the 
J)utch Fleets and Armies, as the PortuguezCy the Negroesy 
and the Brazilians. The Climate, which feemed natural 
to all thefe, proved abfolutely mortal to tht Dutch. The 
former living there on the natural Produce of the Coun- 
try, were healthy, hearty, and robuft ; intermarrying 
with the Natives, they multiplied apace, and had but 
one common Interefl:, whereas the latter fubfifting entire- 
ly on the Provifions fent them from EuropCy grew pale, 
wan, and feeble, and died in great Numbers. 
Hence it came to pafs, that when the great Fleets be- 
fore mentioned, after fuffering much by Storms and Tern-, 
peflsin their PaflTage, arrived at lengthen theCoaft of Fer- 
nambucuy they found, inftead of a Colony, a mere Hof- 
pital of fick, maimed, and infirm People j and, in the 
room of thofe Fortreflfes they were to have relieved, a 
Colledion of Church-yards filled with the Bodies of thofe 
who had been before fent on the fame Errand •, the Sight 
of which affeded the Admiral in fuch a Manner, that, 
notwithftanding the precife Orders he had received, he 
determined with himfelf not to bury the remainder of 
his People there, which from his firfl; Arrival he began 
to do apace, but to return home without delay, which he 
accordingly did, leaving things in a much worfe Condi- 
tion than he found them ; and the JVeJi India Company, 
befides all the reft of its Misfortunes, opprefled by a very 
heavy Debt, contraded on the Score of his unfortunate 
Expedition. We need not wonder, therefore, that upon 
his Return there was a dreadful Out-cry fet up againft 
him to allay which, the States were obliged to commit 
him to Prifon •, but he very foon juftified himfelf to their 
Satisfadion, and indeed to the Satisfadion of every body 
but the Proprietors of the JVefi India Company, on whofe 
Diredors at home, and in Brazily he laid the blame of all 
thefe Mifearriages. _ ^ ■ 
It would be needlefs to purfue this Subjed more par- 
ticularly from this time to the total Exclufion of the 
Dutchy becaufe it would contain only a Repetition of the 
fame kind of Fads, and confequently prove far enough 
from being entertaining or inftruding. It may therefore 
fuffice to fay, that towards the clofe of the Year 1653,^ 
the PortuguezCy who now publickly ov/ned the Caufe ot 
' John Fernandez Vieruy fent a Fleet of fixteen large Men 
of War to attack the Receif by Sea, and to blow up Part 
of its Fortifications ^ which fo terrified the Dutch Gar- 
rifon, that they abfolutely refufed to fight j fo that the 
next Year they furrendered every thing they pofleffed j 
and, in 1 655, they returned to Holland. It is inconceiv- 
able what an Uproar thk raifed in that Country, and 
with what Heat and Fury the People demanded Juftice 
againft General Sigifmond SchuppeUy who had command- 
ed in Chief for many Years, and who was Governor of 
the Receif when it furrendered. The Statesy perhaps, 
cut of favour to him and his Officers, fent them to Pri- 
fon ; and they could not, in refped to Juftice, refufe him 
the only Grace he afleed, which was to make a public 
Defence ; v/herein he laid open, fo clearly, his own long 
and faithful Services to the Dutch Nation, recapitulated 
all the Succeflfes they had under the Adminiflration of 
Count MauricCy and gave fo true a Pi6lure of the Mife- 
ries and Misfortunes they had ftiffered fmee he went thi- 
ther laft, that the People wept, and the Judges acquitted 
him. 
There is fomething fo ftrange, fomething fo unac- 
countable in this Tranfadion, from the Beginning to the 
End of it, that I cannot think it will be looked upon as 
either tedious or impertinent, if I point out clearly, and 
in a narrow Compafs, the Caufes of this extraordinary 
Revolution, which I take to have been principally three. 
The firft, and indeed the principal one, was recalHng 
Count Maurice of NaJfaUy and changing the Government; 
which I muft beg leave to explain, for the Sake of fuch 
of our Countrymen as may not fully apprehend it. Count 
Maurice was a great Captain, and a true Politician he 
very well knew, that in a conquered Country a military 
Adminiflration was as requifite as a civil one and fo 
contrived his own, that it was a proper Mixture of both. 
His firft Care was to extend the Dominions of his Coun- 
trymen, that they might have room enough to fix a po- 
tent Colony, and a fertile Territory fufficient to maintain 
it. On the Frontiers he built ftrong Fortrefles, brought 
the Native Brazilmis to relifli living according to their 
own Manner, under the Dutch Protedion, and to be 
willing to work for W ages ; he likewife filled the Coun- 
try with Negroes, from his Conquefts in Africa ; 
and, when he had thus fecured a large, pleafant, and 
fruitful Country, and People enough to fubfift in it, he 
began to build his new City of Mauriceburghy to raife 
his admirable Palace, to lay out his fine Gardens, and to 
do every thing that mdght encourage Art and Induftry ; 
and, by adorning and inriching the Counmy, fix fuch 
People as came to get Eftates there, to their Eftates when 
got. By this Policy of his, it muft allowed that he did 
not fill the Company’s Coffers, but he ferved his Country 
and the Company too very effedually, by putting the 
Colony upon a right Eftabliffiment, and giving it fuch 
a Force within itfelf, as all the Power of his Enemies 
could not have overthrown : This he was able to do from, 
the extenfive Authority lodged in his Hands, by his Com- 
miffion from the States *, and yet the Extent of his Power 
could only reach to what was good *, had he endeavoured 
to carry it farther, his Council might, and would, have 
interpofed : But it was quite otherwife with the Govern- 
ment that fucceeded him-, for they had a boundiefs 
Power of doing Mifchief, and very little Capacity of do- 
ing Good, as appeared very clearly from their whole 
Adminiflration, and indeed it could not well be otherwife ; 
for, whereas Count Maurice came naturally from com- 
manding at home to a Government- abroad, thefe Men 
were fetched from behind Counters to acl the Part of 
Soldiers, Seamen, and Statefmen. I do not fay this to 
difparage Trade, but to flievr the Folly of fuppofmg that 
the greateft Mailers of 1 rade fhould be able by Inflind 
to manage thofe Trades they were not bred up to, and 
confequently upon their own Principles cannot imder- 
fland. They were of excellent Ufe to Count MauricCy 
as his Council, and I firmly believe, he could not 
have done without them ■ but then I hope I fhall 
efcape Cenfure for affirming, that they knew as little how 
to do without him. 
The fecond Caufe of the Declenfion of the Dutch Af- 
fairs, was the too hafty Defire of the Company to draw a 
great Revenue from this Colony, whicn put them upon 
moft unreafonable Reduftionsof their Expence. The firft 
Point 
