Painstaking research in Dutch and Portuguese archive materials, so far poorly assessed on the topic of social relations, reveals intense and intricate associations between different European... Show morePainstaking research in Dutch and Portuguese archive materials, so far poorly assessed on the topic of social relations, reveals intense and intricate associations between different European individuals both in terms of ethnicity and social strata. Despite their supposed "nationality" and religion, Dutch and Portuguese colonists were able to accommodate linguistic differences, engaged in inter-confessional marriages and illicit liaisons and, together with French, German and English individu-als, served in the colony’s militia. Economical interactions between Dutch and Portuguese preceded the formation of Dutch Brazil since agents were involved in an array of material exchanges in Europe and in Portuguese America. After 1630, this did not change much. On a daily basis, historical actors extended credit, borrowed money, operated in retail trade, the sugar and dye wood industries, as well as in the slave trade. Long before Dutch rule in Brazil, individuals were able to exploit Dutch and Portuguese legisla-tion to defend their interests. Following the conquest of Recife, the WIC succeeded in imple-menting Dutch legislation in the colony, enforcing Dutch laws and legal procedures. Dutch and Portuguese alike were able to resort to courts of law to solve their disputes and faced judg-ment under the different codes after breaking the law. Show less
This thesis argues that lobbying was an important phenomenon in the seventeenth-century and that it had far-reaching influence on the course of history. Seventeenth-century lobbying took the form... Show moreThis thesis argues that lobbying was an important phenomenon in the seventeenth-century and that it had far-reaching influence on the course of history. Seventeenth-century lobbying took the form of petitions, personal relations, and pressure through public opinion. The importance of lobbying means that people (including ordinary people) could be more important than large organizations such as the WIC for, for example, the colonial empire. An example of successful lobby includes the introduction of regulations governing the storage of sugar during the night. This quality amelioration was an initiative of the sugar producers and not of the Company. Another example is the successful lobby by the Brazilian inhabitants to not only employ enslaved Africans, but to also force the indigenous population into slave labor on the sugar plantations. Moreover, within the Dutch Republic people were forced to tone down their reports or to alter their opinion because of 'political sensitivities'. It is interesting that lobbying alliances transcended traditional boundaries in society. This means that Jews lobbied with Christians, women with men, soldiers with captains, French people with Scotts and Hollanders, and inhabitants of The Hague together with citizens in Middelburg, Leiden, and Dordrecht.In other words, people made a difference. Show less
