Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University
Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University
Dissertation_A Bick_May 25 - DataSpace at Princeton University
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On Wednesday, the same day the ship arrived <strong>at</strong> the port of Middelburg, these were shared with<br />
as many of the Zeeland chamber's fourteen directors as were present on th<strong>at</strong> day. By Friday the<br />
documents had reached the Prince of Orange and his military court; by S<strong>at</strong>urday they reached the<br />
St<strong>at</strong>es General in The Hague. They probably reached Amsterdam the same day or early the next<br />
day, Sunday, September 3. The news would have reached Delft, Rotterdam, and Dordrecht no<br />
l<strong>at</strong>er than Monday, September 4, and probably considerably earlier. It thus took fewer than six<br />
days for company officials in three of the five chambers, and represent<strong>at</strong>ives of all seven<br />
provinces in the Republic, to learn in detail about the events in Brazil, either by letter or directly<br />
from a director of the Zeeland chamber. Given Zeeland’s geographic loc<strong>at</strong>ion, some two days<br />
travel from The Hague and three from Amsterdam, this is remarkable.<br />
More remarkable, though, was the speed with which news of the revolt reached the<br />
Amsterdam press. Since 1618, Jan van Hilten’s Courante uyt Italien en Duytslandt, &c. and<br />
Broer Jansz.’s Tijdinghe uyt verscheyde Quartieren each had appeared once a week on<br />
S<strong>at</strong>urday. 45 On September 2—just three days after the ships arrived in Middelburg, and the same<br />
day th<strong>at</strong> the directors from Zeeland met with the St<strong>at</strong>es General in The Hague—both papers ran<br />
stories about the revolt in Brazil. 46 The stories themselves were in general quite similar, but<br />
<br />
45 Folke Dahl, “Amsterdam Earliest Newspaper Centre of Western Europe: New Contributions to the History of the<br />
First Dutch and French Corantos,” 171–185.<br />
46 Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Film C1104, Courante uyt Italien en Duytsch-landt, &c. Printed for Jan van Hilton,<br />
Amsterdam, No. 35, September 2, 1645; Film C1101, Tijdinghe uyt verscheyde quartieren, No. 35 d<strong>at</strong>ed 2<br />
September 1645. The text in the Courante reads, “Alle Dorpen in Brasil beginnen [ha]er teghen ons op te setten/<br />
door dien de meeste Singoores van de Ingenios de Ingesetenen tot haer devoti[...] bracht hebben/ waer mede sy<br />
marcheren en[...] soecken aen verscheyde Quartieren te over[...] haer vournemen is dus [..] Jodes ghe[...] derlijk<br />
ontdeckt/ ende hadden voorgh[...] ons op de 24 deserre overvallen/ door middel van seker Bruyloft van een van de<br />
voornaemste portugesen/ ende souden daer op ghenoodight hebben heeren hoogen Raden/ van de Justitie/ het<br />
Collegie ende veel andere/ 't welck sulcks gheschiedt zynde/ souden de selve vermoort/ desselfs cleederen<br />
aenghetrocken/ ende daer op dese Vestinghe aengetast hebben; maer Godt heeft ons daer van bewaert/ ende is den<br />
28 daer over een Dancksegginghe ghedaen: De Burgheren ende Inwoonderen zyn alhier ghemonstert ende 1800<br />
streck bevonden/ gheresolveert voor 't Vaderlandt te vechten. Vele Duytschen komen op het Recijf ghevlucht.” The<br />
text in the Tijdinghe reads, “Drie Schepen in 't last van Juny (te weten de Moor, het Hart, en Groote Gerrit) van<br />
Brasil afgevaren/ zyn in Zeelant wel gearriveert/ brengen tijdinge d<strong>at</strong> twee van de grootste Schepen/ die al gheladen<br />
waren/ daer noch bleven/ door dien sy het volck daer wilden behouden/ om oorsake d<strong>at</strong>ter een Conspir<strong>at</strong>ie van de<br />
54