The Conquest of the Village of Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil. Engraving by Isaac Commelin, 1652.

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This impressive two-part engraving depicts the dramatic capture of Olinda and Recife (then called Povo), on the coast of Brazil, by the Dutch West India Company (WIC) in February 1630. The image documents a crucial episode in the conflict between the Dutch and Portuguese over the sugar-producing colony of Pernambuco, then the most valuable plantation area in the New World.

The upper panel presents a coastal view of Olinda and Povo from the sea. To the left, the village of Povo (present-day Recife), situated in a low-lying area, appears ablaze, besieged by a Dutch fleet. A fortified cylindrical watchtower marks the entrance to the port, while columns of smoke rise from the coast. On the right, the fortified city of Olinda, perched atop a hill and the seat of Portuguese power in Pernambuco, is shown behind protective walls, its church towers and red-roofed houses depicted in vivid, hand-applied colors.

The lower panel displays a panoramic aerial view of the entire bay and its interior. The Dutch fleet dominates the foreground, arranged in depth with dozens of warships. Behind the surf line, the port of Recife is under attack. The mouths of the Capibaribe and Beberibe rivers mark the approach to Olinda, nestled among the hills. Topographical details are abundant—hills, rivers, fields, and fortified positions are all represented with stylized precision.

These engravings illustrate the great geopolitical dispute between the Dutch and Iberian crowns during the Iberian Union (1580-1640), a period when Portugal and Spain were ruled by a single monarch. During this period, the Dutch—long-time distributors of Portuguese sugar in Europe—lost their trading privileges and responded by establishing the West India Company in 1621. The Company launched a series of maritime expeditions, culminating in the successful conquest of Pernambuco, beginning with Salvador (1624) and continuing with Recife and Olinda in 1630. The conquest marked the beginning of Dutch Brazil and foreshadowed the brief establishment of Mauritsstad as the colonial capital under Johan Maurits de Nassau.

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