John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, is the…
July 1644 CE
John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, is the son of John VII of Nassau; his grandfather was John VI of Nassau, the younger brother of Dutch stadtholder William the Silent of Orange.
Joining the Dutch army in 1621, at a very early age, he had distinguished himself in the campaigns of his cousin, the stadtholder Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange.
Becoming captain in 1624, he had been involved in 1629 in the capture of Den Bosch.
He had in 1636 conquered a fortress at Schenkenschans.
Appointed as the governor of the Dutch possessions in Brazil in 1636 by the Dutch West India Company on recommendation of Frederick Henry, John Maurice had landed at Recife in January 1637.
By a series of successful expeditions, he has gradually extended the Dutch possessions from Sergipe on the south to São Luís de Maranhão in the north.
He has likewise conquered the Portuguese possessions of Elmina Castle, Saint Thomas, and Luanda, Angola, on the west coast of Africa.
With the assistance of the famous architect, Pieter Post of Haarlem, he has transformed Recife by building a new town adorned with splendid public edifices and gardens, which is called after his name, Mauritsstad.
The governor has invited artists and scientists to the colony to help promote Brazil and increase immigration.
The painter Abraham Willaerts serves as a member of John Maurice's entourage.
By his statesmanlike policy, he has brought the colony into a most flourishing condition and succeeded even in reconciling the Portuguese settlers to submit quietly to Dutch rule.
He has also established a city council in which Catholics, Protestants, and Jews participate together.
Besides this tolerance, he has also encouraged Recife's growth and imposed a kind of social housing project.
His large schemes and lavish expenditure alarm the parsimonious directors of the West India company, but John Maurice refuses to retain his post unless he is given a free hand.
He departs in July 1644 for Europe.