First edition, the most famous book published on Brazil of the 17th century, illustrated with double page and folding views of Brazilian ports, cities and maps by Blaeu, all inspired in the paintings by Franz Post, who accompanied Nassau on his trip to Brazil, it contains the most reliable iconography on the daily lives of its inhabitants, includes the recently arrived African black salves to the country. This is the folio edition, coveted by collectors over the small and far more common 8vo edition.
“One of the most beautiful books on Brazil of this period" and of "inestimable documentary value” (Borba de Moraes).
Contents and the relation between the Dutch and the native population:
“In the humanist view of the liberal arts, historiography and poetry were affiliated genres. However, a comprehensive prose work of history, in which many mundane issues had to be covered alongside lofty topics, was a completely new undertaking for Barlaeus. He tackled the task energetically. Johan Maurits sent him the documents he could use for the historical account in January 1645… The Brazilian history was lavishly illustrated. The majority of the fifty-six plates were designed by Frans Post, one of the artists who accompanied Johan Maurits to Brazil…” (p.237)
“In the account of the war, Barlaeus interwove passages about Johan Maurits´s actions as governor with descriptions of the geography, the flora and fauna, the population and the sugar plantations in the colony. His history painted a picture of a colonial administration that endeavored to be fair to everyone. Johan Maurits and his fellow governors appeased the Portuguese and the other population groups by means of a carefully-weighed balance of military presence and measures aimed at promoting prosperity and cooperation. They maintained sufficient troops to suppress any rebellion that might threaten… They protected the Indians in the colony from slavery in another guise, placed them under the authority of their own village elders and recruited them as auxiliary forces by rewarding them appropriately. They made allies of savage, cannibal Indians from the outlying areas and tried to civilize them. By promoting economic recovery, Johan Maurits and his fellow administrators did the whole population, including the black slaves, a service. They stopped the extortion of plantation owners by local commanders and restored peace and order to rural areas. They protected the inhabitants against the Portuguese incursions from Bahia and against raids by marauding Maroons in southern Pernambuco. By resuming the import of slaves and by selling on credit they ensured that the worforces on the plantations grew and sugar production increased. They promoted regulated free trade between the colony and the Netherlands to replace the WIC monopoly. This created the opportunity to establish fair prices for Brazilian exports and European imports and encouraged trade with the home country… Barlaeus was consequently able to conclude his history with praise for the governor…” (Van den Boogaart, Ernst. “A Well-Governed Colony: Frans Post’s Illustrations in Caspar Barlaeus’s History of Dutch Brazil.” The Rijksmuseum Bulletin 59, no. 3 (2011): 236–71, p.238-239).
The illustration:
The Rerum comprises 25 double-page engraved maps and plans by Blaeu, 31 double-page engraved plates (all but 8 of which are signed by Post), an engraved title page and a portrait of Maurice van Nassau, who acted as Governor of the Dutch colony. The engraving is the work of two artists, Jan van Brosterhuisen and Salomon Savery.
“The aim of the illustrations to Barlaeus´s history was to help readers form a picture of the places where the events took place. They included topographical prints, plans, detailed maps, maps of larger areas of Dutch Brazil and a few maritime scenes. The twenty-seven topographical views are of places in Brazil, West Africa and Dillenburg in Germany… The four maps of the area of Brazil captured by the Dutch are made up of a cartographic element and illustrative vignettes. The cartographic part was designed in Brazil by Georg Marcgraf, a German naturalist employed by Johan Maurits…. The vignettes of scenes of life in the plantation colony were designed in the Netherlands by Frans Post for the printed version of the maps… A few figures and trees were added to some of the vignettes for this edition, making these sheets a second state. Buyers of Barlaeus´s history could thus buy from Joan Blaeu not just an impressive book, but an instructive decoration for their reception rooms.
“Around half of the prints illustrate texts on the fluctuating fortunes of the war. The rest refer to the task of governing the conquered region in the northeast of Brazil and making it profitable” (Van den Boogaart).
Barlaeus (1584 – 1648), or Caspar van Baerle, was one of the great 17th century Dutch humanists, a poet and writer; he was commissioned to write an account of the on the government of Maurits van Nassau, Governor-General of Dutch Brazil from 1637-1644, in Pernambuco by the Prince himself.
The book is a significant account of influential however short-lived Dutch colonial empire in Brazil, considered by Sabin to be a “magnificent work” and a great rarity due to a fire that consumed much of Blaeu's stock.
The maps and views were the main European reference source of the Brazilian landscape for 160 years.
Provenance: Bonhams, New York.
Alden 647.9; Borba de Moraes, p 78; Sabin 3408.
