page_title: Dutch expedition to Valdivia
section_title: Return to Brazil
hierarchical_section_title: Dutch expedition to Valdivia / Expedition / Return to Brazil
caption_attribution_description: English: Mapa del imperio español y poseciones neerlandesas en 1644 y 1645.
context_page_description: The Dutch expedition to Valdivia was a naval expedition, commanded by Hendrik Brouwer, sent by the Dutch Republic in 1643 to establish a base of operations and a trading post on the southern coast of Chile. With Spain and the Dutch Republic at war, the Dutch wished to take over the ruins of the abandoned Spanish city of Valdivia. The expedition sacked the Spanish settlements of Carelmapu and Castro in the Chiloé Archipelago before sailing to Valdivia. The Dutch arrived in Valdivia on 24 August 1643 and named the colony Brouwershaven after Brouwer, who had died several weeks earlier. The short-lived colony was abandoned on 28 October 1643. Nevertheless, the occupation caused great alarm among Spanish authorities. The Spanish resettled Valdivia and began the construction of an extensive network of fortifications in 1645 to prevent a similar intrusion. Although contemporaries considered the possibility of a new incursion, the expedition was the last one undertaken by the Dutch on the west coast of the Americas.
context_section_description: The expedition finally left Chile on 28 October and reached Recife on 28 December, three weeks after the arrival of Crispijnsen. In Brazil the reinforcements and provisions asked for by Crispijnsen were ready to sail for Valdivia and John Maurice of Nassau was disappointed to learn that the colony had been dismantled. The failure of the expedition was blamed on Herckmans who died soon afterwards. The Pernambucan Insurrection broke out in Dutch Brazil in 1645, recapturing most of the Dutch territory and putting great pressure on the local Dutch leaders. With no resources to spare, Dutch pretensions in Chile were at an end.
caption: Map showing the Spanish advances towards Valdivia in 1644 and 1645 as responses to the Dutch expedition to Valdivia. The various expeditions are shown in with red lines. Dutch possessions are show in blue and Spanish in red. Errata: López de Zúñiga's expedition occurred in February 1645 and not 1644.
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