Declared war and feigned peace in Portuguese Restoration

Abstract

The article analyses the diplomatic conflict between Portugal and the Netherlands in the context of the Restoration related to the Dutch wars in Pernambuco during the XVII century. The main discussion is based on Papel Forte, written by Antonio Vieira, in which the Jesuit maintained that Portugal had to renounce to the sugar captaincies in the northeast of Brazil to prevent a new war in Europe. A war that, according to him, would be disastrous for the strengthening of the Bragança dinasty against Spain.