Because they had been delayed at the veterinary school during the day, night had already fallen by the time they reached Sens. Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly. After a day's journey, most of them rested once they had settled in, while Georgiana lay in bed reading archives on Trinidad and Tobago.
Because Richelieu had signed the Treaty of Compiègne in 1624, the Dutch no longer captured French ships. They shifted their targets to the Portuguese—Portuguese ships became the Dutchmen's favorite prey.
In 1625 and 1626 alone, those privateers "captured" eighty Portuguese ships trading with Brazil. These actions dealt a severe blow to Brazil's sugar industry, doubling freight costs.
At the same time, the Dutch began to be called the "carriers of the sea." Between 1647 and 1648, 220 Portuguese ships were plundered, accounting for three-quarters of all vessels sailing between Portugal and Brazil, with "net profits" reaching 3.5 million Dutch guilders.
The Portuguese believed all sugar exports from Brazil should be banned. That way, Dutch privateers would be unable to profit and would have no choice but to abandon Brazil.
But the plan naturally failed to pass. Fortunately, the Peace of Westphalia was approved in 1648. The existence of these privateers undermined the prospects for peace, and public opinion began to turn against them. By 1652, almost no Dutch privateers were attacking Portuguese fleets.
In 1653, the First Anglo-Dutch War broke out. The Netherlands was defeated by Britain, which not only controlled the English Channel but also reversed the Netherlands' position in the Atlantic Ocean. Now it was the Dutch who had to worry about being robbed.
In 1654, the Amsterdam Admiralty assembled another naval expedition to Brazil, but by the time it arrived, Dutch Brazil no longer existed. Thus, the Treaty of The Hague in 1669 stipulated that, for