ABSTRACT
This article aims to reflect on the processes of historiographical deconstruction through the examination of the collaboration of the Luso-Brazilians and the emphasis on Dutch action during their occupation of the Northern Captaincies of Portuguese America. The historical construction of the so-called “Dutch invasions” (1624-1654) occurred in the 19th century due to Varnhagen, who exalted the experience and the capacity of the Portuguese resistance to liberate the colony from the invader. Twentieth-century anti-colonial criticism built alternative ways of thinking about such occupation. However, the strength of the nineteenth-century historiographical tradition was attested to by the difficulty historians had in moving beyond the narrative of the invasion, managing above all to convert the focus from Portuguese resistance to exaltation of Luso-Brazilian resistance. Only in the mid-twentieth century did historians deconstruct the tradition on the invasions, investing in the viewpoint of collaborationism and highlighting the protagonism of the settlers.
Keywords:
Dutch Invasions; Historiographic Tradition; Anticolonial Criticism; Resistance; Collaboration