Traduzindo a Amazônia Holandesa: Journaal Van De Reijs Door Den Vaandrigh Fredrik Hoeus, Gedaen Naer De Acouries,

Abstract

In this paper, I will deal more specifically with the Brazilian Portuguese translation of the text Journaal van de reijs door den vaandrigh Fredrik Hoeus, gedaen naer de Acouries, 13 juni - 22 augustus 1717. Since the expedition led by Spaniard Vicente Yáñez Pinzón in 1500, the Amazon has populated the European and world imagination for its natural riches, its people and its mysteries. The Amazon expeditions organized by the Portuguese, the Spanish, the French and the English, the future colonizers of the region, are widely known among us. Represented by the West India Company, the Dutch who colonized present-day Suriname also described in detail the people and riches of this part of the world. The Dutch incursions, however, still find little echo in Brazil, despite the abundance of documentary sources available. This gap can be explained, among other reasons, by the fact that these documents were written in Dutch, which makes it difficult for Brazilian researchers and the general public to access their contents. The translation of these documents (diaries, letters, chronicles, among others) into Portuguese allows us to add another piece to the mosaic of readings of the Amazon bequeathed to us by the first Europeans who arrived in what is probably the most fascinating region of the New World.