“Sins Beneath the Equator: A modern retelling of the Dutch occupation of Brazil” is a project realised in partnership by Marco Zero Conteúdo, the Placecloud platform and the Dutch exhibition space Nest, with the support of the Catholic University of Pernambuco (Unicap) and funded by the Stimuleringsfonds.
More than reviewing the 24 years of Dutch occupation in Brazil (1630-1654), its main objective is to deconstruct myths deeply rooted in the Pernambuco and Brazilian imagination. These include the ‘myth of the good Dutch coloniser’, which presents Maurice de Nassau as a humanist and visionary ruler, or the romanticised idea of the ‘union of the three races’ to expel the Dutch in the so-called Pernambuco Restoration, between 1644 and 1654. The truth is that Nassau, like any other coloniser, defended purely economic interests, in this case those of the Dutch West India Company, promoting the exploitation of wealth, the trafficking of enslaved people and the structural violence common to any colonial regime.
Sins Beneath the Equator is an initiative that brings together journalism, history and technology to shed light on a chapter that is often softened or romanticised by historiography. The project features 100 short stories, which can be accessed in both text and audio, available in Portuguese, English and Dutch. Available on both the official website and on the Placecloud platform, which uses geolocalisation and Google Street View technologies, the user is able to access the audio directly on their mobile phone, in-situ, or can immerse themselves in the experience from the comfort of their home.
The stories are not restricted to Pernambuco or the north-east of Brazil. The project goes further, connecting the public to places all over Brazil, to cities in the Netherlands and to regions in Europe, the United States, and also the African and Asian continents, showing the breadth of the impact of the Dutch occupation in connection to Brazil.
All the content can be accessed globally via the website, allowing Brazilians, the Dutch and anyone else in the world, to familiarise themselves with an updated version of this story.
The innovative approach combines academic rigour with technological resources that put the public in direct contact with the stories. As well as audio and text, the content is also illustrated with paintings, engravings and maps from the period, especially works by Frans Post, Albert Eckhout, Guilherme Piso and Georg Marcgrave, who all accompanied Nassau in Brazil, recording the local landscapes, fauna, flora and humans.
With stories told in three languages, “Sins Beneath the Equator” goes beyond Brazil’s borders to reach audiences anywhere in the world, especially in the Netherlands, where Dutch Brazil is treated only as a ‘passing adventure’.
Consider this an invitation to discover, question and reconstruct the memories of the past. Visit the website, explore the stories and follow the new content released every Friday during December 2024, and January to February 2025.
More than listening to the past, this is a call to reflect on the present and build a more conscious and just future.
Credits
Marco Zero (Recife, Brazil)
Placecloud (Brazil / Belgium)
Nest (The Hague, The Netherlands)
