Edited and introduced by Atlantic World historian Mark Meuwese, this new source text in Penn State University Press's Latin American Original series, encourages scholars and students to delve into a relatively under-explored story of European colonial expansion in the Americas: that of the “rise and fall of the Dutch empire in seventeenth-century Latin America” (xi). More specifically, this book gives English speakers access to the Journal and History of Lord General Hendrick Brouwer's expedition to establish an outpost in Valdivia in 1643. The expedition, financed by the Dutch West India Company, failed, but this does not make it any less appealing to study. Particularly illuminating are the insights it provides into indigenous-European relations in the Americas—insights which support existing revisionist historiography's attempts to challenge the dominant image of indigenous peoples as passive victims of European colonialism. Brouwer's expedition fails because he and his team are not able to establish a meaningful alliance with the Mapuche in southern Chile. As recounted here, the Mapuche, like many other indigenous peoples in the Americas, proved themselves adept at “living between empires” (Williams, 2013). Indeed, they were famous across the region for successfully resisting the Spanish conquistadors and maintaining their autonomy throughout the colonial period.

The Dutch expedition aimed to capitalize on Mapuche battles against the Spanish (not least the revolt of 1598–99 which led to the Spanish abandoning Valdivia, Osorno, and several other cities south of the Bio-Bio River), and—in the longer term—to contesting Spanish control over the Americas as a whole. In the translated Journal and History, there are several passages that propagate the anti-Spanish ‘Black Legend,’ not least the explanation of the aforementioned revolt: “Because of these [excessive demands for weekly payment of tribute in gold] and other unbearable burdens, cruelty and tyranny, the Indians joined together in the year 1599 and besieged the Spanish . . . ” (69). Dutch colonialism is presented as a distinctive quest: “Just as the birds were created to roam the sky and the fish to swim in the water so it appears that the Netherlanders have been created to defend their ancient freedoms” (30). A liberating quest that nonetheless entailed convincing indigenous Mapuche people to submit to Dutch control.

The Brouwer expedition placed emphasis on establishing pacts of friendship and exchanging gifts with the Mapuche of Valdivia, Osorno, and Chiloé—it sought to present the Dutch as a potential ally against the Spanish. But what also emerges from the Journal and History is the similarities between Dutch and Spanish colonialism: the intention was to establish control by “friendly means,” but if this did not work “capturing in a violent manner” was endorsed when they needed to get information out of people (62), and at one point the lord general ordered the destruction of “anything in the city [of Castro] that was still intact” (63). It was not just the methods the expedition used, either. We also see similarities in the journal's descriptions of a landscape rich in natural resources that are ripe for the picking (78, 81); the interest in finding gold (88); and the characterization of the ‘Indians’ as “a nation of simple minds” and “very lazy” (89).

The above contradiction or at least tension in the narrative is just one of the intriguing aspects of this text documenting Brouwer's failed voyage from Brazil to Chile. Scholars and students interested in the practicalities of maritime expeditions (the weather, the route taken), or the flora and fauna of the South American continent (as viewed by newcomers), will encounter plenty of interesting detail here. Meuwese's introduction, moreover, helpfully explains the context of the journal's production, as well as its reception and translation. In this sense, his work makes an important contribution to various bodies of scholarship, from the history of colonial expansion and colonial frontiers in the Americas to the history of publishing and reading in Europe.