The ships Hoop and Liefde apporach Ribeiro Grande

The expedition of the Magellan Company of Rotterdam, that had set sail in June 1598, reached the Cape Verde islands at the end of August. The journey had taken long and the expedition was in need of fresh supplies, which they hoped to obtain here. After reaching the port of Praia on the island of Santiago, the Dutch observed a ship from Hamburg and some smaller vessels. They ransacked the smaller ships and assaulted the fortress there and won an easy victory there. They could not obtain many supplies there, however and found themselves in a precarious situation. Soon they were forced to abandon their position and attempted to negotiate with the Portuguese governor, who was unwilling to help the Dutch obtain supplies.

Two Dutch ships sailed to Santiago from their anchorage at the nearby island Maio as the Portuguese governor requested them to come for further negotiations, but couldn’t reach it due to adverse winds. According to an eyewitness report of Barent Jansz., this was in fact a lucky development as the Portuguese had prepared their men and cannons to open fire on the Dutch when they approached the harbor. The attempt to negotiate was then abandoned. The Dutch landed again at Praia to refill their water supplies at the fortress and repelled a Portuguese attack. The Dutch withdrew from the fortress they had conquered. The expedition then sailed on to the nearby island of Brava, but were unable to find much fresh water. Many of the crew, including the admiral Jacques Mahu, caught fevers. Mahu died on 23 September 1598 and was succeeded by his vice-admiral Simon de Cordes.

This image shows the Dutch ships Hoop and Liefde attempting to approach the island of Santiago. On the shore, the Portuguese have positioned their cannons and soldiers and stand ready to attack when the ships would come close enough. Behind them is the town of Ribeiro Grande (now named Cidade Velha) with its defensive bastions and a road leading into the interior. The soldiers are marching in square formation, armed with pikes and firearms, in typical late-sixteenth century fashion. A large sea creature, likely meant to depict a whale, swims in the bottom-left corner.