r/DutchEmpire

Ludolf Backhuysen, Ships in Distress off a Rocky Coast, 1667, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund.

There’s something strangely fascinating about old paintings of ships caught in storms. Once the ocean turned against you, there wasn’t much you could do except hope the ship held together. Paintings like this make me wonder what it actually felt like to be on one of those ships, watching the storm close in while the ocean threw you around.

It’s one of the reasons I love the Age of Exploration, when every voyage meant facing the ocean without knowing what waited for you beyond the horizon.

Source(s):

.- University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries.

Among the many wonders encountered by European explorers was the Blue-and-yellow Macaw (*Ara ararauna*), one of South America's most beautiful birds. In these 17th-century descriptions, we can see the impressions and observations recorded by European colonists regarding this species of macaw.

“The ravens of the East or West Indies are larger than the ravens found here. They possess a strong, curved beak and short legs with sharp claws. Their tails measure more than a cubit in length. Beneath their eyes, they have an area of ​​bare white skin, marked by a few wrinkles. There are two varieties: some—indeed, the most common type—are a beautiful red on their backs and wings, with yellow bellies. Others, however—especially those brought by the Tapuia people—are a lovely sky-blue on their backs and wings, with yellow bellies.
They learn to articulate certain words, much like parrots—particularly those containing many 'a' sounds, such as 'Irarara' (their own name), 'bom dia, cunhado' [good morning, brother-in-law], and others. N.B. The raven sketched here is much larger than the other bird depicted; in the accounts, it could perhaps be rendered slightly smaller [in size].”

- Caspar Schmalkalden’s voyage from Amsterdam to Pernambuco, Brazil.

“A raven from the [West] Indies, larger than an ordinary raven.”

- Maurice of Nassau in Libri Principis.

“These blue-and-yellow ravens are somewhat smaller [than the previous one] and also utter loud cries; otherwise, they do not differ greatly from the red [ravens] and are found in Brazil.”

- Zacharias Wagener, Thierbuch (Book of Animals).