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Dutchman dispenses brandy to the inhabitants of Cape Verde

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Dutchman dispenses brandy to the inhabitants of Cape Verde

Meurs, Jacob van / Meurs, Jacob van

A Dutchman dispenses brandy to the inhabitants of Cape Verde.

Several vessels are depicted in the background.

Dr Olfert Dapper (1636-1689) published a large number of books after 1663. He wrote a history of the city of Amsterdam and furnished the first Dutch translation of Herodotus. But he is known particularly for his many descriptions of foreign lands which he compiled from various sources, without ever seeing the countries he wrote about for himself. This plate is taken from a description of Africa.

According to Dapper the Dutch where only allowed to achieve their own water if they presented a bottle of brandy and ten iron sticks to the inhabitants of Cape Verde.

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Sources and literature

Dapper, Olfert, Naukeurige Beschrijvingen der Afrikaensche gewesten: van Egypten, Barbaryen, Libyen, Biledulgerid, Negroslant, Guinea, Ethiopiƫ, Abyssiniƫ: (1668)

Jones, Adam, Decompiling Dapper: A preliminary search for evidence (1990)