Based on a corpus of intelligence documents in the archives of the Dutch West India Company, this study looks at the spread and impact of rumors during the revolt in Dutch Brazil in 1645 and the...Show moreBased on a corpus of intelligence documents in the archives of the Dutch West India Company, this study looks at the spread and impact of rumors during the revolt in Dutch Brazil in 1645 and the following nine years of war. This study traces the problems colonial administrators, soldiers, settlers and slaves faced in making grave decisions based on imperfect and potentially false information. The rumor-laden nature of Pernambuco's oral communication sphere, this thesis argues, contributed decisively to the outbreak of the revolt in 1645 and continued to have an impact on the course of the war, most notably in inciting people to switch sides.Show less
