Wyprawa Władysława Konstantego Wituskiego po Europie Zachodniej i Brazylii w latach 1633–1637

Abstract

In 1633 thirty-year-old Władysław Konstantany Wituski set out on a foreign voyage to visit Denmark, Holland, Brabant, to left from Dunkirk for England and then for France, where he planned to stay for a longer time to study. Finally, he had to visit Italy. In fact, however, he shortened his stay in Denmark and England, but extended his visit to the Republic of the United Netherlands where he leamed to fence as well as explored the art of artillery and fortifications. In 1 634 Wituski accidentally met Krzysztof Arciszewski, who at that time was preparing a military expedition to Brazil. In consequence of this meeting, he enlisted with the troops of the Dutch West India Company and fought for it in South America until 1637. The article answers the question about the motives of thirty-one-year-old Wituski embarking on a ship to Brazil, but also about in which way his Catholic faith influenced his decisions - the travel around the United Netherlands and service to Evangelic employers against Catholic armies of the Habsburgs and the Portuguese living in South America. It also presents the role played by Wituski in the Spanish-Dutch war and how this exotic voyage was seen in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.