The most famous symbol of Dutch colonial wealth in The Hague is the Mauritshuis, also known as the Sugar Palace - and with good reason. It was built between 1633 and 1644 by Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, with the proceeds from the sugar cane plantations he ran as governor-general of Dutch Brazil. Johan Maurits also set up an extensive slave route between Africa and South America. The enslaved had to provide a steady flow of sugar cane, which boosted the sugar cane trade. And all in the service of the WIC, which had been set up to break the Spanish and Portuguese power on the South American west coast. around 1630, the WIC conquered a large area from the Portuguese in north-east Brazil, christened it Dutch Brazil and received it from The Hague. It did not last long, as already in 1654 the Portuguese drove the Dutch out of Brazil again. Still, this was long enough to make Maurice wealthy. He was known for his his tolerant attitude towards religion and great interest in and encouragement of art, culture and science, but Johan Maurits is mostly remembered for his close involvement in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.