The military of the Empire of Brazil was first formed by Emperor Dom Pedro I to defend the new nation against the Portuguese in the Brazilian War of Independence. The Army and Armada (as the Navy was called) were commissioned in 1822 with the objective of defeating and expelling the Portuguese troops from Brazilian soil.
From the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the Empire of Brazil. A sense of national unity and identity was forged out of the victorious Paraguayan War. The Emperor was commander-in-chief of the military, with the Ministries of War and Navy as the main organs by which military policy was carried out.
Organization
The imperial armed forces were subordinated to the emperor, its commander-in-chief.See Articles 102 and 148 of the Brazilian Constitution of 1824 He was aided by the ministers of War and Navy in regard to matters concerning the Army and the Armada (Navy), respectively. Traditionally, the ministers of War and Navy were civilians but there were some exceptions.Carvalho (2007), p. 193Lyra, p. 84 The model chosen was the British parliamentary or Anglo-American system, in which "the country's Armed Forces observed unrestricted obedience to the civilian government while maintaining distance from political decisions and decisions referring to borders' security".Pedrosa, p. 289
Recruitment
The recruitment for the armed forces of the Empire of Brazil, generally considered the imposition of a strong state on a recalcitrant society, was shaped by a complex network of patron-client relationships between the State, the members of the plantation class, and the free poor. These well-established (and in general legitime) relationships survived the challenges of recruitment in times of war and prevented reformers from establishing a system of conscription that was regular and fair.Kraay, pp. 1–33
Armada
Early years, 1822–31
The National Armada (later known as the Brazilian Navy), informally known as Imperial Armada, appeared with the independence of the country. The Armada was formed almost entirely by ships, staff, organizations and doctrines proceeding from the transference of the Portuguese Royal Family in 1808. Some of its members were native-born Brazilians, who under Portugal had been forbidden to serve. Other members were Portuguese who adhered to the cause of separation and foreign mercenaries. Some establishments created by King João VI of Portugal were used and incorporated such as the Department of Navy, Headquarters of the Navy, the Intendancy and Accounting Department, the Arsenal (Shipyard) of the Navy, the Academy of Navy Guards, the Naval Hospital, the Auditorship, the Supreme Military Council, the powder plant, and others. The Brazilian-born Captain Luís da Cunha Moreira was chosen as the first minister of the Navy on 28 October 1822.Holanda, p. 260Maia, p. 53
Britisher Lord Thomas Alexander Cochrane was nominated the commander of the Brazilian Armada and received the rank of "First Admiral".Maia, pp. 58–61 At that time, the fleet was composed of one ship of the line, four frigates, and smaller ships for a total of 38 warships. The Secretary of Treasury Martim Francisco Ribeiro de Andrada created a national subscription to generate capital in order to increase the size of the fleet. Contributions were sent from all over Brazil. Even the Emperor Dom Pedro I acquired a merchant brig at his own expense (that was renamed "Caboclo") and donated it to the State.Holanda, p. 261Maia, pp. 54–57 The navy fought in the north and also south of Brazil where it had a decisive role in the independence of the country.Holanda, p. 272
After the suppression of the revolt in Pernambuco in 1824 and prior to the Cisplatine War, the navy increased significantly in size and strength. Starting with 38 ships in 1822, eventually the navy had 96 modern warships of various types with over 690 cannons. The Armada blocked the estuary of the Rio de la Plata hindering the contact of the United Provinces (as Argentina was then called) with the Cisplatine rebels and the outside world. Several battles had occurred between Brazilian and Argentine ships until the defeat of an Argentine flotilla composed of two corvettes, five brigs and one barquentine near the Island of Santiago in 1827. When Pedro I abdicated in 1831, he left a powerful navy made up of two ships of the line and ten frigates in addition to corvettes, steamships, and other ships for a total of at least 80 warships in peacetime.Maia, pp. 133–135Holanda. p. 264
Quelling rebellions, 1831–49
During the 58-year reign of Dom Pedro II the Brazilian Navy achieved its greatest strength in relation to navies around the world.Maia, p. 216 The Arsenal, Navy department, and the Naval Jail were improved and the Imperial Mariner Corps (formed then by volunteers) was created. Steam navigation was definitively adopted. Brazil quickly modernized the fleet acquiring ships from foreign sources while also constructing others locally. Brazil's Navy substituted the old smoothbore cannons for new ones with rifled barrels, which were more accurate and had longer ranges. Improvements were also made in the Arsenals (shipyards) and naval bases, which were equipped with new workshops. Ships were constructed in the Arsenal of the Navy in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Recife, Santos, Niterói and Pelotas. The Armada also successfully fought against all revolts that occurred during the Regency (where it made blockades and transported the Army troops) including: Cabanagem, Ragamuffin War, Sabinada, Balaiada, amongst others.Maia, pp. 205–206
When Emperor Pedro II was declared of legal age and assumed his constitutional prerogatives in 1840, the Armada had over 90 warships: six frigates, seven corvettes, two barque-schooners, six brigs, eight brig-schooners, 16 gunboats, 12 schooners, seven armed brigantine-schooners, six steam barques, three transport ships, two armed luggers, two cutters and thirteen larger boats. The number of artillery pieces was approximately 236 simple cannons and mortars. These came to be used in the repression of rebellions in the North and Northeast of the Empire. Maia, p. 210
During the 1850s the State Secretary, the Accounting Department of the Navy, the Headquarters of the Navy and the Naval Academy were reorganized and improved. New ships were purchased and the ports administrations were better equipped. The Imperial Mariner Corps was definitively regularized and the Marine Corps was created, taking the place of the Naval Artillery. The Service of Assistance for Invalids was also established, along with several schools for sailors and craftsmen.Janotti, p. 207, 208
Platine Wars, 1849–70 Year Navy (number of ships) 1822 38 1825 96 1831 80 1840 90 1851 59 1864 40 1870 94 1889 60
The conflicts in the Platine region did not cease after the war of 1825. The anarchy caused by the despotic Rosas and his desire to subdue Bolívia, Uruguay and Paraguay forced Brazil to intercede. The Brazilian Government sent a naval force of 17 warships (a ship of the line, 10 corvettes and six steamships) commanded by the veteran John Pascoe Grenfell.Holanda, p. 265 The Brazilian fleet succeeded in passing through the Argentine line of defence in The Tonelero Pass under heavy attack and transported the troops to the theater of operations. The Brazilian Armada had a total of 59 vessels of various types in 1851: 36 armed sailing ships, 10 armed steamships, seven unarmed sailing ships and six sailing transports.Carvalho (1975), p. 181
More than a decade later the Armada was once again modernized and its fleet of old sailing ships was converted to a fleet of 40 steamships armed with more than 250 cannons.Holanda, p. 266 In 1864 the navy fought in the Uruguayan War and immediately afterwards in the Paraguayan War where it annihilated the Paraguayan navy in the Battle of Riachuelo. The navy was further augmented with the acquisition of 20 ironclads and six fluvial monitors. At least 9,177 navy personnel fought in the five years' conflict.Salles (2003), p. 38 Brazilian naval constructors such as Napoleão Level, Trajano de Carvalho and João Cândido Brasil planned new concepts for warships that allowed the country's Arsenals to retain their competitiveness with other nations.Maia, p. 219 All damage suffered by ships was repaired and various improvements were made to the ships.Janotti, p. 208 In 1870, Brazil had 94 modern warshipsSchwarcz, p. 305 and had the fifth most powerful navy in the world.Doratioto (1996), p. 23
Final years, 1870–89
During the 1870s, the Brazilian Government strengthened the navy as the possibility of a war against Argentina over Paraguay's future became quite real. Thus, it acquired a gunboat and a corvette in 1873; an ironclad and a monitor in 1874; and immediately afterwards two cruisers and another monitor.Doratioto (2002), p. 466 The improvement of the Armada continued during the 1880s. The Arsenals of the Navy in the provinces of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Pernambuco, Pará and Mato Grosso continued to build dozens of warships. Also, four torpedo boats were purchased.Maia, p. 225
On 30 November 1883, the Practical School of Torpedoes was created along with a workshop devoted to constructing and repairing torpedoes and electric devices in the Arsenal of Navy of Rio de Janeiro.Maia, p. 221 This Arsenal constructed four steam gunboats and one schooner, all with iron and steel hulls (the first of these categories constructed in the country). The Imperial Armada reached its apex with the incorporation of the ironclad battleships Riachuelo and Aquidabã (both equipped with torpedo launchers) in 1884 and 1885, respectively. Both ships (considered state-of-the-art by experts from Europe) allowed the Brazilian Armada to retain its position as one of the most powerful naval forces.Maia, pp. 221, 227 By 1889, the navy had 60 warships and was the fifth or sixth most powerful navy in the world.Calmon (2002), p. 265
In the last cabinet of the monarchic regime, the Minister of the Navy, Admiral José da Costa Azevedo (the Baron of Ladário), left the reorganization and modernization of the navy unfinished. The coup that ended the monarchy in Brazil in 1889 was not well accepted by the personnel of the Armada. Imperial Mariners were attacked when they tried to support the imprisoned Emperor in the City Palace. The Marquis of Tamandaré begged Pedro II to allow him to fight back the coup; however, the Emperor refused to allow any bloodshed.Calmon (1975), p. 1603 Tamandaré would later be imprisoned by order of the dictator Floriano Peixoto under the accusation of financing the monarchist military in the Federalist Revolution.Janotti, p. 66
The Baron of Ladário remained in contact with the exiled Imperial Family, hoping to restore the monarchy, but ended up ostracized by the republican government. Admiral Saldanha da Gama led the Revolt of the Armada with the objective of restoring the Empire and allied himself with other monarchists who were fighting in the Federalist Revolution. However, all the attempts at restoration were violently crushed. High ranking Monarchist officers were imprisoned, banished or executed by firing squad without due process of law and their subordinates also suffered harsh punishments.Janotti, p. 209
Gallery
Example of vessels commissioned during this period:
Army
Early years, 1822–31