The Portuguese Navy (), also known as the Portuguese War Navy (Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa) or as the Portuguese Armada (Armada Portuguesa), is the navy of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Chartered in 1317 by King Denis of Portugal, it is the oldest continuously serving navy in the world; in 2017, the Portuguese Navy commemorated the 700th anniversary of its official creation.
The Navy played a key role in Portuguese maritime exploration during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries. The result of these technical and scientific discoveries led Portugal to develop advanced ships, including the caravel, new and more sophisticated types of carracks for interoceanic travel and the oceanic galleon, Os Navios e as Técnicas Náuticas Atlânticas nos Séculos XV e XVI: Os Pilares da Estratégia 3C - Rear Admiral Antonio Silva Ribeiro - Revista Militar Galeão - Navegações Portuguesas by Francisco Contente Domingues and to find the sea route to the East and routes to South America and Northern North America.
Bartolomeu Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa and Vasco da Gama reached India, linking Europe and Asia for the first time by ocean route, as well as the Atlantic and the Indian oceans. This led to the discovery of Brazil in the first expeditions that linked Europe, Africa, the New World, and Asia on a single voyage, such as the expedition of Pedro Álvares Cabral, and through the skills and experience of their navigators in the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and in the Far East, also contributed to the technical and geographical advance of other European navies, such as the first circumnavigation by Ferdinand Magellan (including, in the expedition, other captains, sailors and pilots), sailing across the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean.
From the late 15th century until the late 16th century, the Portuguese Navy was one of the most powerful maritime forces in the world. For most of the 16th century, the Portuguese India Armadas and fleets, then the world leader in shipbuilding and naval artillery and technology,Garcia de Resende, Vida e feitos d' el-rey Dom João Segundo, 1545, lines 8219 to 8220 The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare: The Triumph of the West - Geoffrey Parker, pp. 125-130, Cambridge University Press, 1995Rodrigues and Tevezes (2009: pp. 260–64) dominated most of the Atlantic Ocean south of the Canary Islands, the Indian Ocean and the access to the western Pacific.
Following the Iberian Union, the Portuguese Empire and its maritime power began to be overtaken by other newly emerging European imperial powers, although the Portuguese Navy still saw periods of prestige and expansion such as the reign of King John V of Portugal.
Today, the Portuguese Navy assumes a dual role capacity: naval combat missions to assure Portugal's sovereignty and international commitments, and coast guard operations in its territorial waters and areas of influence. The Portuguese Navy also participates in missions related with international commitments assumed by Portugal (mainly within NATO), as well as missions of civil interest.
Ships of the Portuguese Navy use the ship prefix NRP for Navio da República Portuguesa, (Ship of the Portuguese Republic).
History Creation of the Portuguese Navy
The first historically known battle involving Portuguese naval forces happened in 1180, during the reign of Portugal's first king, Afonso I. The battle occurred off Cape Espichel, with a Portuguese naval squadron, commanded by the knight Fuas Roupinho, defeating a Muslim naval squadron. Fuas Roupinho also made two incursions at Ceuta, in 1181 and 1182, and died during the latter of these attempts to conquer the North African city. During the 13th century, in the Reconquista, the Portuguese naval forces helped in the conquest of several coastal Moorish towns, like Alcácer do Sal, Silves and Faro. It was also used in the battles against Castile—through incursions in Galicia and Andalusia—and also in joint actions with other Christian fleets against the Muslims.
King Denis gave a permanent organization to his naval forces, appointing Manuel Pessanha of Genoa to be the first Admiral of the Kingdom, on the 12 December 1317. This is considered the official date of foundation of the Portuguese Navy, with its 700 years being commemorated on the 12 December 2017. In 1321, the Portuguese Navy successfully attacked Muslim ports in North Africa. Maritime insurance began in 1323 in Portugal. Between 1336 and 1341, the first attempts at maritime expansion were made, with an expedition to the Canary Islands, sponsored by King Afonso IV. In the context of the 1383–85 Crisis, the Portuguese Navy took an active participation in the war against Castile.
A Portuguese naval campaign conducted in Galicia led to the conquest of the coastal towns of Baiona, A Coruña and Neda, as well as the destruction of the naval base of Ferrol and of several ships that were on the way to reinforce the Castilian forces that were besieging Lisbon. In July 1384, the Portuguese Navy was able to break the Castilian siege of Lisbon and to supply the city, defeating the Castilian Navy in the naval battle of the Tagus.
Age of Exploration
In the beginning of the 15th century, the country entered a period of peace and stability. Europe was still involved in wars and feudal conflicts which allowed Portugal to be the only capable country to methodically and successfully start the exploration of the Atlantic. Portuguese expansion during the 15th century can be divided in: Territorial expansion to North Africa Hydrographic survey of the African coast and Canary Islands Oceanographic and meteorological survey of the Atlantic Ocean Development of navigation techniques and methods
Territorial expansion began in Morocco with the conquest of Ceuta in 1415. Exploration in the west African coast started in 1412 and ended with the crossing of the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. After his return from Ceuta, Henry the navigator founded a school of navigation in Sagres.The vessel employed in the beginning of the Discoveries was the caravel, varying from 50 to 160 tons. The first results came soon when Gonçalves Zarco discovered Porto Santo Island in 1419 and Madeira Island in 1420, and Diogo de Silves discovered the azorean island of Santa Maria in 1427. In 1424, Gil Eanes crosses the Cape Bojador. Diogo Cão and Bartolomeu Dias arrived to the mouth of the Zaire River in 1482.
In the same year, the São Jorge da Mina castle was built on the coast of Western Africa, by Diogo de Azambuja, becoming one of the most important Portuguese naval bases. The structure exists to this day and is a robust example of slave trade in this era. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to sail around the southernmost tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope. João Vaz Corte-Real arrived at Newfoundland in 1473. Part of the coast of Newfoundland was charted by the Corte-Real brothers, sons of João Vaz Corte-Real, in a failed attempt to find the Northwest Passage in 1501. In 1499, João Fernandes Lavrador and Pero de Barcelos arrive in Labrador ( named after João Fernandes Lavrador ) and map its coast.
The greatest achievement of these exploration voyages was attained by Vasco da Gama, who in 1498 became the European discoverer of the sea route to India. In 1500, when leading a second Portuguese Armada of 13 ships to India, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered and explored Brazil, claiming it for Portugal. In the same year, Diogo Dias, as one of the Captains of the fleet to India of Pedro Álvares Cabral, is separated from the main fleet by a storm while crossing the Cape of Good Hope, and becomes the first European to reach Madagascar. Besides the already existing role of Admiral of Portugal, the Crown creates the role of Admiral of India, whose first holder becomes Vasco da Gama in 1500.
With the first established sea route to the Indian Ocean, the Portuguese started to use the carrack ship (nau in Portuguese). Nevertheless, the Portuguese penetration in the Indian Ocean was not peaceful due to the opposition of the Muslims. However, in 1509 Francisco de Almeida had a tremendous victory over the Muslims in the naval Battle of Diu, and the Portuguese presence and dominance in the area is definitely attained. In Morocco the Portuguese conquests continued and they took over the cities of Safim, Azamor, Mazagão and Mogador. In the Far East, Portuguese navigators continue their progress visiting the southeast of Asia, China in 1517 and Australia in 1522. In the same period they reached Taiwan (baptizing it Formosa) and Japan where they became the first Europeans to arrive.
They entered the Red Sea in 1542 to destroy the Ottoman armada in Suez. In the West the Portuguese visited the coast of New England in 1520, California in 1542 and Hudson Bay in 1588. All of these actions were only possible with the naval capability and the navigation knowledge of the Portuguese navigators, as well as their courage and determination. In 1520, King Manuel I organized the Portuguese Navy in three permanent armadas (fleets): the Armada of the Coast (for coastal patrol), the Armada of the Islands (based in the Azores, for the protection of the ocean navigation in the North Atlantic) and the Armada of the Strait (operating in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar, to protect the navigation with North Africa and the Mediterranean). The first two fleets were mostly made of ships of the line (carracks and galleons), while the Strait fleet was mostly made of ships powered by oars (fustas and galleys).
These fleets would subsist until the beginning of the 19th century. Besides the permanent three fleets, the Navy continued to organize the ad hoc India armadas, dispatched to India on an annual basis.To aid the Christian forces to conquest Tunis in 1535, King John III sent the Portuguese galleon Botafogo, the world's most powerful warship of the time, armed with between 80 and 200 guns and under the command of the brother of the King, Louis, Duke of Beja. In 1567, a Portuguese naval squadron, under the command of Mem de Sá, took Fort Coligny and expelled the French from the Guanabara Bay.
Habsburg dynasty Following the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580 and having defeated António, Prior of Crato in the War of the Portuguese Succession, the Habsburg Philip II of Spain became King of Portugal as Philip I. Under the Iberian Union, Portugal continued to be formally an independent kingdom with its own Navy, but its foreign and naval policies became increasingly subordinate to and oriented by Spanish interests. The Portuguese Navy was soon ordered by King Philip to contribute to the Spanish Armada intended to invade England, although England was an old ally of Portugal. Portugal provided the most powerful squadron of ships of the Armada, including its flagship, the galleon São Martinho (called the San Martin by the Spanish).
The Portuguese participation included a squadron of nine galleons (a tenth galleon provided by Tuscany was added to the squadron) and two zabras, and another squadron of four galleys, with a total of 16 vessels and more than 5,800 men. This expedition culminated in the naval battle of Gravelines. Linked to Spain by a dual monarchy, Portugal saw its large Empire being attacked by the English, the French and the Dutch, all enemies of Spain. The reduced Portuguese population (around one million) was not sufficient to successfully resist so many enemies, and the Empire began a slow decline. During the Iberian Union, the Portuguese Navy was still involved in several other conflicts and maintained an important role in the fight against pirates. António Saldanha, commanding a fleet of 30 carracks, defeated an Ottoman fleet in the Mediterranean and conquered Tunis. Meanwhile, João Queirós accomplished a double crossing of the Pacific Ocean leaving from California.