The steam frigate Amazonas was a frigate-type warship that served in the Imperial Brazilian Navy and, for a short period, in the Brazilian Navy after the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889. The frigate was built in the Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. shipyards in Birkenhead and Liverpool, England; it was launched in August 1851. The purchase of this vessel was part of an effort by the Empire of Brazil to obtain more modern ships, due to the country's lag with some foreign powers. Amazonas was commissioned in 1852.
During the naval expedition to Asunción in 1854, the frigate was responsible for acting as the flagship of the fleet and taking a document with demands from the imperial government to the Paraguayan government on border issues involving the region of what is now the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. In the initial route, within Paraguayan territory, the vessel ran aground due to its large size and had to be towed back by Paraguayan ships. It escorted the ship that took the Brazilian imperial family on trips to the northeast of the country and the province of Espírito Santo, between 1859 and early 1860, with the purpose of strengthening the monarchy among Brazilian citizens.
By the end of 1863, Amazonas was part of the imperial fleet sent to the Amazon River in order to intercept two Peruvian warships, Morona and Pastaza, which were sailing on the Amazon River without permission. In mid-1864, it composed the Brazilian squadron in the Saraiva Mission, which aimed to force the Uruguayan government to pay reparations to Brazilians residing in Uruguay and who were being mistreated. It participated as a flagship in combat actions against Uruguayan ships and the naval blockade during the Uruguayan War.
On 11 June 1865, during the Paraguayan War, it had a distinguished role in the Battle of Riachuelo, where it single-handedly rammed four Paraguayan vessels and changed the fate of the combat, which, until then, was having a favorable result for the Paraguayans. Amazonas participated in naval actions in the Battle of Paso de Mercedes and Paso de Cuevas. Afterwards, it underwent several periods of repair between 1867 and 1869. At the end of the war, it was moored in Montevideo. In 1884 the vessel was designated as instruction ship of the Practical School of Artillery and Torpedoes. During the Armada Revolt, in 1893, it was seized by the rebels who ran it aground near the Ilha das Enxadas, Rio de Janeiro, and remained there until it was hit by a naval mine, which destroyed it, in 1897.
Characteristics Amazonas was built in England, at Thomas Wilson's (Thomas Wilson Sons and Company) shipyards in Birkenhead and Liverpool, at a cost of £41,061. The purchase of the ship, and others, was due to Brazil's need to compensate for its technological backwardness regarding nations such as France, England and the Ottoman Empire, which shortly after were fighting in the Crimean War and demonstrated the great technological superiority of their ships compared to those of other nations.
It was named Amazonas, the fourth vessel to bear this name, in honor of the Amazon River and the province of Amazonas, on 21 August 1851, and was initially masted as a brig-barque. On the 25th, it was launched into the sea, and, on 7 April 1852, it went through an armament exhibition, when it received the badge number 62. Amazonas displaced 1,800 tons, measured 56.88 meters in length, 9.81 meters in beam and 4.45 meters in draft. It had a triple expansion engine built by the American company Benjamin Hick & Son, with 350 HP, which moved the two side wheels and propelled the vessel to about 11 miles per hour. It had the capacity to store 300 tons of coal and consume about 28 tons of it per day. The construction was under the supervision of vice admiral John Pascoe Grenfell.
In the ship's bow, a figure of an amazon was carved, in the form of an Amerindian woman who held a canoe oar in her right hand, a quiver on her shoulder and an adornment of feathers on her legs. At the stern, it had naval symbols, the coat of arms of the Empire of Brazil and other Brazilian flags. In both decorations, mahogany was used. Inside, there was a spacious chamber for the commander and eight cabins for the officers. At the bow were the cabins for low-ranking sailors, in addition to the infirmary, which had 12 berths. It stored 12 tanks of drinking water. Its armament consisted of four pieces of 68 caliber, in battery, with 90 quintal each, six feet and eight inches long, with the capacity to launch projectiles of 8 inches in diameter each; two swivel pieces of 68 caliber, 113 quintal in weight and 9 feet in length. The collars and bed bases were of iron. It had two rowing boats and five longboats. It also had the capacity to garrison 200 sailors in times of war and 170 in times of peace. The first commander of the Amazonas was captain lieutenant Elisiário Antônio dos Santos, future admiral and Baron of Angra. The ship docked in Rio de Janeiro on 2 June 1852.
History
1852–1855 After embarking in Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas departed for Bahia, where it remained until mid-July of that year. On August 9, back in Rio de Janeiro, frigate captain Joaquim Raymundo de Lamare was appointed commander of the ship. Under his command, the warship returned to Bahia on the 15th of October, and on this voyage collided with the brig Sarah, which sank, resulting in damage to the upper end of Amazonas''' bow. It entered Guanabara Bay on November 8. Between the end of 1852 and July 1853, the following officers assumed its command: captain lieutenant Achilles Lacombe, frigate captain Rafael Mendes de Moraes e Valle, captain-lieutenant Francisco Xavier de Alcântara and captain lieutenant Luiz da Gama Rosa. Under Rosa's command, the ship made several voyages from Rio de Janeiro to Montevideo, Uruguay, between 1853 and 1855.
Naval expedition to Asunción
Years before the Paraguayan War, there were disputes between the Empire of Brazil and Argentina for hegemony in the La Plata Basin that also involved Paraguay. With Brazil, Paraguay had some negotiations over the free navigation of the Paraguay River and territorial limits in what is now Mato Grosso do Sul, a region that was claimed by both nations. This relationship was marked by tensions and mutual distrust, and reached a point of near war, which was only not materialized due to the imminence of the Platine War. However, in order to enforce the Brazil's right on border issues with Paraguay, emperor Pedro II sent documents on these issues to Paraguay, which arrived on 20 February 1855.
The expedition that took the documents had Amazonas as its flagship. The vessel and another 30 warships, armed with 150 cannons and about 3,000 soldiers, left Rio de Janeiro on 10 December 1854. The river section was too complicated for the heavy imperial ships, and they occasionally ran aground. Due to such difficulties, the fleet took 72 days to reach the border with Paraguay. The goal of this expedition was to carry out a display of force to the Paraguayan government, in an authentic gunboat diplomacy, so that it would accept the terms demanded in the documents. The mission was secret, but Paraguay had a large network of agents spread across Rio de Janeiro, São Borja and Encarnación who delivered news about imperial actions to Asunción. The Paraguayans got ahead in the preparations for the possible naval attack; evacuated the capital and increased the troops readiness.
When the imperial ships reached the border at Três Bocas, they encountered a Paraguayan force under the command of captain Pedro Ignacio Meza. Meza would allow the passage through Paraguayan territory as long as it was just one vessel. The commander of the Brazilian expedition, Pedro Ferreira de Oliveira, accepted and went up the Paraguay River aboard the Amazonas. During the journey, the Amazonas ran aground and had to be towed back by Paraguayan ships, and Oliveira had to sail to Assunción aboard the corvette Ipiranga, which docked on 24 March 1855. On April 3, talks began between the Brazilian commander and the then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, Francisco Solano López. Negotiations lasted until 14 April and both agreed to open negotiations on border issues.
Among the main points was the territory of the Apa River, which neither side wanted to give up. The Empire of Brazil had to sign a peaceful agreement, because, according to historian Fabiano Barcellos Teixeira, it was not capable of going to war against Paraguay at that time. On April 24, Pedro Ferreira de Oliveira and Solano López signed a treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation, with 21 articles and an additional convention on borders, with five articles. Among its main provisions was the recognition of the full right of the Paraguayan government over the Paraguay River in the region where it crosses Paraguayan territory, and the border issue would be postponed for another year. However, when the fleet arrived in Rio de Janeiro with the treaty, it was not ratified by the Empire of Brazil, which insisted on the right to free navigation based on the alliance against Juan Manuel de Rosas of 1850, and completely rejected it. After the return, Amazonas went to Maranhão, on August 15, where it underwent repairs.
1856–1864
Commissions and voyage of the Imperial Family Under the command of captain lieutenant José Segundino de Gomensoro, after its repairs, Amazonas set sail for Montevideo on 13 April 1856 and returned to Rio de Janeiro on May 6. On the 20th of June it sailed to Bahia and returned on the 16th of July. On October 13 it left for Pernambuco and returned on December 13. Under the notice of the 18th, captain lieutenant Francisco Edwiges Brício temporarily assumed command of the ship. On 28 May 1857, a group of its crew watched, aboard the brig Fidelidade, the execution by firing squad of a sailor who had murdered the guardian of the corvette Recife. By the notice of 8 August 1857, it was the turn of captain lieutenant Manoel Pedro dos Reis to assume command of Amazonas.
On the 21st of August, it left on a reserved commission and returned on the 29th; it set sail on 19 September for Montevideo and returned on 14 January 1858; it left for the same port again on the 24th, and returned on the 30th of July. By the notice of December 21 of that year, frigate captain Teotônio Raimundo de Brito assumed command. On 1 October 1859, emperor Pedro II, accompanied by empress Teresa Cristina and a small entourage, undertook a trip to the northern provinces of Brazil. This trip was necessary for the Brazilian monarchy to strengthen itself among the population, and it was also a way of preserving national unity by providing the reconstruction of political alliances, including with opponents of the emperor. They boarded the steamer Apa, which was escorted by the frigate Amazonas, the corvette Paraense and the gunboat Belmonte. They visited the Paulo Afonso Falls, in Bahia, and the provinces of Pernambuco, Paraíba, Alagoas and Sergipe. On January 26, on their way back, they landed in the province of Espírito Santo, where they remained until 12 February 1860. The departure from Vitória back to the court in Rio de Janeiro took place early in the morning of the next day, under the same escort – Apa, Amazonas, Paraense and Pirajá – heading towards the port of Guarapari.
Issues with Peru