São Paulo was a dreadnought battleship of the Brazilian Navy. It was the second of two ships in the , and was named after the state and city of São Paulo.
The British company Vickers constructed São Paulo, launching it on 19 April 1909. The ship was commissioned into the Brazilian Navy on 12 July 1910. Soon after, it was involved in the Revolt of the Lash (Revolta de Chibata), in which crews on four Brazilian warships mutinied over poor pay and harsh punishments for even minor offenses. After entering the First World War, Brazil offered to send São Paulo and its sister to Britain for service with the Grand Fleet, but Britain declined since both vessels were in poor condition and lacked the latest fire control technology. In June 1918, Brazil sent São Paulo to the United States for a full refit that was not completed until 7 January 1920, well after the war had ended. On 6 July 1922, São Paulo fired its guns in anger for the first time when it attacked a fort that had been taken during the Copacabana Fort revolt. Two years later, mutineers took control of the ship and sailed it to Montevideo in Uruguay, where they obtained asylum.
In the 1930s, São Paulo was passed over for modernization due to its poor condition—it could reach a top speed of only , less than half its design speed. For the rest of its career, the ship was reduced to a reserve coastal defense role. When Brazil entered the Second World War, São Paulo sailed to Recife and remained there as the port's main defense for the duration of the war. Stricken in 1947, the dreadnought remained as a training vessel until 1951, when it was taken under tow to be scrapped in the United Kingdom. The tow lines broke during a strong gale in early November when the ships were north of the Azores, and São Paulo was lost.
Background
Beginning in the late 1880s, Brazil's navy fell into obsolescence, a situation exacerbated by an 1889 coup d'état, which deposed Emperor Dom Pedro II, and an 1893 civil war.Topliss, "The Brazilian Dreadnoughts," 240.Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy," 32.Martins, "Colossos do mares," 75. Despite having nearly three times the population of Argentina and almost five times the population of Chile,Scheina, "Brazil," 403. by the end of the 19th century Brazil was lagging behind the Chilean and Argentine navies in quality and total tonnage.
At the turn of the 20th century, soaring demand for coffee and rubber brought prosperity to the Brazilian economy. The government of Brazil used some of the extra money from this economic growth to finance a naval building program in 1904,Scheina, "Brazil," 404. which authorized the construction of a large number of warships, including three battleships.Scheina, Naval History, 80.English, Armed Forces, 108. The minister of the navy, Admiral Júlio César de Noronha, signed a contract with Armstrong Whitworth for three battleships on 23 July 1906.Topliss, "The Brazilian Dreadnoughts," 240–245. The new dreadnought battleship design, which debuted in December 1906 with the completion of the namesake ship, rendered the Brazilian ships, and all other existing capital ships, obsolete.Topliss, "The Brazilian Dreadnoughts," 246.
The money authorized for naval expansion was redirected by the new Minister of the Navy, Rear Admiral Alexandrino Fario de Alencar, to building two dreadnoughts, with plans for a third dreadnought after the first was completed, two scout cruisers (which became the ), ten destroyers (the ), and three submarines.Scheina, Naval History, 81.Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers, "Brazil," 883. The three battleships on which construction had just begun were scrapped beginning on 7 January 1907, and the design of the new dreadnoughts was approved by the Brazilians on 20 February 1907. In South America, the ships came as a shock and kindled a naval arms race among Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. The 1902 treaty between the latter two was canceled upon the Brazilian dreadnought order so both could be free to build their own dreadnoughts.
, the lead ship, was laid down by Armstrong on 17 April 1907, while São Paulo followed thirteen days later at Vickers.Scheina, Naval History, 321. The news shocked Brazil's neighbors, especially Argentina, whose Minister of Foreign Affairs remarked that either Minas Geraes or São Paulo could destroy the entire Argentine and Chilean fleets.Martins, "Colossos do mares," 76. In addition, Brazil's order meant that they had laid down a dreadnought before many of the other major maritime powers, such as Germany, France or Russia, and the two ships made Brazil the third country to have dreadnoughts under construction, behind the United Kingdom and the United States.Whitley, Battleships, 13.
Newspapers and journals around the world, particularly in Britain and Germany, speculated that Brazil was acting as a proxy for a naval power which would take possession of the two dreadnoughts soon after completion, as they did not believe that a previously insignificant geopolitical power would contract for such powerful warships.Martins, "Colossos do mares," 77. Despite this, the United States actively attempted to court Brazil as an ally; caught up in the spirit, U.S. naval journals began using terms like "Pan Americanism" and "Hemispheric Cooperation".
Early career
São Paulo was christened by Régis de Oliveira, the wife of Brazil's minister to Great Britain, and launched at Barrow-in-Furness on 19 April 1909 with many South American diplomats and naval officers in attendance."Launch Brazil's Battleship," The New York Times, 20 April 1909, 5. The ship was commissioned on 12 July,"E São Paulo," Navios De Guerra Brasileiros."São Paulo I," Serviço de Documentação da Marinha — Histórico de Navios. and after fitting-out and sea trials, it left Greenock on 16 September 1910.Whitley, Battleships, 28. Shortly thereafter, it stopped in Cherbourg, France, to embark the Brazilian President Hermes Rodrigues da Fonseca."French Criticise Brazil," The New York Times, 25 September 1910, C4. Departing on the 27th,"Marshal Hermes Da Fonseca," The Times, 28 September 1910, 4e. São Paulo sailed to Lisbon, Portugal, where Fonseca was a guest of Portugal's King Manuel II. Soon after they arrived the 5 October 1910 revolution began, which caused the fall of the Portuguese monarchy."Keeping Good Order in New Republic," The New York Times, 8 October 1910, 1–2. Although the president offered political asylum to the king and his family, the offer was refused.Ribeiro, "Os Dreadnoughts." A rumor that the king was on board, circulated by newspapers and reported to the Brazilian legation in Paris,"King Manuel Takes Flight Aboard Brazilian Warship," The Age, 7 October 1910, 7."Europe Stirred By Lisbon News," The Telegraph-Herald, 5 October 1910, 1. led revolutionaries to attempt to search the ship, but they were denied permission. They also asked for Brazil to land marines "to help in the maintenance of order", but this request was also denied."The Journey from Lisbon," The Times, 8 October 1910, 5–6a. São Paulo left Lisbon on 7 October for Rio de Janeiro,"Movements of Warships," The Times, 8 October 1910, 6a. and docked there on 25 October.
Revolt of the Lash
Soon after São Paulos arrival, a major rebellion known as the Revolt of the Lash, or Revolta da Chibata, broke out on four of the newest ships in the Brazilian Navy. The initial spark was provided on 16 November 1910 when Afro-Brazilian sailor Marcelino Rodrigues Menezes was brutally flogged 250 times for insubordination. Many Afro-Brazilian sailors were sons of former slaves, or were former slaves freed under the Lei Áurea (abolition) but forced to enter the navy. They had been planning a revolt for some time, and Menezes became the catalyst. Further preparations were needed, so the rebellion was delayed until 22 November. The crewmen of Minas Geraes, São Paulo, the twelve-year-old , and the new quickly took their vessels with only a minimum of bloodshed: two officers on Minas Geraes and one each on São Paulo and Bahia were killed.Morgan, "The Revolt of the Lash," 32–38, 50.
The ships were well-supplied with foodstuffs, ammunition, and coal, and the only demand of mutineers—led by João Cândido—was the abolition of "slavery as practiced by the Brazilian Navy". They objected to low pay, long hours, inadequate training, and punishments including bolo (being struck on the hand with a ferrule) and the use of whips or lashes (chibata), which eventually became a symbol of the revolt. By the 23rd, the National Congress had begun discussing the possibility of a general amnesty for the sailors. Senator Ruy Barbosa, long an opponent of slavery, lent a large amount of support, and the measure unanimously passed the Federal Senate on 24 November. The measure was then sent to the Chamber of Deputies.Morgan, "The Revolt of the Lash," 40–42.
Humiliated by the revolt, naval officers and the president of Brazil were staunchly opposed to amnesty, so they quickly began planning to assault the rebel ships. The officers believed such an action was necessary to restore the service's honor. The rebels, believing an attack was imminent, sailed their ships out of Guanabara Bay and spent the night of 23–24 November at sea, returning only during daylight. Late on the 24th, the President ordered the naval officers to attack the mutineers. Officers crewed some smaller warships and the cruiser , Bahias sister ship with ten 4.7-inch guns. They planned to attack on the morning of the 25th, when the government expected the mutineers would return to Guanabara Bay. When they did not return and the amnesty measure neared passage in the Chamber of Deputies, the order was rescinded. After the bill passed 125–23 and the president signed it into law, the mutineers stood down on the 26th.Morgan, "The Revolt of the Lash," 44–46.
During the revolt, the ships were noted by many observers to be well handled, despite a previous belief that the Brazilian Navy was incapable of effectively operating the ships even before being split by a rebellion. João Cândido ordered all liquor thrown overboard, and discipline on the ships was recognized as exemplary. The 4.7-inch guns were often used for shots over the city, but the 12-inch guns were not, which led to a suspicion among the naval officers that the rebels were incapable of using the weapons. Later research and interviews indicate that Minas Geraes guns were fully operational, and while São Paulos could not be turned after salt water contaminated the hydraulic system, British engineers still on board the ship after the voyage from the United Kingdom were working on the problem. Still, historians have never ascertained how well the mutineers could handle the ships.Morgan, "The Revolt of the Lash," 39–40, 48–49, 52.
First World War