Surat Castle (1824) in the East India Dock at Blackwall | |
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | Surat Castle |
Namesake | Surat Castle |
Builder | Wigram's & Green, Blackwall [1] |
Launched | 8 November 1824 [1] |
Fate | Sold 1825 to Bassett & Co., London; resold [1] |
Empire of Brazil | |
Name | Dona Paula, or Donna Paula, or Donna Paulo |
Namesake | Princess Paula of Brazil |
Acquired | 1825 by purchase |
Fate | Wrecked 2 October 1827 |
General characteristics | |
Tons burthen | 1,22366⁄94 [1] (bm) |
Armament | 38 guns |
Surat Castle was a ship launched in 1824 at Blackwall, London. In 1825 she sailed to Brazil to serve as the Brazilian Navy's frigate Dona Paula in the Cisplatine War. She was wrecked in 1827.
Surat Castle was built for Johnson & Meaburn. [1] She may have been sold in 1825 to Bassett & Co., London. [1] The Brazilian government purchased her and after extensive repairs (perhaps including lengthening by 11 feet [1] ) she sailed to Rio de Janeiro. [2]
On 25 June 1825, Surat Castle, Dowton, master, entered out at Custom House for Rio Janeiro and Teneriffe.[ clarification needed ] On 14 July she was at Deal, waiting to sail to Rio de Janeiro. [1] She arrived at Rio de Janeiro from London on 3 September. [3]
Surat Castle was renamed Dona Paula and assigned to the First Division, also called División Bloqueo, of the Brazilian navy operating in the waters of the Río de la Plata. The mission of this squadron was to blockade the primary Argentine port of Buenos Aires. Although the squadron had superior resources compared to the Argentine navy, commanded by William Brown, it was unable to stop the Argentines from routinely escaping.
Captain John Charles Pritz replaced Norton. While in command of Dona Paula, Pritz participated in the naval battles of Los Pozos on 11 June 1826 and Quilmes on 30 June 1826. The Battle of Los Pozos took place between the Argentine and Brazilian forces in view of Buenos Aires. Argentina had only eleven ships as opposed to Brazil's thirty-one warships.
Capitão-de-mar-e-guerra Cândido Francisco de Brito Vitória replaced Pritz, who went on to be a commodore. Between 7–8 April 1827, Dona Paula was Norton's flagship at the naval Battle of Monte Santiago. It was a decisive Brazilian victory in which the Argentines lost two of their best ships.
Dona Paula was wrecked on 2 October 1827 at the Ilha do Francês, off Cabo Frio (Arraial do Cabo) while pursuing an Argentine privateer. The subsequent court martial sentenced her captain to two years' suspension from the Brazilian Navy with the loss of all pay, and to one year in prison at the Ilha das Cobras in Rio de Janeiro. All his subordinate officers received sentences of imprisonment that varied in their duration depending on each officer's rank. [4]
In 1825 the press misidentified Surat Castle as a vessel that the Mexican government had purchased, renamed Libertad, Libertdo, or Libertador, and in 1825 sailed to Cuba to lead a squadron blockading the Spanish at Havana. This later led other sources to conflate her with Surat Castle.
William Brown was an Irish sailor, merchant, and naval commander who served in the Argentine Navy during the wars of the early 19th century. Brown's successes in the Argentine War of Independence, the Cisplatine War and the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata earned the respect and appreciation of the Argentine people, and he is regarded as one of Argentina's national heroes. Creator and first admiral of the country's maritime forces, he is commonly known as the "father of the Argentine Navy".
The Irish and German revolt in Brazil was a revolt of German and Irish mercenaries in 1828 during the Cisplatine War of 1825–1828. The immigrants, who were recruited in their homelands to come to Brazil, discovered that the promises made to them by the Brazilian government were not fulfilled. In the revolt, the Irish and Germans took control of large parts of Rio de Janeiro. Citizens of the town and troops from French and British warships suppressed the revolt.
The naval Battle of Juncal took place between a squadron of the newly independent United Provinces of the River Plate under command of William Brown and a squadron belonging to the Brazilian Empire, commanded by Sena Pereira. It spanned two days, from 8 to 9 February 1827, in the waters of the Río de la Plata.
The Cisplatine War was an armed conflict fought in the 1820s between the Empire of Brazil and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata over control of Brazil's Cisplatina province. It was fought in the aftermath of the United Provinces' and Brazil's independence from Spain and Portugal, respectively, and resulted in the independence of Cisplatina as the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.
The naval Battle of Monte Santiago was fought on 7–8 April 1827, between the Argentine Navy and the Imperial Brazilian Navy, during the Cisplatine War. It was a decisive Brazilian victory, with the allied forces losing its best ships. The battle is highlighted by Argentine historians as one of the most courageous and ferocious naval encounters in the country's history. On that day, Captain Francis Drummond died on deck, firing his marooned ship's cannons instead of retreating.
David Jewett was an American-born Brazilian naval officer known for his role in the sovereignty dispute between the United Kingdom and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata over the Falkland Islands. He was a naval commander in the Quasi-War with France and following the end of that conflict he offered his services as a mercenary in both the United Provinces and the Empire of Brazil. Licensed as a privateer by the United Provinces to seize Spanish ships, he was later accused of piracy following the seizure of American and Portuguese flagged vessels. Jewett finished his career in the Imperial Brazilian Navy, serving under Lord Cochrane and died in Rio de Janeiro in 1842.
John Pascoe Grenfell was a British officer of the Empire of Brazil. He spent most of his service in South America campaigns, initially under the leadership of Lord Cochrane and then Commodore Norton. He was the nephew of British politician Pascoe Grenfell and grandfather to General Sir John Grenfell Maxwell. In Brazil, he rose to the rank of admiral and for his achievements was made a knight grand cross of the Imperial Order of the Rose and a knight of the Imperial Order of the Southern Cross.
USS Perry was a brig commissioned by the United States Navy prior to the American Civil War. She was tasked by the Navy for various missions, including those related to diplomatic tensions with Paraguay, the Mexican–American War, the slave trade, and the American Civil War. She was probably named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.
Commodore John Charles Pritz was a Danish mariner who had a career with the Brazilian Imperial Navy during the Cisplatine War.
Juan Bautista Azopardo was a Maltese privateer and military man who fought under the flags of the Netherlands, Spain, and Argentina.
The Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata, also known as Paraná War, was a five-year naval blockade imposed by France and the United Kingdom on the Argentine Confederation during the Uruguayan Civil War. It was imposed by the Royal Navy and French Navy in 1845 against the Río de la Plata Basin to support the Colorado Party in Uruguay's civil war, resulting in the closure of Buenos Aires to maritime commerce. The Argentine government, led by Juan Manuel de Rosas, refused to drop their support for the Uruguyan White Party, which supported Argentina's resistance to the blockade.
José María Pinedo was a commander in the navy of the United Provinces of the River Plate, one of the precursor states of what is now known as Argentina. He took part in the Argentine War of Independence, the Argentine Civil Wars and the Cisplatine War. He is also known for failing to resist the British return to the Falkland Islands in 1833.
HMS Nancy was the two-masted mercantile brig Nancy that Rear-Admiral Sidney Smith purchased for the Royal Navy at Buenos Aires and commissioned in 1808. Nancy served on the South America station until she was sold in 1813.
Cabo Corrientes is a rocky outcrop on the Argentine coast between the Chica and Varese beaches in Mar del Plata, in the extreme southeast of Buenos Aires Province, on the Argentine Sea of the Atlantic Ocean. It is located at the geographical coordinates 38°01′S57°32′W.
At least two vessels have been named Surat Castle for Surat Castle:
The naval Battle of Quilmes took place between a fleet of the Imperial Brazilian Navy, commanded by British admiral James Norton and a fleet of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata under the command of William Brown. The confrontations began at dawn on July 30, 1826 and lasted for three hours.
The naval Battle of Punta Colares, also known as the Battle of Corales, was the first major naval engagement of the Cisplatine War. It took place between a fleet of the Empire of Brazil, commanded by admiral Rodrigo José Ferreira Lobo, and a squadron of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata under the command of admiral William Brown. The confrontations began at around 10 o'clock on 9 February 1826 and lasted for seven hours.
The battle of Colonia del Sacramento consisted of a series of failed attempts made by admiral William Brown of capturing the town of Colonia del Sacramento, which was under Brazilian control and being sieged on land by insurgent Uruguayan forces, in the context of the Cisplatine War between the Empire of Brazil and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. The confrontations began in the morning of 26 February 1826 and ended on 14 March 1826.
Dom Afonso was a steam frigate that served the Imperial Brazilian Navy, being the first steamship to serve in this navy. It was built in England under the supervision of chief of squad John Pascoe Grenfell and was named Dom Afonso in honor of Afonso, Prince Imperial of Brazil, son of emperor Pedro II of Brazil and empress Teresa Cristina.
Prince Regent was launched at Falmouth, Cornwall in 1821 as a Post Office Packet Service packet. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1826 and renamed her HMS Cynthia. She was wrecked off Barbados on 6 June 1827.