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| Brazilian Naval Revolt | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 BrazilSupport:  United States |  Navy mutineers | ||||||
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| Strength | |||||||
| 10forts (Army control) Loyalist Navy Squad: 2cruisers 1torpedo-boat destroyer 6torpedo boats 2monitors 4auxiliary cruisers 2gunboats | 1fort (rebel control) Rebel Navy Squad:[1] 2coastal battleships 4cruisers 2monitor 1gunboat 7torpedo boats 9auxiliary cruisers | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 4 ships sunk Several fortifications destroyed or severely damaged | 12 ships sunk Large | ||||||
TheBrazilian Naval Revolts (Portuguese:Revoltas da Armada) were armedmutinies promoted mainly byadmiralsCustódio José de Melo andSaldanha da Gama and their fleet of rebelBrazilian navy ships against the claimed unconstitutional staying in power of presidentFloriano Peixoto.[2]
The United States supported the incumbent government against the insurgents.[3]
In November 1891, President MarshalDeodoro da Fonseca, amid a political crisis compounded by the effects ofan economic crisis, in flagrant violation of the newconstitution, decided to "solve" the political crisis by ordering the closure of Congress, supported mainly by thePaulista oligarchy. The Navy, still resentful of the circumstances and outcomes of thecoup that had put an end to the monarchy in Brazil,[4] under the leadership of admiral Custódio José de Melo, rose up and threatened to bombard the city ofRio de Janeiro, then the capital of Brazil. To avoid a civil war, marshal Deodoro resigned the presidency in 23 November.[5]With the resignation of Deodoro, after just nine months from the beginning of his administration, vice president Floriano Peixoto took office. The 1891 Constitution, however, provided for a new election if the presidency or vice-presidency became vacant sooner than two years in office. The opposition then accused Floriano of staying as head of the nation illegally.
The second revolt started in March 1892, when thirteen generals sent a letter and manifesto to the President Marshal Floriano Peixoto. This document demanded new elections be called to fulfill the constitutional provision and ensure internal tranquility in the nation. Floriano harshly suppressed the movement, ordering the arrest of their leaders. Thus, not legally solved, the political tensions increased. The revolt broke out in September 1893 at Rio de Janeiro, and was suppressed only in March 1894 after a long blockade of the city.
With many of the Brazilian Navy's most powerful ships either in the hands of the rebels or under repair, the Brazilian government had to improvise a new fleet to battle the rebel fleet. The "paper fleet", as it was called, had to face off against a mutiny that had overtaken most of the powerful ships of the original navy. Local bloody conflicts in some regions of Brazil ensued. The navy's mutiny off Rio de Janeiro, in theGuanabara Bay, was also a challenge, and became linked to theFederalist Revolution in southern Brazil.
The revolt included the powerfulbattleshipAquidabã and a collection of small ironclads, modern cruisers and older wood "cruiser" or steamfrigate type ships. Two of the navy's major ships were overseas and supposedly away from the conflict: thebattleshipRiachuelo was under repairs in France, and the corvetteBarroso was on a round-the world training voyage (during which she sank). This did not leave the government with much left to challenge the mutineers, who could have controlled the seas and influenced the concurrent conflicts on land.
The government basically bought itself a new naval force on the open market, of small and sometimes unusual ships including torpedo gunboats, various medium and small torpedo boats, small armed yachts, and a transport converted to carry aZalinskidynamite gun (a pneumatic gun launching a dynamite charge of massive explosive force and marginal accuracy). Such improvised stocking up was common at that time: the US pressed a similar mix of ships into action to supplement its fleet in the1898 war with Spain (or to buy them before Spain could), and Japan also scrambled to purchase available ships for its conflict with Russia in 1904-5. In this case, however, the new fleet was dedicated to confronting the original navy of the same country.[6]
On 13 September, the fortresses in Rio de Janeiro, held by the Army, began to be bombarded.[7] The rebel forces' fleet consisted of navy vessels and civilian vessels of Brazilian and foreign companies.[citation needed]
The rebels were the majority in the Navy, but faced strong opposition in the Army, where thousands of young soldiers joined the battalions that supported president Floriano Peixoto. State elites, especially in São Paulo, were also in favor of Floriano.[citation needed]
At the same time, in southern Brazil, the Federalist Revolution against the government was taking place, a dispute between the federalists (nicknamedmaragatos) and republicans (nicknamedpica-paus), the latter supported by president Floriano. The city of Desterro, as the capital ofSanta Catarina state was then called, was dominated by the rebels.[citation needed] At dawn on 1 December, admiral Custódio de Melo, in theAquidabã, followed by theRepública and auxiliary cruisers, went south to join forces with the federalists.[8]
On 7 December, rear admiral Luis Filipe Saldanha da Gama, then director of the Naval School, joined the movement, taking over the rebels in Rio de Janeiro, beginning the second phase of the Navy Revolt. By this time, the rebels had little ammunition and no food. The São José Fortress, onCobras Island, was practically destroyed by the loyalist troops. On 9 February 1894, the rebels, under the command of Saldanha da Gama, landed at Ponta da Armação, in the city ofNiterói, but were defeated. They were also defeated inGovernador Island.[9]
Niterói, which was the capital of the state ofRio de Janeiro, had its seven forts bombed. On 20 February 1894, the seat of government was then moved toPetrópolis, a mountain town beyond the reach of the Navy guns. Niterói would not return to host the capital in 1903.[citation needed]
The federal government had acquired warships, which were dubbed the "paper fleet". The command of this squadron was given to admiral Jerônimo Gonçalves, a veteran of theParaguayan War. In March 1894, with the support of the Army and theRepublican Party of São Paulo (PRP), the Navy Revolt was stifled.[10] The rebels took refuge in the Portuguese shipsMindelo andAfonso de Albuquerque, ending the second phase of the revolt.[citation needed]
The Federalist Revolution continued in the south, where Saldanha da Gama and his men were still leading troops against the government. Custódio de Melo had taken the port ofParanaguá and was united with the federalist leaderGumercindo Saraiva. Theytook the city of Lapa and the government troops moved south. On 16 April 1894, the rebel battleshipAquidabã was torpedoed in Santa Catarina by the torpedo-boat destroyerGustavo Sampaio, which was commanded by lieutenant Altino Flávio de Miranda Correia.[11]
In theRepública cruiser, Custódio de Melo, commanding four merchant ships and two thousand men, unsuccessfully tried to land in the city ofRio Grande. He was defeated by troops loyal to the state governorJúlio de Castilhos. The navy rebels were defeated. Custódio took refuge in Argentina, where he delivered the ships.[12] According to historian Helio Silva, the end of the third and final phase of the Armada Revolt happened with the death of Saldanha da Gama, on 25 June 1895, in theBattle of Campo Osório, in Rio Grande do Sul.[13][14]
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