Minas Geraes-class battleship

The Minas Geraes class, spelled Minas Gerais in somesources,[upper-alpha 2] consisted of two battleships built forthe Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil) in the early twen-tieth century. The ships were named Minas Geraes, af-ter the Brazilian state, and São Paulo, honoring both thestate and city. They were intended to be Brazil’s firststep towards becoming an international power, and con-sequently they initiated a South American naval armsrace.In 1904, Brazil began a major naval building programthat included three small battleships. Designing and or-dering the ships took two years, but these plans werescrapped after the revolutionary "dreadnought" conceptrendered the Brazilian design obsolete. Two dread-noughts were ordered from the United Kingdom instead,making Brazil the third country to have ships of thistype under construction—before traditional powers likeGermany, France, or Russia. As such, the ships cre-ated much uncertainty among the major countries in theworld, many of whom incorrectly speculated the shipswere actually destined for a rival nation. Similarly, theyalso caused much consternation in Argentina and conse-quently Chile.Soon after their delivery in 1910, both Minas Geraes andSão Paulo were embroiled in the Revolt of the Lash (Re-volta da Chibata), in which the crews of four Brazilianships demanded the abolition of corporal punishment inthe navy. The mutineers surrendered after four days,when a bill was passed granting amnesty to all those in-volved. In 1922, the two battleships were used to helpput down a revolt at Fort Copacabana. Two years later,lieutenants on São Paulomutinied but found little supportfrom other military units, so they sailed to Montevideo,Uruguay, and obtained asylum. Minas Geraes was mod-ernized in the 1930s, but both battleships were too oldto participate actively in the Second World War, and in-stead were employed as harbor defense ships in Salvadorand Recife. São Paulo was sold in 1951 to a Britishshipbreaker, but was lost in a storm north of the Azoreswhile being towed to its final destination. Minas Ger-aes was sold to an Italian scrapper in 1953 and towed toGenoa the following year.

1 Background

Main article: South American dreadnought race

Brazil’s navy fell into obsolescence after an 1889 revolu-tion, which deposed Emperor Dom Pedro II, and an 1893civil war.[1][4][5][upper-alpha 3] Meanwhile, an Argentine–Chilean dispute over the boundary of Patagonia and con-trol of the Beagle Channel kindled a naval arms racebetween the two beginning in the late 1880s and last-ing until 1902. Restrictions were placed on the naviesof both countries and major vessels under constructionin both navies were sold as part of the British-mediatedthree pacts which ended the dispute, but both countriesretained the numerous vessels built in the interim.[7][8]

As such, by the turn of the 20th century the BrazilianNavy lagged far behind the Chilean and Argentine naviesin quality and total tonnage,[4][5][upper-alpha 4] despite Brazilhaving nearly three times the population of Argentina andalmost five times the population of Chile.[4][9]

Soaring demand for coffee and rubber brought Brazil aninflux of revenue in the early 1900s.[9] Simultaneously,there was a drive on the part of prominent Brazilians,most notably the Baron of Rio Branco, to have the coun-try recognized as an international power.[10] A large navalacquisition program was drawn up and passed by theNational Congress of Brazil in October 1904 in accor-dance with their belief that a powerful navy would be cru-cial to the achievement of this goal, but it was two yearsbefore any ships were ordered.[1][9][10]

Two factions argued over the types of ships to be or-dered. One favored a navy centered around a small num-ber of large warships, while the other preferred a largernavy of smaller warships.[10] The latter originally pre-vailed with a bill authorizing the construction of threesmall battleships, three armored cruisers, six destroyers,twelve torpedo boats, three submarines, and two rivermonitors.[10][11] Though the Brazilian government latereliminated the armored cruisers for monetary reasons, theMinister of the Navy, Admiral Júlio César de Noronha,signed a contract with Armstrong Whitworth for threebattleships on 23 July 1906.[12] While the first designsfor these ships were derived from the Norwegian coastaldefense ship Norge and the British (originally Chilean)Swiftsure class,[upper-alpha 5] the contracted ships were tofollow Armstrong Whitworth's Design 439 (Design 188in Vickers' files). They would displace 11,800 long tons(12,000 tonnes), have a speed of 19 knots (22 mph; 35km/h), and be protected by belt armor of 9 inches (23 cm)and deck armor of 1.5 in (3.8 cm). Each ship would bearmed with twelve 10-inch (25 cm) guns mounted in sixtwin turrets. These turrets would be mounted in a hexag-onal configuration, similar to the later German Nassau-

1

2 3 INTERNATIONAL REACTION

class battleships.[14]

Alarmed, the American ambassador to Brazil sent acablegram to his Department of State in September 1906,warning them of the destabilization that would occur ifthe situation devolved into a full naval arms race. At thesame time, the American government under TheodoreRoosevelt tried using diplomatic means to coerce theBrazilians into canceling their ships, but the attemptswere dismissed, with the Baron of Rio Branco remark-ing that caving to the American demands would renderBrazil as powerless as suzerain Cuba. The President ofBrazil, Afonso Pena, supported the naval acquisitions inan address to the National Congress of Brazil in Novem-ber 1906, as in his opinion the ships were necessary toreplace the antiquated and obsolete vessels of the currentnavy.[15]

2 Bidding and construction

The launch of Minas Geraes on 10 September 1908. Asthe ship has not gone through its fitting-out period, itweighed only around 9,000 long tons (9,100 metric tons)at this time.[16]

Design 439 was modified before these ships were laiddown, increasing the displacement to 14,334 long tons(14,564 t) and making them slightly longer and wider.Two of these ships were laid down by Armstrong atElswick in Newcastle upon Tyne (Minas Geraes andRio de Janeiro), while the other was subcontracted outto Vickers in Barrow (São Paulo). However, the newdreadnought concept, which was showcased upon thecompletion of the namesake ship in December 1906, ren-dered the Brazilian ships obsolete.[17] A transition to afew large warships was finalized with the selection of

Rear Admiral Alexandrino Faria de Alencar for the pow-erful post of minister of the navy.[18] The money autho-rized for naval expansion was redirected by de Alencar tobuilding two dreadnoughts, with plans for a third dread-nought after the first was completed, two scout cruisers(which became the Bahia class), ten destroyers (the Paráclass), and three submarines.[18][19] The three battleshipson which construction had just begun were demolishedbeginning on 7 January 1907.[17]

An entirely new design incorporating the latest dread-nought technology was drawn up by J.R. Perret, the headof Elswick Ordnance Company, and approved by theBrazilian government on 20 February 1907.[17][20] Ar-gentina and Chile immediately annulled the 1902 treatythat had ended their naval arms race, and both planned toexpand their own navies, though Chile was delayed by afinancial depression in 1907 and a major earthquake thenext year.[4]

Minas Geraes, the lead ship, was laid down by Armstrongon 17 April 1907, while its sister ship São Paulo fol-lowed thirteen days later at Vickers. Construction of thepartial hull needed to launch Minas Geraes was delayedby a four-month strike to 10 September 1908, and SãoPaulo followed on 19 April 1909.[21][22][23][24][25] Bothwere christened in front of large crowds by the wife ofFrancisco Régis de Oliveira, the Brazilian ambassadorto the United Kingdom.[26][27] After multiple trials ofthe speed, endurance, efficiency, and weaponry of theship,[28][29] Minas Geraeswas completed and handed overto Brazil on 5 January 1910.[30] São Paulo followed inJuly, after its own trials.[31][32] The third dreadnought,which would have been named Rio de Janeiro and wasprovided for in the original contract, was laid down on16 March, but as the ship had already been eclipsedby new naval technology (chiefly the advent of super-dreadnoughts, beginning with the British HMS Orion),the Brazilian government canceled its on 7 May and askedArmstrong to prepare a new design.[33][upper-alpha 6]

At this time, the dreadnought design had not been fullyvalidated, despite the success of the British namesake;[36]

for example, there were still concerns that the MinasGeraes class’ superfiring turret arrangement—which hadnot been utilized on the original Dreadnought, but wasalso being installed on the American South Carolinaclass—would cause blast to hurt the crew in the lowerturret.[37][38] Any immediate concerns, however, weremitigated during the firing tests when no ill effects wereobserved,[38] though the Times (London) reported thatthere were still concerns registered during São Paulo ' sgun trials in June 1910.[32]

3 International reaction

The start of work on Minas Geraes meant that Brazil hadbecome the third country—behind the United Kingdom

3

and the United States but ahead of major powers such asGermany, France, Russia and Japan—to have a dread-nought under construction.[9][39][upper-alpha 7]

The order for the dreadnoughts caused an immediate stirin the United States and Europe; in the words of theBritish Navy League Annual, they “astonished the navalworld”.[41] The American New York Times opened anarticle on Minas Geraes ' launch with “What on paperat least is the most powerful warship ever built for anynavy ...”,[26] while Scientific American called Minas Ger-aes “the last word in heavy battleship design and the ...most powerfully armed warship afloat.”[42] Some publi-cations, like the American Advocate of Peace, decriedthe dreadnought purchase for its cost, calling it “a showyand pretentious naval policy seemingly for the sheer in-dulgence of national pride” and continuing with "[sink-ing] money into useless warships when, it is understood,foreign money has had to be borrowed for city improve-ments in Rio de Janeiro is pitiful politics.”[43]

Minas Geraes conducting its gun trials, at that time the heaviestbroadside ever fired off a ship

The British House of Commons debated purchasing theships in March 1908 to bolster the Royal Navy while si-multaneously ensuring they would not be sold to a foreignrival.[17] The topic arose again in July and September,when Arthur Lee expressed his discomfort at the possiblefinal dispositions of the Brazilian ships, as any sale had thepotential to disrupt their "Two-Power Standard".[17][44]

International Marine Engineering analyzed the effect ofa sale to Japan, stating that the total broadside weight ofJapan’s line of battle would be increased by 31.6%, andthe only ships capable of matching the Minas Geraes ' in the near future would be the American Delaware andGerman Nassau classes.[45]

Newspapers and journals around the world speculatedthat Brazil was acting as a proxy for a naval power whichwould take possession of the two dreadnoughts soon af-ter completion, as they did not believe that a previ-ously insignificant geopolitical power would contract forsuch powerful armament.[46][47] The evidence for a saleseemed strong, as Brazilian attempts to float a multi-million-dollar loan against the value of their coffee crop

in 1908 were unsuccessful.[48] With three dreadnoughtsplanned (including the upcoming Rio de Janeiro), a Span-ish naval journal stated “it was only natural that rumors[would begin] to circulate supporting the argument thatBrazil acted as an intermediary for some great powerwhich would acquire them before they terminate theirconstruction.”[49] Various British papers speculated thateither the Germans, Japanese, or Americans were actu-ally buying the ships, while naval experts in Germanythought the Americans, British, or Japanese were go-ing to take them over.[22][50][51][52] On the other side ofthe Atlantic, some American papers theorized that theships would be sold to the United Kingdom, Germany,or Japan.[53][54][55] The Brazilian government was forcedto deny these spurious allegations several times.[56] TheNew York Times remarked:

The rumor is that the three warships ...ordered [in Britain] two years ago will belaunched from English shores only to fly theGerman flag. It is asserted that these ships,which are named the Sao Paulo, the MinasGeras [sic] and the Rio de Janeiro, and all ofwhich will be completed by next fall, will beconveyed to the German government on thepayment of $30,000,000.

It may be recalled that when orders wereplaced for the ships ... there was much spec-ulation as to the destiny of the vessels, as nonaval expert could understand how a second-rate power like Brazil needed such formidableengines of war which would represent abso-lutely the latest stages of naval construction andarmament. Meanwhile, it had been reportedthat the ships were being built for the Japanesegovernment, which had a secret understand-ing with Brazil. But this theory was soon dis-carded by the fact that relations between thesetwo countries were not extremely cordial onaccount of the attitude of Brazil toward theimmigration of Japanese laborers.[upper-alpha 8]

Then it was semi-officially stated that the shipswould never leave the ways except to fly theBritish flag, but the money for such a purposecould only be raised by a loan or the Admi-ralty getting the sum from the sinking fund—contingencies which would naturally becomepublic property long before they could be car-ried out. ("Germany May Buy English War-ships,” New York Times, 9 August 1908, C8)

Despite the speculation, the United States quickly begancourting Brazil as an ally; caught up in the spirit, US navaljournals began using terms like “Pan Americanism” and“Hemispheric Cooperation”.[22]

In South America, the ships came as a rude shock andkindled a naval arms race among Brazil, Argentina, and

4 5 SERVICE HISTORIES

Chile. The 1902 treaty between the latter two was can-celed upon the Brazilian dreadnought order so both couldbe free to build their own dreadnoughts.[4] Argentina inparticular was alarmed at the possible power of the ships.The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Augusto Montesde Oca, remarked that either Minas Geraes or São Paulocould destroy the entire Argentine and Chilean fleets.[58]

While this may have been hyperbole, either one was muchmore powerful than any single vessel in the Argentinianfleet.[59] As such, the Argentines quickly responded to thedreadnoughts with an order to the United States for two oftheir own, theRivadavia class, while Chile ordered two ofthe Almirante Latorre class from the United Kingdom.[60]

4 Ships

5 Service histories

After completion, both Minas Geraes and São Paulosailed to other countries before arriving in Brazil. MinasGeraes left the Tyne on 5 February 1910 and traveled toPlymouth before beginning a voyage to the United Stateson 8 February.[61][62] The ship was assigned to escort theAmerican armored cruiser North Carolina, carrying thebody of the former Brazilian ambassador to the UnitedStates Joaquim Nabuco, to Rio de Janeiro.[58][63][64] Theyarrived in the city on 17 April 1910.[21][58] São Pauloleft Greenock on 16 September 1910,[65] and stoppedin Cherbourg, France, to embark the Brazilian PresidentHermes da Fonseca.[66][67] Departing on the 27th,[68] SãoPaulo voyaged to Lisbon, Portugal, where Fonseca was aguest of Portugal’s King Manuel II. Soon after they ar-rived, the 5 October 1910 revolution began.[69] Althoughthe President offered political asylum to the King and hisfamily, the offer was refused.[70] There was a rumor thatthe King was on board and revolutionaries attempted tosearch the ship, but were denied permission. They alsoasked for Brazil to land marines “to help in the mainte-nance of order,” but this request was also denied.[71] SãoPaulo left Lisbon on 7 October for Rio de Janeiro,[69][72]

and docked there on 25 October.[65]

5.1 Revolt of the Lash

Main article: Revolt of the Lash

Soon after São Paulo ' s arrival, a major rebellion knownas the Revolt of the Lash, or Revolta da Chibata, brokeout on four of the newest ships in the Brazilian Navy. Theinitial spark was provided on 16 November 1910 whenAfro-Brazilian sailor Marcelino Rodrigues Menezes wasbrutally flogged 250 times for insubordination.[upper-alpha 9]

Many Afro-Brazilian sailors were sons of former slaves,or were former slaves freed under the Lei Áurea (aboli-tion) but forced to enter the navy. They had been planning

Sailors pose for a photographer on board Minas Geraes, proba-bly during the ship’s visit to the United States in early 1913.

João Cândido Felisberto with reporters, officers and sailors onboard Minas Geraes on 26 November 1910, the last day of theRevolt of the Lash

a revolt for some time, and Menezes became the catalyst.Further preparations were needed, so the rebellion wasdelayed until 22 November. The crewmen of Minas Ger-aes, São Paulo, the twelve-year-oldDeodoro, and the newBahia quickly took their vessels with only a minimum ofbloodshed: two officers on Minas Geraes and one eachon São Paulo and Bahia were killed.[74]

The ships were well-supplied with foodstuffs, ammuni-tion, and coal, and the only demand of mutineers—ledby João Cândido Felisberto—was the abolition of “slav-ery as practiced by the Brazilian Navy”. They objected tolow pay, long hours, inadequate training for incompetentsailors, and punishments including bôlo (being struck onthe hand with a ferrule) and the use of whips or lashes(chibata), which eventually became a symbol of the re-volt. By the 23rd, the National Congress had begun dis-cussing the possibility of a general amnesty for the sailors.Senator Ruy Barbosa, long an opponent of slavery, lent alarge amount of support, and the measure unanimouslypassed the Federal Senate on 24 November. The mea-sure was then sent to the Chamber of Deputies.[75]

Humiliated by the revolt, naval officers and the presi-dent of Brazil were staunchly opposed to amnesty, sothey quickly began planning to assault the rebel ships.The former believed such an action was necessary to re-

5.2 Later career 5

store the service’s honor. Late on the 24th, the Presi-dent ordered the naval officers to attack the mutineers.Officers crewed some smaller warships and the cruiserRio Grande do Sul, Bahia ' s sister ship with ten 4.7-inchguns. They planned to attack on the morning of the 25th,when the government expected the mutineers would re-turn to Guanabara Bay. When they did not return andthe amnesty measure neared passage in the Chamber ofDeputies, the order was rescinded. After the bill passed125–23 and the president signed it into law, the mutineersstood down on the 26th.[76]

During the revolt, the ships were noted by many ob-servers to be well-handled, despite a previous belief thatthe Brazilian Navy was incapable of effectively operat-ing the ships even before being split by a rebellion. JoãoCândido Felisberto 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 were not, which led to a suspicion amongthe naval officers that the rebels were incapable of us-ing the weapons. Later research and interviews indicatethatMinas Geraes ' guns were fully operational, and whileSão Paulo ' s could not be turned after salt water con-taminated the hydraulic system, British engineers still onboard the ship after the voyage from the United King-dom were working on the problem. Still, historians havenever ascertained how well the mutineers could handlethe ships.[77][78]

5.2 Later career

Three years after the mutiny, Minas Geraes was usedto transport Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs LauroMüller to the United States.[79][80][81] The ship returnedon 16 July and arrived in Rio de Janeiro on 16 August.In September both Minas Geraes and São Paulo partici-pated in a major exercise with most of the Brazilian Navy.The need for more modern fire control system was iden-tified as early as late 1913, but no action was taken.[81][82]

When Brazil entered the First World War in 1917, theywere offered to the United Kingdom for service in theGrand Fleet, but the British declined due to the conditionthe ships were in. They had not been modernized sinceentering service, and maintenance had been neglected; toillustrate the problem, when Brazil sent São Paulo to theUnited States for a modernization in June 1918, fourteenof the eighteen boilers that powered the ship failed. Theship only finished the voyage to New York with the as-sistance of the American battleship Nebraska and cruiserRaleigh.[83] Minas Geraes followed after its sister’s return,and the modernization was done between 1 September1920 and 1 October 1921.[81][84]

São Paulo made two trips to Europe in 1920. Thefirst conveyed King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth ofBelgium to Brazil for the centennial celebrations. Af-ter São Paulo brought them home, the ship traveled toPortugal to take the bodies of the formerly-exiled Em-

Minas Geraes after its 1930s modernization, possibly during theSecond World War

peror Pedro II and his wife, Teresa Cristina, back toBrazil.[82][85][upper-alpha 10] In July 1922, both battleshipshelped to quash the first of the Tenente revolts (RevoluçãoTenentista), in which the garrison of Rio de Janeiro’sFort Copacabana rebelled and began bombarding thecity. São Paulo shelled the fort, and the rebels surren-dered shortly thereafter; Minas Geraes did not fire itsguns.[24][25][70][86][upper-alpha 11] In 1924, three lieutenants,including Hercolino Cascardo, took over São Paulo withother crewmen. They were unsuccessful in swaying anyother ships to their cause, except for an old torpedo boat,and soon sailed out of the harbor after firing a six-poundergun at Minas Geraes. Short of food and with condensersin poor condition, the rebels sailed to Montevideo, wherethey received asylum. Minas Geraes followed São Paulo,arriving on 11 November and taking back possession ofthe ship.[88]

Minas Geraes was modernized at the Rio de JaneiroNaval Yard from June 1931 to 1938,[89][upper-alpha 12]

while São Paulo led a naval force that broke the navalblockade of Santos during the Constitutionalist Revolu-tion of 1932.[70] Though Brazil had also intended to mod-ernize São Paulo, its poor condition—she was only able tomake 10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h) instead of its designedspeed of 21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h)—made such ac-tion uneconomical.[90] Soon after Brazil’s entrance intothe Second World War on 21 August 1942,[91] São Paulowas moved to Recife on 23 August to defend that port asa harbor defense ship; Minas Geraes played a similar roleat Salvador.[81][82][90] Even with the modernization, Mi-nas Geraes was simply too old and vulnerable to activelyparticipate in the war.[92]

Both ships were decommissioned after the war, São Pauloon 2 August 1947 and Minas Geraes on 31 December1952.[24][25] The former was sold to a British shipbreakerand was towed out of Rio de Janeiro on 20 Septem-ber 1951. When north of the Azores in a strong storm,the tow line snapped. Though multiple searches weremounted by American and British aircraft, the ship wasnever found.[25][90] Minas Geraes was sold to an Italiancompany in 1953 and towed to Genoa from 11 March

6 7 FOOTNOTES

1954 to 22 April.[24][81][90]

6 Specifications

Plans of the Minas Geraes class, showing the armor values (fig.1) and the theoretically possible radii of the main and secondarybatteries (fig. 2 and 3), from the Journal of the United StatesArtillery (1910)

The two ships of the Minas Geraes class were 543 feet(166 m) overall, 530 feet (160 m) at the waterline, and500 feet (150 m) between perpendiculars. They had abeam of 83 feet (25 m), a mean draft of 25 feet (7.6 m),a maximum draft of 28 feet (8.5 m), a normal displace-ment of 18,976 long tons (19,281 t), and a displacementof 20,900 long tons (21,200 t) at full load. At the begin-ning of their careers, the ships were crewed by about 900men.[22]

Minas Geraes and São Paulo were originally armed withtwelve 12-inch/45 caliber, twenty-two 4.7-inch/50 cal-iber, and eight 3-pounder naval guns. The main batterywas arranged with four superfiring turrets, two each foreand aft, and two placed en echelon. The 4.7-inch sec-ondary guns were placed in casemates along the side ofthe ship.[22]

The propulsion of the two ships was provided by Vick-ers vertical triple expansion engines instead of the steamturbines being used to power most contemporary dread-noughts. Eighteen boilers provided power to the engines,which in turn rotated the two three-bladed propellers with23,500 shaft horsepower. Their designed top speed was21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h), though this was frequentlyunattainable in their later careers owing to substandardmaintenance and neglect. The ships could carry 2,350tonnes (2,310 long tons) of coal and 400 tonnes (390long tons) of oil, and their original endurance was 10,000nautical miles (12,000 mi; 19,000 km) when traveling at10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h).[22][93] During its trials, Mi-nas Geraes was able to steam at 22.29 knots (25.65 mph;41.28 km/h).[94]

The main armor belt was Krupp cemented and nineinches (230 mm) thick, but narrowed to six and three

inches (150 and 76 mm) closer to each end of the ships.The barbettes were protected by nine-inch armor, whilethe turret had a twelve-inch (300 mm) front, eight-inch(200 mm) sides, and a two- to three-inch (51 to 76 mm)top, and the conning tower had twelve-inch armor. Thedeck armor had multiple decks of one-and-a-half to twoinches (38 to 51 mm), one inch (25 mm), and one inch.[93]

7 Footnotes[1] This was a staggering sum of money for the time. After

the ships were ordered, a Brazilian newspaper equated theinitial purchase cost for Minas Geraes, São Paulo, and Riode Janeiro (given as £6,110,100 without accounting forammunition, which was £605,520, or necessary upgradesto docks, costing £832,000) as equaling 5,029 kilometres(3,125 mi) of railroad tracks or 30,300 homesteads. Thislarge sum, however, was dwarfed by later costs for mainte-nance; the first five years of the ships’ commissioned livescost Brazil about 60% of the initial cost.[3]

[2] “Minas Geraes” was the spelling when the battleship wascommissioned, but later changes to Portuguese orthog-raphy deprecated it in favor of “Minas Gerais”. Thewords are pronounced [ˈminɐʃ ʒeˈɾajʃ] in Portuguese. Shipclasses are named for the lead ship, in this caseMinas Ger-aes.

[3] The civil war was begun by secessionists in the southernprovince of Rio Grande do Sul. In 1893, Rear AdmiralCustódio José de Mello, the minister of the navy, revoltedagainst President Floriano Peixoto, bringing nearly all ofthe Brazilian warships currently in the country with him.Mello’s forces took Desterro when the governor surren-dered, and began to coordinate with the secessionists, butloyal Brazilian forces overwhelmed them both. Most ofthe rebel naval forces were sailed to Argentina, where theircrews surrendered; the flagship, Aquidabã, held out nearDesterro until sunk by a torpedo boat.[6]

[4] Chile’s naval tonnage was 36,896 long tons (37,488 t), Ar-gentina’s 34,425 long tons (34,977 t), and Brazil’s 27,661long tons (28,105 t).[4]

[5] Incidentally, the Swiftsure class, named Constitución andLibertad before being bought by the British, were the twoChilean warships sold as part of the 1902 Argentinian–Chilean pacts that ended their naval arms race.[13]

[6] Rio de Janeiro was eventually constructed as a muchlarger ship with fourteen 12-inch guns in seven turrets, allmounted on the centerline, but it was sold partway throughconstruction to the Ottoman Empire. Later, shortly afterthe First World War broke out, the ship was taken over bythe United Kingdom as HMS Agincourt.[34][35]

[7] Although Germany laid down their first dreadnought,Nassau, two months after Minas Geraes, the German ves-sel was completed first.[9][40]

[8] cf. Japanese Brazilian. A series of rumors supporting thistheory, where Brazil was alleged to have placed large ar-mament orders in the United Kingdom on behalf of Japan

7

(who would then use them against the United States), wasstrongly denied by the Brazilian government. Rio Branco,through a telegram sent to the Brazilian ambassador tothe United States Joaquim Nabuco, based his counter-argument in the close relationship between Brazilian andAmerican governments, saying “every sensible person willunderstand that an honest and respectable governmentwould not lend itself to play the part attributed to Brazilby the inventor of the news.”[57]

[9] The sailor’s back was later described by José Carlos deCarvalho, a retired navy captain assigned by the Braziliangovernment as their representative to the mutineers, as “amullet sliced open for salting.”[73]

[10] cf. Legacy of Pedro II of Brazil.

[11] Scheina asserts that Minas Geraes shelled the fort,[87] butthis is contradicted by multiple other sources.[24][25][70][86]

[12] The 1938 date is somewhat variable; Topliss states “A ...modernization was undertaken in Brazil during the 1930s.The ship was placed in repair status on 10 June 1931 andran sea trials only in 1938, on 22 April and 9 May. Theship returned to active service status on 10 June 1938,though all work was not completed until 1940.”[89]

8 Endnotes[1] Topliss, “The Brazilian Dreadnoughts,” 240.

[2] ONI, Information Concerning Some of the Principal Naviesof the World, 21.

[3] Scheina, Naval History, 86.

[4] Livermore, “Battleship Diplomacy,” 32.

[5] Martins, “Colossos do mares,” 75.

[6] Scheina, Naval History, 67–76, 352.

[7] Scheina, Naval History, 45–52.

[8] Garrett, “Beagle Channel Dispute,” 86–88.

[9] Scheina, “Brazil,” 403.

[10] Scheina, Naval History, 80.

[11] English, Armed Forces, 108.

[12] Topliss, “The Brazilian Dreadnoughts,” 240–245.

[13] Scheina, Naval History, 52, 349.

[14] Topliss, “The Brazilian Dreadnoughts,” 244–246.

[15] Livermore, “Battleship Diplomacy,” 33.

[16] “Brazil,” Naval Engineers, 836.

[17] Topliss, “The Brazilian Dreadnoughts,” 246.

[18] Scheina, Naval History, 81.

[19] “Brazil,” Naval Engineers, 883–84.

[20] “Brazil,” Naval Engineers, 834.

[21] Scheina, Naval History, 321.

[22] Scheina, “Brazil,” 404.

[23] Topliss, “The Brazilian Dreadnoughts,” 249.

[24] “Minas Geraes I,” Serviço de Documentação da Marinha— Histórico de Navios.

[25] “São Paulo I,” Serviço de Documentação da Marinha —Histórico de Navios.

[26] "Launch Greatest Warships,” The New York Times, 11September 1908, 5.

[27] "Launch Brazil’s Battleship,” The New York Times, 20April 1909, 5.

[28] “The Brazilian Battleship,” United States Artillery, 185–188.

[29] “The Brazilian Battleship,” Scientific American, 240–241.

[30] “The Minas Geraes,” The Times, 6 January 1910, 4d.

[31] “Trials of the Sao Paulo,” The Times, 3 June 1910, 7c.

[32] “Gun Trials of the Sao Paulo,” The Times, 4 June 1910,9b.

[33] Topliss, “The Brazilian Dreadnoughts,” 249, 254.

[34] Topliss, “The Brazilian Dreadnoughts,” 281–282.

[35] Preston, “Great Britain,” 37.

[36] Scheina, Naval History, 354.

[37] “The Brazilian Battleship,” United States Artillery, 187–188.

[38] “The New Brazilian Battleships,” The Times, 22 January1910, 16f.

[39] Whitley, Battleships, 13.

[40] Campbell, “Germany,” 145.

[41] Quoted in Scheina, Naval History, 81 from The NavyLeague Annual, 1910–1911, 103.

[42] “The Brazilian Battleship,” Scientific American, 240.

[43] Mead, “Reaction,” 238–239.

[44] "British and Foreign News,” Evening Post, 12 September1908, 13.

[45] “The Brazilian Dreadnoughts,” International Marine En-gineering, 362–363.

[46] Martins, “Colossos do mares,” 77.

[47] Mead, “Reaction,” 238.

[48] Topliss, “The Brazilian Dreadnoughts,” 247.

[49] Quoted in Scheina, Naval History, 354 from Revista Gen-eral de Marina 64 (1908): 724.

8 9 REFERENCES

[50] “British-Brazilian Warships,” The Navy, 11–12.

[51] “The Brazilian “Dreadnoughts”," The Navy, 13–14.

[52] "The Race for Naval Supremacy,” Nelson Evening Mail, 6April 1909, 2.

[53] "Germany May Buy English Warships,” The New YorkTimes, 9 August 1908, C8.

[54] "Another British Dreadnought and a Brazilian Battleshipon the Water,” The New York Tribune, 11 September1908, 4.

[55] "Brazil, Japan, and Great Britain,” The Sun (New York),1 July 1908, 6.

[56] “The Reported Purchase of Battleships,” The Navy(Washington), 39; "Brazilian Minister and 'No UlteriorDesigns’,” Lancashire Evening Post, 19 April 1909, 2;"Brazilian Battleship Launched at Barrow,” Yorkshire Postand Leeds Intelligencer, 20 April 1909, 5.

[57] “The Reported Purchase of Battleships,” The Navy(Washington), 39.

[58] Martins, “Colossos do mares,” 76.

[59] Scheina, “Argentina,” 400.

[60] Scheina, Naval History, 82–85.

[61] “Naval and Military Intelligence,” The Times, 7 February1910, 4f.

[62] “Naval and Military Intelligence,” The Times, 9 February1910, 8c.

[63] "Minas Geraes Fogbound,” The New York Times, 3 March1910, 13.

[64] Whitley, Battleships, 27–28.

[65] Whitley, Battleships, 28.

[66] "French Criticise Brazil,” The New York Times, 25September 1910, C4.

[67] “France and Brazil,” The Times, 26 September 1910, 6b.

[68] “Marshal Hermes Da Fonseca,” The Times, 28 September1910, 4e.

[69] "Keeping Good Order in New Republic,” The New YorkTimes, 8 October 1910, 1–2.

[70] Ribeiro, “Os Dreadnoughts.”

[71] “The Journey from Lisbon,” The Times, 8 October 1910,5–6a.

[72] “Movements of Warships,” The Times, 8 October 1910,6a.

[73] Quoted in Morgan, “The Revolt of the Lash,” 41.

[74] Morgan, “The Revolt of the Lash,” 32–38, 50.

[75] Morgan, “The Revolt of the Lash,” 40–42.

[76] Morgan, “The Revolt of the Lash,” 44–46.

[77] Morgan, “The Revolt of the Lash,” 39–40, 48–49, 52.

[78] Scheina, Latin America’s Wars, 73.

[79] "Brazilian Envoy Host on Warship,” The New York Times,12 July 1913, 7.

[80] "Tell Brazil’s Envoy of Trade Problems,” The New YorkTimes, 18 June 1913, 14.

[81] “E Minas Geraes,” Navios De Guerra Brasileiros.

[82] “E São Paulo,” Navios De Guerra Brasileiros.

[83] Whitley, Battleships, 26, 28.

[84] Whitley, Battleships, 26.

[85] Whitley, Battleships, 28–29.

[86] Poggio, “Um encouraçado.”

[87] Scheina, Naval History, 195.

[88] Scheina, Naval History, 77–79.

[89] Topliss, “The Brazilian Dreadnoughts,” 289.

[90] Whitley, Battleships, 29.

[91] Scheina, Latin America’s Wars, 162–164.

[92] Scheina, Latin America’s Wars, 164.

[93] Topliss, “The Brazilian Battleship,” 250.

[94] Earle, “Professional Notes,” 306.

[95] Scheina, Naval History, 82; Vanterpool, “The 'Ri-achuelo',” 140.

[96] Scheina, Naval History, 82.

[97] Scheina, “Argentina,” 401.

[98] Preston, “Great Britain,” 38.

[99] Whitley, Battleships, 20.

9 References

"Brazil.” Journal of the AmericanSociety of Naval Engineers 20, no.3 (1909): 833–836. ISSN 0099-7056. OCLC 3227025."British-Brazilian Warships.” TheNavy (Washington) 2, no. 1 (1908):11–12. OCLC 7550453.Campbell, John. Naval Weapons ofWorld War II. Annapolis: Naval In-stitute Press, 1985. ISBN 0-87021-459-4. OCLC 13085151.Campbell, N.J.M. “Germany.”In Gardiner and Gray, Conway’s,134–189.

9

"E Minas Geraes.” Navios DeGuerra Brasileiros. Last modified7 June 2009."E São Paulo.” Navios De GuerraBrasileiros. Last modified 28 April2009.Earle, Ralph. "Professional Notes.”Proceedings 38, no. 1 (1912): 303–80. OCLC 2496995.English, Adrian J. Armed Forcesof Latin America. London: Jane’sPublishing Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-7106-0321-5. OCLC 11537114.Gardiner, Robert and Randal Gray,eds. Conway’s All the World’sFighting Ships: 1906–1921. An-napolis: Naval Institute Press,1984. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.OCLC 12119866.Livermore, Seward W. “Battle-ship Diplomacy in South America:1905–1925.” The Journal of Mod-ern History 16, no. 1 (1944): 31–44. JSTOR 1870986. ISSN 0022-2801. OCLC 62219150.Martins, João Roberto, Filho."Colossos do mares [Colossusesof the Seas].” Revista de Históriada Biblioteca Nacional 3, no. 27(2007): 74–77. ISSN 1808-4001.OCLC 61697383.Mead, Edwin D. “Reaction inSouth America.” Advocate ofPeace 70, no. 10 (1908): 238–241. JSTOR 20665593. OCLC436909525."Minas Geraes I.” Serviço de Doc-umentação da Marinha – Históricode Navios. Diretoria do PatrimônioHistórico e Documentação da Mar-inha, Departamento de HistóriaMarítima. Accessed 27 January2015.Morgan, Zachary R. “The Revoltof the Lash, 1910.” In Naval Mu-tinies of the Twentieth Century: AnInternational Perspective, edited byChristopher M. Bell and Bruce A.Elleman, 32–53. Portland, Ore-gon: Frank Cass Publishers, 2003.ISBN 0-7146-8468-6. OCLC464313205.Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI).Information Concerning Some of thePrincipal Navies of the World; ASeries of Tables Compiled to An-swer Popular Inquiry. Washington,

D.C.: U.S. Government PrintingOffice, 1912. OCLC 21241738.Poggio, Guilherme. "Um encour-açado contra o forte: 2ª Parte [ABattleship against the Fort: Part2].” n.d. Poder Naval Online. Lastmodified 12 April 2009.Preston, Antony. “Great Britain.”In Gardiner and Gray, Conway’s, 1–104.Ribeiro, Paulo de Oliveira. "OsDreadnoughts da Marinha doBrasil: Minas Geraes e São Paulo[The Dreadnoughts of the Brazil-ian Navy: Minas Geraes and SãoPaulo].” Poder Naval Online. Lastmodified 15 June 2009."São Paulo I.” Serviço de Documen-tação da Marinha – Histórico deNavios. Diretoria do PatrimônioHistórico e Documentação da Mar-inha, Departamento de HistóriaMarítima. Accessed 27 January2015.Scheina, Robert L. “Argentina.” InGardiner and Gray, Conway’s, 400–403.———. “Brazil.” In Gardiner andGray, Conway’s, 403–407.———. Latin America: A NavalHistory 1810–1987. Annapolis:Naval Institute Press, 1987. ISBN0-87021-295-8. OCLC 15696006.———. Latin America’s Wars.Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s,2003. ISBN 1-57488-452-2.OCLC 49942250."The Brazilian Battleship “MinasGeraes”.” Journal of the UnitedStates Artillery 33, no. 2 (1910):179–188. ISSN 0097-3785.OCLC 1962282.“The Brazilian Battleship “MinasGeraes”." Scientific American 102,no. 12 (1910): 240–241. ISSN0036-8733. OCLC 1775222."The Brazilian Dreadnoughts.” In-ternational Marine Engineering 13,no. 8 (1908): 362–363. ISSN0272-2879. OCLC 2227478."The Brazilian “Dreadnoughts”.”The Navy (Washington) 2, no. 6(1908): 13–14. OCLC 7550453."The Reported Purchase of Dread-noughts.” The Navy (Washington)2, no. 7 (1908): 39. OCLC7550453.

10 10 EXTERNAL LINKS

Topliss, David. “The BrazilianDreadnoughts, 1904–1914.” War-ship International 25, no. 3(1988), 240–289. ISSN 0043-0374. OCLC 1647131.Vanterpool, Alan. “The Ri-achuleo.” Warship International 6,no. 2 (1969): 140–141.Whitley, M.J. Battleships of WorldWar Two: An International Ency-clopedia. Annapolis: Naval Insti-tute Press, 1998. ISBN 1-55750-184-X. OCLC 40834665.

10 External links• British diplomatic documents relating to the dread-

nought race (FO 508/8; Adam Matthew subscriptionrequired)

• Encouraçados Minas Gerais e São Paulo onYouTube

• Minas Geraes slideshow on YouTube

• Minas Geraes on Flickr (LOC)

11

11 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

11.1 Text• Minas Geraes-class battleship Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minas_Geraes-class_battleship?oldid=680888860 Contributors:

Leandrod, Bradeos Graphon, Brutannica, SpookyMulder, LtNOWIS, Bellhalla, Jmcc150, Joel7687, Nick-D, SmackBot, Chris the speller,Colonies Chris, Rcbutcher, Derekbridges, Fullstop, Salamurai, Jperrylsu, Mgiganteus1, Haus, The ed17, Cydebot, Aldis90, Jmg38, Head-bomb, DPdH, CombatWombat42, GimmeBot, Climie.ca, SieBot, Vanished User 8a9b4725f8376, Lightmouse, Anyeverybody, Shinerun-ner, JL-Bot, SFX 1, MBK004, Snigbrook, Djmaschek, Alexbot, Lexlythius, Brianboulton, Dank, Bagunceiro, DumZiBoT, Laser brain,Alansplodge, Kbdankbot, Addbot, Mortense, Johnboddie, LaaknorBot, Lightbot, The Bushranger, Drpickem, AnomieBOT, Archon 2488,Sonia, Disinfoboxman, Lecen, Brad101AWB, DutchmanInDisguise, Paulista01, Eisfbnore, AustralianRupert, N419BH, BenzolBot, Cita-tion bot 1, Serols, Dinamik-bot, RjwilmsiBot, Ripchip Bot, GoingBatty, Italia2006, ZéroBot, Donner60, ChuispastonBot, ClueBot NG,Helpful Pixie Bot, George Ponderevo, Kendall-K1, Portuguese Man o' War, Alarbus, Irondome, TFA Protector Bot, JustBerry, Dissiden-tAggressor, Dutral and Anonymous: 30

11.2 Images• File:Brassey’{}s_HMS_Canada_Plan_(1915).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Brassey%27s_

HMS_Canada_Plan_%281915%29.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Brassey, Thomas Allnutt; Leyland John (1915) "Part II:Plans of British and Foreign Ships" in Brassey’s Naval Annual (War Edition ed.), London: William Clowes and Sons, pp. Plate 2, after p.192 Retrieved on 29 October 2010. Original artist: Sydney Walker Barnaby (?–1925)[#cite_note-1 [1]]

• File:Brazilian_battleship_Minas_Geraes_being_launched_1.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Brazilian_battleship_Minas_Geraes_being_launched_1.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums:item DF.CLR-8-5, RefNo DS.VA/3/1994.164; part of a photographic collection (mainly postcards first published in 1908/9 by A H Her-ries) to mark the launch and completion of Minas Geraes. Original artist: Unknown

• File:Brazilian_battleship_Minas_Geraes_being_launched_2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Brazilian_battleship_Minas_Geraes_being_launched_2.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums:item DF.CLR-8-3 part of a photographic collection (mainly postcards first published in 1908/9 by A H Herries) to mark the launch andcompletion of the Brazilian battleship Minas Geraes. It is also available on Flickr. Original artist: Unknown

• File:Brazilian_battleship_Minas_Geraes_firing_a_broadside.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Brazilian_battleship_Minas_Geraes_firing_a_broadside.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: “The Brazilian Battleship “Minas Ger-aes"". Scientific American (New York: Munn & Co., Inc.) 102: 240. 19 March 1910. It was also published in Engineering, January 1910.The older version, in the history, is from Poder Naval Online here. Original artist: Brazilian Navy

• File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Originalartist: ?

• File:E_Minas_Geraes_1910_altered.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/E_Minas_Geraes_1910_altered.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: “The Brazilian Battleship “Minas Geraes"". Scientific American (New York: Munn &Co., Inc.) 102: 240. 19 March 1910. ISSN 0036-8733. Original artist: Brazilian Navy

• File:Flag_of_Brazil_(1889-1960).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Flag_of_Brazil_%281889-1960%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

• File:Joao_Candido.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Joao_Candido.jpg License: Public domain Con-tributors: O Malho, 3 December 1910; obtained through Google Books ([1]) Original artist: Unknown

• File:Minas_Geraes-class_battleship_drawings.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Minas_Geraes-class_battleship_drawings.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: "“The Brazilian Battleship “Minas Geraes”.” Journalof the United States Artillery 33, no. 2 (1910): 181. Original artist: Not specified

• File:Minas_Geraes-class_battleships.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Minas_Geraes-class_battleships.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Brassey, Thomas Allnutt; Leyland John (1915) "Part II: Plans of British and ForeignShips" in Brassey’s Naval Annual (War Edition ed.), London: William Clowes and Sons, pp. Plate 22, after p. 192 Retrieved on 29October 2010. Original artist: Sydney Walker Barnaby (?–1925)[#cite_note-1 [1]]

• File:Minas_Geraes_MdB_II.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Minas_Geraes_MdB_II.jpg License:Public domain Contributors: [1]; it is supposed to be linked here but the Brazilian Navy mistyped the image name. Original artist: BrazilianNavy

• File:Rivadavia-class_battleships.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Rivadavia-class_battleships.jpgLicense: Public domain Contributors: Brassey, Thomas Allnutt; Leyland John (1915) "Part II: Plans of British and Foreign Ships" inBrassey’s Naval Annual (War Edition ed.), London: William Clowes and Sons, pp. Plate 18, after p. 192 Retrieved on 29 October 2010.Original artist: Sydney Walker Barnaby (?–1925)[#cite_note-1 [1]]

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