The Brazil Squadron, the Brazil Station, or the South Atlantic Squadron was an overseas military station established by the United States in 1826 to protect American commerce in the South Atlantic during a war between
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
. When the
Cisplatine War between Argentina and Brazil ended, the station remained and continued to protect American interests during several other conflicts. The squadron was also active in the
Blockade of Africa suppressing the
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and ...
. Under
French Chadwick, the South Atlantic Squadron was involved in the 1904
Perdicaris Incident in
Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...
,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
. It ceased to exist when it was absorbed into the
North Atlantic Fleet in 1905.
Falklands Expedition
An
expedition to the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...
was launched in late 1831 when the
sloop-of-war
In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' en ...
USS ''Lexington'' was sent to
Puerto Soledad to investigate the capture and possible armament of two American
whalers. When the sailors arrived at the settlement, its Argentine population was found to be suffering from starvation so
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...
Silas Duncan
Silas M. Duncan (178814 September 1834) was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812.
Born in Rockaway Township, New Jersey, Duncan was appointed midshipman 15 November 1809. While third lieutenant of ''Saratoga'' during the ...
evacuated the colonists to the mainland. Because of this the Falklands were left unpopulated and open for British colonization a few years later. Argentina's dispute with the United Kingdom over rights to the islands culminated in the 1982
Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...
which left the British in control. Exaggerated accounts in opposition of the American expedition claim that the USS ''Lexington'' destroyed the town with naval gunfire, but this never occurred.
Slave trade
See also
*
Charles G. Ridgely
References
{{US Squadrons
Ship squadrons of the United States Navy
1826 establishments in the United States