The naval Battle of Punta Colares, also known as the Battle of Corales, was the first major naval engagement of the

Cisplatine War 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' an ...

. It took place between a fleet of the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. The empire's government was a Representative democracy, representative Par ...

, commanded by admiral Rodrigo José Ferreira Lobo, and a squadron of the

United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (), earlier known as the United Provinces of South America (), was a name adopted in 1816 by the Congress of Tucumán for the region of South America that declared independence in 1816, with the Sove ...

under the command of admiral William Brown. The confrontations began at around 10 o'clock on 9 February 1826 and lasted for seven hours.

Background

After war broke out between the Empire of Brazil and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata on 10 December 1825, the Brazilian government responded by imposing a naval blockade on the port of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

on 31 December 1825, aiming to cripple Argentine finances. Since then there had been no major naval engagements between both belligerent states. In the early morning of 9 February 1826 the Argentine squadron left the port of Buenos Aires and made its first attempt to break the blockade.

Order of battle

Empire of Brazil

United Provinces of the Río de la Plata

Battle

The Argentine squadron was spotted leaving the port of Buenos Aires in the early morning of 9 February 1826. Admiral Rodrigo Lobo gave orders to the Brazilians to lift the anchors and set sail. Only at 10 o'clock admiral Lobo ordered the ships to turn to their sides and start the confrontations. Both squadrons approached each other and the Brazilians took the offensive. At 14:45 the Brazilians spotted more Argentine ships. The corvettes '' Liberal'' and ''Itaparica'' opened fire against the ''25 de Mayo'' and the Argentine brigs. The Argentine brigs abandoned the combat and were soon followed by the gunboats. Isolated and sustaining the enemy fire alone, the corvette ''25 de Mayo'' also fled. At 5 o'clock the Brazilians once again managed to approach the Argentine squadron. The corvette ''Liberal'' and the brig ''29 de Agosto'' opened fire against the ''25 de Mayo'' and the ''Congreso Nacional'', firing at them for one and a half hour.

Aftermath

It was the first time that admiral William Brown had tried to face the Brazilian fleet. The result was not favourable to Brown and the Argentine squadron, although the Brazilian admiral did not take advantage of the situation to further attack them. After the battle, at night, the Brazilians anchored between the Ortiz and the Chico sandbanks. Admiral William Brown then planned a combined attack against the city of

Colonia del Sacramento Colonia del Sacramento (; ) is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is one of the oldest towns in Uruguay and the capital of the Colonia Department. As of the 2023 census, it has a populatio ...

, which was controlled by the Brazilians and was under siege by troops on land, on 25 February 1826. Lapie-1828-RdP1

References

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Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Punta Colares Conflicts in 1826 Punta Colares 1826 in Brazil July 1826 1826 in Argentina