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, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. When 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 ...

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 The Blockade of Africa began in 1808 after the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom outlawed the Atlantic slave trade, making it illegal for British ships to transport slaves. The Royal Navy immediately established a pr ...

suppressing the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

. Under French Chadwick, the South Atlantic Squadron was involved in the 1904 Perdicaris Incident in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. It ceased to exist when it was absorbed into the

North Atlantic Fleet The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European Squadron, European and South Atlantic Squadron, South Atlantic squadr ...

in 1905.

Falklands Expedition

An expedition to the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, 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 from Cape Dub ...

was launched in late 1831 when the

sloop-of-war During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all u ...

USS ''Lexington'' was sent to

Puerto Soledad Puerto Soledad (''Puerto de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad'', ) was a Spanish military outpost and penal colony on the Falkland Islands, situated at an inner cove of Berkeley Sound (,Dom Pernety, Antoine-Joseph. ''Journal historique d'un voyage ...

to investigate the capture and possible armament of two American

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...

s. 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 as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Silas Duncan 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 () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

which left the British in control. Argentine accounts claim that the USS ''Lexington'' destroyed the town with naval gunfire, while American accounts differ.

Slave trade

References

{{US Squadrons Ship squadrons of the United States Navy 1826 establishments in the United States

Falklands Expedition

Slave trade

See also

References