The Cayenne Battery (formally, Historical Cayenne Battery – ) of the

Brazilian Army The Brazilian Army (; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordina ...

is one of three military units that comprise the

Brazilian president The president of Brazil (), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil () or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head of government of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the ...

honor guard A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

, the others being the 1st Guards Cavalry Regiment () – " Independence Dragoons" and the Presidential Guard Battalion (). "Cayenne Battery" was the name for the Brazilian colonial troops sent by John VI to the

Portuguese conquest of French Guiana The Portuguese conquest of French Guiana, also known as Conquest of Cayenne ( Portuguese: ''Conquista de Caiena''), was a military operation against Cayenne, capital of the South American colony of French Guiana, launched in January 1809 in t ...

in 1809. Nowadays, it is part of 32nd Artillery Campaign Group, but falls within the 1st Guards Cavalry Regiment due to the necessity of horses. It uses horse-drawn

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

s and is responsible for 21-gun salutes at special ceremonies. Image:Inauguration ceremony of President Lula.jpg, 21-gun salute during the

Brazilian presidential inauguration The inauguration of the president of Brazil is composed of several ceremonies that happen in the same day. Through democratic elections or coups, resignations and deaths, presidential inaugurations have been important events in Brazilian history ...

History

In 1808,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

's Royal Family had sought refuge in

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 ...

during the

Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. On June 10, 1808, Dom João VI

declared war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the public signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national govern ...

on France and sent 470 soldiers to French Guiana to bring support to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. On January 12, 1809, these troops had conquered the

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

, capturing Guiana`s governor. The Portuguese maintained a presence in Guiana until 1817. In 1815, Brazil's status was elevated to The

United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was a pluricontinental monarchy formed by the elevation of the Portuguese colony named State of Brazil to the status of a kingdom and by the simultaneous union of that Kingdom of Brazil ...

. The Portuguese troops in Brazil, some of which had already been previously stationed there, all united under the direct command of the Brazilian Ministry of War, and thus in honor of the victory in the Cayenne, the artillery battery which was deployed there was officially renamed as the Cayenne Battery.

References

{{reflist Executive branch of Brazil Army units and formations of Brazil Military units and formations established in 1808 1808 establishments in South America

History

See also

References