James Norton (9 June 1789 – 29 August 1835) was a British navy officer who participated as a combatant and commander of the

Imperial Brazilian Navy The Imperial Brazilian Navy (Brazilian Portuguese: ''Armada Nacional'', commonly known as ''Armada Imperial'') was the navy created at the time of the independence of the Empire of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algar ...

during 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 ...

. He joined 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 ...

in 1802, taking part in 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 ...

under the command of Admiral

Edward Pellew Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younge ...

. With the

independence of Brazil The independence of Brazil comprised a series of political and military events that led to the independence of the Kingdom of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as the Empire of Brazil, Brazilian Empire. It is c ...

, the emperor Pedro I began the formation of a navy, hiring the services of Lord Thomas Cochrane, having sent Felisberto Caldeira Brant to Great Britain to recruit officers, among them James Norton. In the Pernambuco campaign, in 1824, at the head of a corps of sailors, he seized

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

. In the Cisplatine War, he was sent to the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

with the frigate Nichteroy under his command. Soon after he assumed and commanded the naval division blockading

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 ...

, achieving several victories and distinguishing himself in many battles, particularly those of 30 July 1826,

8 April Events Pre-1600 * 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. * 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids. *1139 – R ...

and 7 December 1827 and of 16 June 1828. In the latter, he lost his right arm and, on 17 February that year, he was slightly wounded. He successfully led the blockade of the Río de la Plata, which brought Argentine public finances to the brink of collapse, hastening the peace agreement that ended the war, despite Brazilian defeats on land. Norton then destroyed the best ships of the Argentine fleet: the frigate ''25 de Mayo'', the brigs ''Independencia'', ''Republica'', ''Congreso'' and ''General Brandzen''. After the war, he was knighted in the Imperial Order of the Cross, and also received the Imperial Order of the Rose. On 17 October 1829, he was promoted to head of division, with the rank of Rear Admiral. He died on 29 August 1835 on board of a ship off the west coast of New Zealand travelling back to Brazil. His widow, Eliza Bland, published in 1837 a small work, entitled ''A noiva do Brasil'' (''The Brazilian Bride''). The couple's enthusiasm for the new country, according to British historian Brian Vale, is revealed by some of the names given to their children: Fletcher Carioca, Fredrick da Prata and Maria Brasília.

References

Bibliography

External links

''The Brazilian Bride''.

Biography of James Norton, by the Baron of Rio Branco.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, James People of the Cisplatine War 1789 births 1835 deaths Royal Navy officers People from Newark-on-Trent Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars 19th-century Brazilian military personnel English amputees Brazilian admirals English emigrants to Brazil People who died at sea