Brazilian ship Pedro I
Pedro I was a ship of the line of the Imperial Brazilian Navy. It was a third-rate, three-masted, two-decked, 74-gunned sailing ship. The ship was built by shipbuilder Antônio da Silva in the Bahia Navy Arsenal in Salvador for the Portuguese navy in Colonial Brazil in 1763. First named Santo António e São José, it took part in several naval actions in the decades after its construction such as the bombardment of Algiers in 1784.
| History | |
|---|---|
| Kingdom of Portugal | |
| Name | Santo António e São José |
| Namesake | Anthony of Padua and Saint Joseph |
| Builder | Arsenal de Marinha da Bahia |
| Cost | 134,904,283 réis |
| Laid down | 1 October 1760 |
| Launched | 29 January 1763 |
| Completed | 28 February 1763 |
| Renamed | Infante D. Pedro Carlos in 1794 and Martim de Freitas in 1808 |
| U.K. of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves | |
| Name | Martim de Freitas |
| Namesake | Martim de Freitas (Alcaide of the Castle of Coimbra) |
| Empire of Brazil | |
| Name | Pedro I |
| Namesake | Pedro I of Brazil |
| Commissioned | 10 November 1822 |
| Decommissioned | 1833 |
| Fate | Scrapped |
| Notes | First commander: Frigate captain João Batista Lourenço |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ship of the line |
| Length | 60 metres (196 ft 10 in) |
| Beam | 14 metres (45 ft 11 in) |
| Draft | 6.37 metres (20 ft 11 in) |
| Depth | 12 metres (39 ft 4 in) |
| Sail plan | ship rig |
| Complement | 600-900 |
| Armament |
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It was part of the fleet that transferred the Portuguese royal family and its court to Brazil during the French invasion of Portugal. Later, during the Brazilian War of Independence, it was seized by the Brazilians and incorporated into the newly formed Imperial Brazilian Navy to fight the Portuguese forces stationed in Brazil, being the navy's first flagship, whose commander was admiral Thomas Cochrane, the first admiral of Brazil, and taking part in the battle of 4 May off Salvador.
During the Cisplatine War the ship was tasked with transporting emperor Pedro I to southern Brazil; however, due to the death of Maria Leopoldina of Austria, the emperor's wife, it returned to Rio de Janeiro and did not take part in any further naval actions. Pedro I served its final years as a prison ship, being scrapped in 1833 after about 70 years in service.