 Amazonas frigate, c. 1863
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Empire of Brazil | |
| Name | Amazonas |
| Namesake | Amazon River |
| Builder | Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. |
| Cost | £41,061 |
| Launched | 25 August 1851 |
| Completed | 7 April 1852 |
| Decommissioned | 1897 |
| Fate | Sunk |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Paddle frigate |
| Displacement | 1,800 metric tons (1,800 long tons) |
| Length | 56.88 m (186 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 9.81 m (32 ft 2 in) |
| Draft | 4.45 m (14.6 ft) |
| Installed power | 350 ihp (260 kW) |
| Propulsion | Mixed steam-sail, brig-barque rigging; 1 steam engine coupled to lateral propulsion wheels. |
| Sail plan | Brig-rigged |
| Speed | 11 miles per hour (9.6 kn) |
| Complement | 200 officers and sailors in times of war |
| Armament |
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The steam frigate Amazonas was a frigate-type warship that served in the Imperial Brazilian Navy and, for a short period, in the Brazilian Navy after the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889. The frigate was built in the Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. shipyards in Birkenhead and Liverpool, England; it was launched in August 1851. The purchase of this vessel was part of an effort by the Empire of Brazil to obtain more modern ships, due to the country's lag with some foreign powers. Amazonas was commissioned in 1852.
During the naval expedition to Asunción in 1854, the frigate was responsible for acting as the flagship of the fleet and taking a document with demands from the imperial government to the Paraguayan government on border issues involving the region of what is now the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. In the initial route, within Paraguayan territory, the vessel ran aground due to its large size and had to be towed back by Paraguayan ships. It escorted the ship that took the Brazilian imperial family on trips to the northeast of the country and the province of Espírito Santo, between 1859 and early 1860, with the purpose of strengthening the monarchy among Brazilian citizens.
By the end of 1863, Amazonas was part of the imperial fleet sent to the Amazon River in order to intercept two Peruvian warships, Morona and Pastaza, which were sailing on the Amazon River without permission. In mid-1864, it composed the Brazilian squadron in the Saraiva Mission, which aimed to force the Uruguayan government to pay reparations to Brazilians residing in Uruguay and who were being mistreated. It participated as a flagship in combat actions against Uruguayan ships and the naval blockade during the Uruguayan War.
On 11 June 1865, during the Paraguayan War, it had a distinguished role in the Battle of Riachuelo, where it single-handedly rammed four Paraguayan vessels and changed the fate of the combat, which, until then, was having a favorable result for the Paraguayans. Amazonas participated in naval actions in the Battle of Paso de Mercedes and Paso de Cuevas. Afterwards, it underwent several periods of repair between 1867 and 1869. At the end of the war, it was moored in Montevideo. In 1884 the vessel was designated as instruction ship of the Practical School of Artillery and Torpedoes. During the Armada Revolt, in 1893, it was seized by the rebels who ran it aground near the Ilha das Enxadas, Rio de Janeiro, and remained there until it was hit by a naval mine, which destroyed it, in 1897.