The
Portuguese Navy (, also known as
Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa or as
Armada Portuguesa) is the
naval branch of the
Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the military defence of
Portugal.
The
Portuguese Navy also participates in missions related with international compromises assumed by
Portugal (mainly with
NATO), as well missions of civil interest.
Today, the
Portuguese Navy assumes a dual role capacity: the military defence of the country and the missions which in other countries are normally assigned to coast guards.
History
Creation of the Portuguese Navy
The Portuguese Republic Naval Jack
Naval Ensign of the Portuguese Republic
Portuguese naval history is closely connected to the history of Portugal, and one can say that the Naval history is
Portuguese History seen from the sea. The first known battle of the Portuguese Navy was in 1180, during the reign of Portugal's first king,
Afonso I of Portugal. The battle occurred when a Portuguese fleet commanded by the knight
Fuas Roupinho defeated a Muslim fleet near
Cape Espichel. He also made two incursions at
Ceuta, in 1181 and 1182, and died during the last of these attempts to conquer Ceuta.
During the 13th century, the Portuguese Navy helped in the conquest of several littoral towns, like
Alcácer do Sal,
Silves and
Faro, in the battles against
Castile through incursions in
Galicia and
Andalucia, and also in joint actions with Christian fleets against the Muslims.
In 1312 the naval fleet was created with the goal of defending the country against the Muslim pirates. In 1317 King
Denis of Portugal decided to give, for the first time, a permanent organization to the Royal Navy, contracting
Manuel Pessanha of Genoa to be the first Admiral of the Kingdom. In 1321 the navy successfully attacked Muslim ports in
North Africa.
Maritime
insurance began in 1323 in Portugal, and between 1336 and 1341 the first attempts at maritime expansion are made, with the expedition to
Canary Islands, sponsored by King
Afonso IV.
At the end of the 14th century, more
Portuguese discoveries were made, with the Navy playing a main role in the exploration of the oceans and the defense of the
Portuguese Empire. Portugal became the first oceanic navy power.
Conquests and Discoveries
In the beginning of the 15th century, the country entered a period of peace and stability. Europe was still involved in wars and feudal conflicts which allows
Portugal to be the only capable country to methodically and successfully start the exploration of the
Atlantic.
Portuguese expansion during the 15th century can be divided in:
- Development of navigation techniques and methods
Territorial expansion began in
Morocco with the conquest of
Ceuta in 1415. Exploration in the west African coast started in 1412 and ended with the crossing of the
Cape of Good Hope in 1487.
The school of navigation in Sagres
After his return from
Ceuta,
Henry the navigator founded a school of navigation in
Sagres, which was a place to discuss the art of navigation. The vessel employed in the beginning of the Discoveries was the
caravel, varying from 50 to 160 tons. The first results came soon and
Gonçalves Zarco discovers
Porto Santo Island in 1419 and
Madeira Island in 1420,
Diogo de Silves discovers the azorean island of
Santa Maria in 1427. In 1424
Gil Eanes crosses the
Cape Bojador.
Diogo Cão and
Bartolomeu Dias arrived to the mouth of
Zaire River in 1482 and the second crosses the
Cape of Good Hope in 1487.
The greatest achievement of these exploration voyages was attained by
Vasco da Gama, whom between 1497 and 1499 discovers the sea route to
India.
The 16th century
With the first established sea route to the
Indian Ocean, the Portuguese started to use the
carrack ship (
nau in Portuguese). Nevertheless, the Portuguese penetration in the Indian Ocean was not peaceful due to the opposition of the Muslims. However, in 1509
Francisco de Almeida had a tremendous victory over the Muslims in the naval
Battle of Diu, and the Portuguese presence in the area is definitely attained.
In
Morocco the Portuguese conquests continue and they take over the cities of
Safim,
Azamor,
Mazagão and
Mogador.
In the east, Portuguese navigators continue their progress visiting the southeast of
Asia,
China in 1517 and
Australia in 1522. They reach to
Taiwan and
Japan in the same period.
They enter the
Red Sea in 1542 to destroy the Turkish armada in
Suez.
In the west the Portuguese visited the coast of
New England in 1520,
California in 1542 and
Hudson Bay in 1588.
All these actions were only possible with the naval capability, the navigation knowledge of these navigators, an enormous courage and determination.
Iberian Union
In 1580 King Philip of
Spain becomes also King of
Portugal, but the Portuguese navy was still involved in several conflicts, and especially it maintained an important role in the fight against pirates.
António Saldanha commanding a fleet of 30 carracks defeated a Turkish fleet in the Mediterranean and conquered
Tunis. Meanwhile,
João Queirós accomplishes a double crossing of the
Pacific Ocean leaving from
California.
Linked to
Spain by a
dual monarchy,
Portugal saw its large empire being attacked by the English, the French and the Dutch, all enemies of
Spain. The reduced Portuguese population (around one million) wasn't enough to resist to so many enemies, and the empire started to fall apart.
In 1618 the first naval infantry regiment is founded (
Terço da Armada Real da Coroa de Portugal, in Portuguese).
Restoration of Independence
In 1640
Portugal regained independence from neighbouring
Spain, being forced to fight against its powerful navy in difficult conditions. This led to the loss of several regions of the empire and to peace agreements with
England,
France and
The Netherlands.
In 1641 the Portuguese navy was able to defend the national interests in the European continent and reconquer
Angola and
Brazil from the Dutch.
During the reign of King
John V of Portugal the navy suffers a large transformation, during which the warship starts to differentiate from the merchant ship.
In 1705 a squadron of 8 carracks went to
Gibraltar to help
England against
Spain.
In November 1807 General
Jean-Andoche Junot invaded Portugal in attempt to expand Napoleon's continental empire. Prince Regent
João VI, his country in disarray, called upon Portugal's Navy to save the crown. On November 29th João VI
sailed for Brazil with some 15,000 members of the government and their families. The Portuguese fleet succeeded in preserving the government until it could return later. The fleet that sailed for Brazil had one 84 gun ship of the line, the
Príncipe Real. In addition there were three 74 gun ships, the
Rainha de Portugal,
Príncipe do Brasil and the
Conde D. Henrique and four ships of 64 guns each along with four British warships.
19th century to World War I
Political instability dominated
Portugal during the 19th century after the
Napoleonic invasions. The navy entered a period of crisis which only ended on the turn to the 20th century.
In the beginning of
World War I the Portuguese navy was modernized and received a submarine and 3 frigates, amongst other warships.
World War I
During the first World War, the main role of the Portuguese navy was to patrol Portuguese waters, search for submarines, escort merchant vessels and transport troops to
France and
Africa.
The most important events were the combat between the mine-hunter Augusto de Castilho with the German submarine
U-139 and the sinking of the mine-sweeper Roberto Ivens due to a collision with a sea mine, outside Lisbon harbour.
After the war
Portugal acquired two ships from the
United Kingdom and 6 torpedo-boats from
Austria.
In 1922 the naval officers
Sacadura Cabral and
Gago Coutinho do the first
South Atlantic aerial cross.
From 1933 to 1936 the navy acquired a total of 22 ships and underwent a profound reorganization.
World War II
During the second World War the Portuguese navy defended at sea and air the Portuguese neutrality. Due to the vast empire the assets were not enough, but still it was possible to maintain the integrity of the different parcels of the empire, with the exception of
Portuguese Timor, which was invaded and occupied by
Imperial Japan from 1942 through to 1945.
After the war
Portugal joined
NATO and acquired 3 submarines, 7 frigates, 4 patrol boats, 16 mine-sweepers, 4 mine-hunters and 3 survey vessels.
Modern times
After half a century the Portuguese navy was in combat again during the second half of the 20th century. These combats took place in the
Indian Ocean against
India and in the African colonies during the
Colonial War.
The
Portuguese-Indian War of 1961, was an outbreak of hostilities between India and Portugal, after
Portugal refused to relinquish it's colonies in India despite numerous attempts at negotiations. Four Portuguese frigates - the
NRP Afonso de Albuquerque, the NRP Bartolomeu Dias, the NRP João de Lisboa and the NRP Gonçalves Zarco - were deployed to patrol the waters off
Goa,
Daman and Diu, along with several patrol boats (Lancha de Fiscalização). Eventually only the Afonso de Albuquerque saw action against
Indian Navy ships, the other ships having retreated before commencement of hostilities. The
NRP Afonso de Albuquerque was destroyed by Indian frigates,
INS Betwa and
INS Beas. Parts of the ship were recovered and are on display at the Naval Museum in
Mumbai.
A Portuguese Navy vessel (the
NRP Pedro Álvares Cabral of the Vasco da Gama class) has served as a flotilla flagship for the NATO mission against
Piracy in Somalia in 2009.
Ships and weapon systems
The main ship classes of the Portuguese Navy are:
Surface Vessels
NRP Schultz Xavier
Portuguese submarine service insignia
Future Developments
- 2 NPO 2000 -derivated, Pollution Combat Ships (NCPs)
- 5 LFCs (Coastal Patrol Craft)
See also
