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19°55′14″S 057°47′32″W / 19.92056°S 57.79222°W / -19.92056; -57.79222

New Coimbra Fort
Forte Novo de Coimbra
19th century drawing of the fort
Type	Bastion fort
Site information
Controlled by	Brazilian Army
Website	Brazilian Army page
Site history
Built	Joseph I of Portugal

The New Coimbra Fort, also known as Fort Portocarrero or simply Fort Coimbra, is a Brazilian military fortification on the Paraguay River, strategically located near the border with Bolivia and Paraguay in Corumbá, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, in Brazil. The fort was founded in September 13 1775, something that had been planned by the Portuguese colonial authorities ever since the new borders with Spain had been fixed in the Treaty of Madrid in 1750.

History

Background

Brazil's western central region, Mato Grosso, had been explored since the early 18th century by bandeirantes from São Paulo and Jesuit missionaries from land which belongs to Paraguay nowadays. The border between the Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires in the region needed to be marked, and the Portuguese solution was the New Coimbra Fort, to be built along the lines of the Spanish presidios of the time.

When the first colonial captain-general to the region, António Tavares, arrived in 1751, he started to build up an administration, and to consolidate plans for defense and further expansion; by 1772, when the captaincy's fourth governor, Luís Pereira e Cáceres [pt], arrived to take power, these were already somewhat established. He soon determined that the planned fort in the Paraguay River be built. Besides the previously planned border demarcation purpose, it would also serve to inhibit the frequent raids by the Payaguá indians. Captain Matias Ribeiro da Costa was sent to accomplish this task, with instructions to build the fort somewhere near where the settlement of Porto Murtinho is located today, some 300 kilometers further downriver than where the fort was actually built. The captain's expedition was made up of 245 men in 15 canoes, guided by an elderly indian man. They set off from Cuiabá in 22 July 1775, and founded the fort in September 13 of the same year. It was called the "Presídio de Coimbra".

The New Coimbra Fort

In 1791, due to the bad state of the fort's structure, works were started to renew it, this time using masonry. This was also in part motivated to the Spanish having built Forts Borbon and of San Carlos del Apa [es] in the region. Then captain-general Caetano Montenegro [pt] ordered it to be built "in the edge of the hill, where two great lengths of the Paraguay River present themselves at an obtuse angle, which will be then flanked by the new fort, something the old base wouldn't do."

From 1796 onwards, lieutenant colonel Ricardo Serra [pt], a military engineer and geographer, took charge of the construction. His plans for the fort show the original base besides the new one, which was adapted to its terrain, an irregular star fort. Its walls had loopholes and surrounded the entire fort, meeting its hill's slope as it declined. It had room for two batteries of 8 guns set horizontally, which could fire across each other onto the river. To the southeast, a moat protected the fort from ground assaults. Inside the fort, there was a chapel, an arsenal and quarters for its troops. Ricardo Serra would command the fort until his death in 1809; he was buried in it.

In September 1801, the new fort was still being built when an expedition composed of four schooners and two canoes, carrying 600 men, attacked it; they were led by Lázaro de Ribeira [es], the intendant of Paraguay. The fort, though garrisoned by only 42 men, resisted the initial assault and then a 10-day siege, after which the Paraguayans withdrew.

The Paraguayan War

In 1851 the fort's weaponry was improved by the addition of four 24-pounder guns and some smaller 9 and 6 pounder guns which had laid since 1820 in the Guaporé River, planned to be installed at the Forte Príncipe da Beira further north. It was expanded and repaired between 1855 and 1856.

Just before the Paraguayan War, the fort's status was reported to the provincial president as follows: "In the 30th of the last month I arrived here from Fort Coimbra, to where I led the province's artillery battalion. Your Excellency will probably have received a memorandum regarding that Fort's condition, as well as other measures taken by the Hon. Sir Commander of Arms, who returned with me that same day.; I must tell Your Excellency, nevertheless, that said Fort's state is unsatisfactory, but that it can resist Paraguay's ships and maybe defend itself from land attacks. The Hon. Sir Commander of Arms has ordered some improvements and repairs be made which he understands will be advantageous, and he plans to fortify the Navy's old position in front of the Fort, so that they may fire across from each other and aid each other."

The Paraguayan invasion, the opening move of the Mato Grosso Campaign, was made of five infantry batallions and two dismounted cavalry regiments, totalling 3200 men, with twelve rifled guns, a French-equipped rocket battery and the support of ten warships, all under colonel Vicente Barrios's command. The fort's surrender was demanded on the 27th of December 1864.

Though the fort's commander was captain Benito de Faria, lieutenant colonel Hermenegildo Portocarrero, commander of all artillery in Mato Grosso and of the Lower Paraguay Military District happened to be there on a routine inspection, and took over its command due to the Paraguayan attack. The fort then held 11 functioning bronze smoothbore guns, plus another 20 in need of repairs, and a garrison of 125 regular officers and men, 30 national guards, some custom guards, 6 prisoners and 24 "tame indians". For two days the Paraguayans made intense attacks. The fort's troops's families aided with reloading and the wounded. Lacking the resources necessary to resist the attack and with no reinforcements available nearby, the fort was orderly evacuated between the 28th and 29th of December by the gunboat Anhambaí. The fort (and its guns) remained under enemy control until April 1868, when the Paraguayans abandoned it, taking away its guns and stores.

After the war ended (in 1870), the fort began to be rebuilt. It had suffered extensive damage during the conflict, with its walls being almost completely destroyed by Paraguayan artillery fire. In 1872, works to expand its west wall were started.

The 20th century and beyond

Between 1907 and 1908 the fort was once again upgraded by the addition of two 120mm Armstrong guns from the ironclad Barroso. New quarters were built in 1930. By then, the fort was armed with four 6 inch guns.

Belonging to the Brazilian State, the fort was listed as a heritage site by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in 1974. Nowadays, the fort hosts the 3rd Frontier Company - Coimbra Fort, which is part of the 18th Frontier Infantry Brigade of the Brazilian Army's Western Military Command. In 2002, said company was designated the Portocarrero Company.

The fort's legends and traditions

There is a local tale that claims that when the fort was being initially built, Thomas the Apostle passed through the region on a journey to Peru, which would have made the place holy and unsuitable for military occupation. Amongst the officers of the fort there is a tradition of devoutness to the Virgin of Carmel, and a custom of, when one of them reaches the rank of general, wherever they were serving, to send back to her shrine in the fort one of the gold stars of their epaulettes.

Notes

1. A name that stems from Hermenegildo Portocarrero, the Brazilian military officer who commanded the fort's garrison at the start of the Paraguayan War; the fort was never formally named thus, but the Coastal Artillery Group which garrisons it was named Portorcarrero Group in his honor.
2. This is a translation from the original Portuguese, which reads "na ponta do morro, onde fazem um grande ângulo obtuso dois compridos estirões do Paraguai, que ficarão flanqueados pelo novo forte, o que não faria a antiga estacada."
3. This is a translation from the original Portuguese, which reads: "A 30 do mês findo cheguei aqui de volta do Forte de Coimbra, para onde fui conduzindo o batalhão de artilharia da província. Provavelmente V. Exa. terá recebido uma participação circunstanciada do estado daquele forte, assim como de outras diligências procedidas pelo exmo. Sr. Comandante das Armas, que comigo regressou no mesmo dia; todavia direi à V. Exa. que não é satisfatório o estado do dito forte, contudo pode resistir aos navios do Paraguai e defender-se talvez de seus ataques por terra. O exmo. sr. Comandante das Armas determinou alguns melhoramentos e serviços que entende serão de vantagem, e pretende fortificar a antiga posição da Marinha em frente ao mesmo forte, de modo que, cruzando os fogos, se auxiliem mutuamente."

References

Citations

1. "DECRETO-LEI Nº 4.027, DE 16 DE JANEIRO DE 1942".
2. Garrido 1940, p. 160. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGarrido1940 (help)
3. Souza 1885, p. 134. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSouza1885 (help)
4. Barreto 1958. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBarreto1958 (help)
5. ^ Souza 1885, p. 134-135. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSouza1885 (help)
6. Maia 1964, p. 37. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMaia1964 (help)
7. ^ Barreto 1958, p. 303. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBarreto1958 (help)
8. Souza 1889, p. 135. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSouza1889 (help)
9. ^ Garrido 1940, p. 163. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGarrido1940 (help)
10. Barreto 1958, p. 302-303. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBarreto1958 (help)

Sources

• BARRETO, Aníbal (Cel.). Fortificações no Brasil (Resumo Histórico). Rio de Janeiro: Biblioteca do Exército Editora, 1958. 368p.
• CAMPESTRINI, Hildebrando; GUIMARÃES, Acyr. História de Mato Grosso do Sul. (5ª ed.). Campo Grande: Instituto Histórico e Geográfio de Mato Grosso do Sul, 2002.
• FERRAZ, Antônio Leôncio Pereira. "Memória sobre as Fortificações de Mato Grosso". Separata da Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Imprensa Nacional, 1930.
• GALLO, José Roberto (Arq.). Fortificações de Mato Grosso do Sul. Campo Grande: 8º DR/IPHAN/FNPM/MinC Escritório Técnico/MS, mar. 1986.
• GARRIDO, Carlos Miguez. Fortificações do Brasil. Separata do Vol. III dos Subsídios para a História Marítima do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Imprensa Naval, 1940.
• GUIMARÃES, Acyr. Mato Grosso do Sul - sua evolução histórica. Campo Grande: UCDB, 2000.
• LEVERGER, Augusto (Almte.). "Apontamentos para o Diccionário Chorografico da Província do Mato Grosso". RIHGB. Rio de Janeiro: Tomo XLVII, Partes I e II, 1884. p. 307-504.
• MAGALHÃES, Luiz Alfredo Marques. Rio Paraguay - da Gaíba ao Apa. Campo Grande: Editora Alvorada, s.d..
• MAIA, Jorge. A invasão do Mato Grosso. Rio de Janeiro: Biblioteca do Exército Editora, 1964.
• MARQUES, Rubens Moraes da Costa. Trilogia do Patrimônio Histórico e Cultural Sul-Mato-Grossense. Campo Grande: UFMS, 2001.
• MELLO, Raul Silveira de (Gen.). "Ricardo Franco de Almeida Serra na expansão e delimitação de nossas fronteiras". Revista Militar Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro, Ano L, nos. 1 e 2, v. LXXV, p. 25-28, jan.-jun. 1963.
• MELLO, Raul Silveira de (Gen.). A História do Forte Coimbra (4 vols.). Rio de Janeiro: SMG Imprensa do Exército, 1958-1961.
• MOURA, Carlos Francisco. O Forte de Coimbra: sentinela avançada da fronteira. Cuiabá: Edições UFMT, 1975. 128 p. il.
• SILVA, Jovam Vilela da. A lógica portuguesa na ocupação urbana do território mato-grossense. História & Perspectivas. Uberlândia: nº 24, jan.-jun. 2001.
• SOUSA, Augusto Fausto de. "Fortificações no Brazil". RIHGB. Rio de Janeiro: Tomo XLVIII, Parte II, 1885. p. 5-140.
• s.a. Bicentenário do Forte Coimbra. Revista Militar Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro, Ano LXI, Número Especial, Vol. CVII, 1975.
• "Forte de Coimbra" in Revista DaCultura, ano I, nº 2, jul-dez 2001. p. 51-56.

External links

• Fortalezas.org page for the fort, in Portuguese

Porto Carrero Categoria:História de Corumbá Categoria:Fundações no Brasil em 1775 Categoria:Patrimônio tombado pelo IPHAN no Mato Grosso do Sul Categoria:Guerra do Paraguai