Brazilian Naval Ambitions

My latest at WPR concerns the mismatch between Brazilian naval ambitions and resources:

In the first decade of the 20th century, Brazil attempted to stake out a space for itself as a major Western Hemisphere naval power, ordering a pair of dreadnought battleships from British yards in 1906. Dubbed Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo, these ships were as capable as any then in operation among the world’s navies, and indeed outgunned early British, German and American contemporaries. The acquisition of the two ships -- as well as the planned purchase of a third -- set off a naval race in the Southern Cone, with Chile and Argentina soon following suit. Unfortunately, the battleships were startlingly expensive, virtually bankrupting the Brazilian government. Brazil’s pursuit of regional naval hegemony ended when the poorly paid and brutalized sailors (.pdf) that made up the battleships’ crews turned their guns on Rio de Janeiro. After the revolt was quelled, the main guns of Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo were disabled, and the ships were allowed to decay over the next 40 years of intermittent service. Brazil’s first effort to declare itself a maritime power ended in expensive rust.