Defences of Porto da Barra – Forts of Santa Maria and São Diogo

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The defenses of Porto da Barra consist of two significant historical forts: Forte de Santa Maria and Forte de São Diogo, located at strategic points at the entrance of the Baía de Todos os Santos in Salvador.

The prominence of these fortifications in Salvador’s landscape clearly reflects the tactical and strategic necessity of positioning them on elevated sites, offering privileged visibility over the surrounding areas.

However, one cannot overlook the military engineer’s aesthetic sensitivity, which was influenced by the culture of the time and the writings of prominent Renaissance and Baroque architecture theorists.

Salvador was established as a fortified city, or at least that was the intention of D. João III of Portugal. During its time as the capital, or “Head of Brazil,” there was a continuous effort to defend it.

After the city was sacked, the Portuguese Crown reinforced the protection of its overseas capital, Salvador, by utilizing the defenses left by the retreating Dutch.

One of the chosen locations for fortifying Salvador was Porto da Barra, where the Dutch had disembarked with ease in 1624.

Porto da Barra Beach and Santa Maria Fort in Salvador
Porto da Barra Beach and Santa Maria Fort in Salvador

History of Fort Santa Maria and Fort São Diogo in Salvador, BA

From 1624, Forte de Santa Maria and Forte de São Diogo emerged and have since been listed in records of Salvador’s fortifications.

There is significant confusion among historians regarding the origins of these forts, as there are no documents from the governor ordering their construction, nor a Royal Order authorizing their erection.

What is known is based on deduction or records in later documents. There are also references to a trench supporting the two small fortifications.

“Aenwysinge van de Stadt Salvador, ende de Baya de Todos Los Santtos”, Hondius, Henricus. This rare map of Salvador and the Bay of All Saints is a very early representation of the Dutch attack and capture of the city of Salvador in May 1624. Salvador, then the capital of Brazil, was a strategic port under Portuguese control. The Dutch, determined to take control of Brazil, formed the West India Company in 1621 and sent a large expedition to Brazil. On 8 May 1624, the Dutch fleet under Admiral Jacob Willekens and Vice-Admiral Pieter Heyn arrived in Salvador and attacked the city. The Dutch managed to capture the city, although the Portuguese regained control less than a year later. This map depicts the city of Salvador and its fortifications, with the 26 Dutch ships advancing on the city. The rest of the coastline is sparsely recorded with a few small towns, trees, and hills. The map is orientated with north to the left and includes a panoramic plan of Salvador, with 16 locations identified in key on the title cartouche. A later edition of the map shows fewer ships attacking the city, perhaps illustrating a later Dutch attack. The imprint in the lower right corner credits Henricus Hondius in The Hague. It is unclear whether this is the well-known Amsterdam publisher or the lesser-known Delft engraver and printer who worked during the same period. “Aenwysinge van de Stadt Salvador, ende de Baya de Todos Los Santtos”, Hondius, Henricus

Logic suggests placing the trench approximately along the current Avenida Sete de Setembro, in front of the Porto da Barra, a location that was already popularly known as the Porto dos Holandeses (Dutch Port).

Mapa dos Fortes de Salvador da Bahia
Mapa da localização dos Fortes de Salvador da Bahia

If there was harsh criticism of the effectiveness of the Fortaleza da Ponta do Padrão or Fortaleza de Santo Antônio, one should not strictly follow the opinions of some critics of the small forts, who were not few.

The first criticism came from Bernardo Vieira Ravasco, who considered them to be “of no use whatsoever […]”.

A more detailed account, attributed to Captain Engineer Antônio Correia Pinto around 1671, provides revealing information, including about the person responsible for their construction, a controversial topic among historians:

Fortes Santa Maria and São Diogo are made of stone and lime: both were founded by Diogo Luís de Oliveira, then Governor and Captain General of this state, at the ends of a beach located at the mouth of the bay; from where the Dutch and D. Fradique de Tolledo drove out the troops that surrendered and restored this fort. Both are dismantled […]”.

This account suggests that the author saw some usefulness in the forts.

On the other hand, Military Engineer Miguel Pereira da Costa, in 1710, did not hold them in high regard, especially the Fort de São Diogo.

Defences of the Barra da Baía de Todos os Santos
Defences of the Barra da Baía de Todos os Santos

As stated, one cannot take a radical position regarding the usefulness of these two “little forts,” especially considering their scale and the true purpose for which they were designed.

It is clear that the Fort Santa Maria and Fort São Diogo contributed little to the defense of the Barra, which was naturally indefensible due to the geography of the area, but they did complicate disembarkation at a port considered very convenient.

Note that when Nassau attempted to invade the city in 1638, he preferred to face the Fort São Bartolomeu da Passagem rather than risk disembarking at the location protected by the small fortifications.

It is agreed that the forts were overshadowed by surrounding elevations, but they could serve as low batteries supporting larger fortifications on the heights.

T' Neemen van de Suyker Prysen in de Bay de Tode los Santos Anno 1627", Leti, Gregorio. Copper engraving illustrating the Dutch fleet capturing the fort at the entrance to the Bay of All Saints in north-eastern Brazil. The scene is very active with waving cannons and small figures rushing into action. The large inserted plan of the bay is depicted on a scroll above the scene. Published by Gregorio Letie. T' Neemen van de Suyker Prysen in de Bay de Tode los Santos Anno 1627", Leti, Gregorio
T’ Neemen van de Suyker Prysen in de Bay de Tode los Santos Anno 1627″, Leti, Gregorio. Copper engraving illustrating the Dutch fleet capturing the fort at the entrance to the Bay of All Saints in north-eastern Brazil. The scene is very active with waving cannons and small figures rushing into action. The large inserted plan of the bay is depicted on a scroll above the scene. Published by Gregorio Letie. T’ Neemen van de Suyker Prysen in de Bay de Tode los Santos Anno 1627″, Leti, Gregorio

Even during the imperial period, the Fort Santa Maria and Fort São Diogo were still considered in the defenses of the Brazilian coast, as reported by Colonel Beaurepaire Rohan during the Christie Question, highlighting that fortification experts of the time believed these structures still had some utility.

The Fort Santa Maria was constructed on a small rocky promontory, which defined the left side of the local cove. Its firepower, due to its design, was mainly focused on flanking and covering the anchorage, indicating that its function was quite limited and specific.

Today, the fort has gunports in the parapet, but as described and illustrated by Luís dos Santos Vilhena, the fort probably originally had a barbette parapet, primarily intended to allow for more artillery and extend the range of the guns, albeit at the expense of the gunners’ safety.

According to Vilhena, a respected Greek professor and chronicler of Salvador, “not long ago, the parapets were imperfectly repaired, so that from the waist up, the garrison is exposed to enemy fire, with no other recourse but to retreat before they shoot; it cannot mount more than seven to nine guns.”

This configuration of seven guns seems to have been considered adequate for the size of the fort. Additionally, since Vilhena’s time, the Fort Santa Maria has maintained an unusual feature compared to other Salvador fortresses: a shooting platform for musketeers defending the curtains. The fort also originally had a drawbridge of wood, which was later replaced by a fixed bridge, initially of wood and later of masonry.

Forte de Santa Maria em Salvador - BA
Forte de Santa Maria em Salvador – BA
The historian João da Silva Campos considers that the current form of the Fort of Santa Maria dates back to the time of the administration of D. João de Lencastro, even noting a date for the inauguration of the reforms: “11 December 1694”.

Thus, the fort must have participated in the restoration of all the forts on the bar of the Bay of All Saints carried out by that government.

Comparing the current form with the representations from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it can be seen that some modifications were made to the covered area, which was enlarged, with a reduction in the plane of fire of the light guns, but without compromising the general design of the curtains.

The Fort São Diogo is also considered to be the work of D. Diogo Luís de Oliveira according to the document from 1671. It is an irregular fortification built at the foot of the hill where the original center of the Old Town of Pereira Coutinho once stood, with its tranqueira (defensive wooden fence) and tower.

Forte de São Diogo em Salvador BA
Forte de São Diogo in Salvador BA

The idea that, with the disappearance of the original defenses, the higher elevation might have been reinforced with some form of battery or defensive structure is plausible. This is because a high position could be seized by the enemy, neutralizing the defenses of the forts located below.

The combined fire of the Fort São Diogo and the Fort Santa Maria would have been quite effective in protecting the Porto da Barra. Although small, the Fort São Diogo has an irregular design, adapting to the topography of the terrain, with a partially arched curtain. The parapet, still today, is à barbeta, preserving much of the original design.

One of the greatest modifications to the building occurred at the main access. According to records, Edgar Cerqueira Falcão photographed it before 1942, when it still had an internal ramp, although the fort already featured a staircase at the entrance gate. The most significant change to the topography and the internal ramp likely occurred during the installation of the Cirex, a recreational club for the officers of the 6th Military Region.

The least altered form of the fortification was recorded in photographs taken by Benjamin Mulock in the mid-19th century. Old plans, kept in the Army Military Archive, show the existence of a path that passed close to the fort and zigzagged up to the top of the hill, where the Igreja de Santo Antônio is located.

These elements reinforce the tactical importance of the Forts of Santa Maria and São Diogo in the defense of the Porto da Barra, making them essential components of Salvador’s defense system.

Defences of Porto da Barra – Forts of Santa Maria and São Diogo – History of Brazil

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