On a recent visit to Rio de Janeiro I was strangely unprepared for the extent of maritime heritage that I was to encounter. When we think of Rio we conjure up images of Copacabana, samba and Christ the Redeemer. However, just across from the bikinis on the golden sands of Ipanema stands an impressive and unexpected monument to the Brazilian naval revolt in 1891.
I was attending a conference on the future of museums at the Museum of Tomorrow, built as part of a dockland redevelopment. What you do not see in all the arty shots of this spectacular new museum is that it is situated right beside the Brazilian naval headquarters and just around the corner from the navy’s heritage fleet consisting of the Comandante Bauru, ex-USS McAnn from 1943, the Vickers-built Oberon class submarine Riachuelo and the stunning Laurindo Pitta, an ocean-going tug and First World War veteran, also built at Barrow. Never was a skipped conference session better spent. In downtown Rio there is also the Brazilian Naval Museum, where you can see evidence of the strong British involvement in the early Brazilian navy, including a model of Admiral Cochrane’s flagship Pedro I used in the independence campaign in 1823. On a more sombre note the remains of Valongo Wharf, one of the principal slaving ports in the Americas, have recently been rediscovered and preserved, providing a grim reminder of the city’s dark past. I suppose I should not have been surprised, but looking beyond the traditional tourist image of Rio brought home the true nature and history of this thriving port city and made for a far more interesting and stimulating week out of the office than I had anticipated.
Our condolences go out to the family of Dr Nick Slope, who died suddenly of a heart attack on 15 December 2016. Nick was vice chairman of the Nelson Society and Hon. Secretary of the Anglo-Israeli Archaeological Society. His funeral took place at the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Great Missenden. Professor Hugh Murphy attended on behalf of the Editorial Board of The Mariner’s Mirror.
The Society for Nautical Research continues to expand its presence on social media. A few Facebook page (@thesocietyfornauticalresearch) has recently been established which contains news and views from the maritime history world and some fascinating video clips. A variety of images, including colour versions of illustrations in The Mariner’s Mirror, can now also be found on our new Instagram page (@nauticalresearch). You can also keep up to date on Twitter with the society’s official account (@nauticalhistory) and my own account (@mmhoneditor), where you can see some pictures of Rio. Happy browsing!