I. Introduction

The Flying Colors series of tactical naval games, designed by Mike Nagel, has proven to be not only popular, but very flexible in simulating a variety of naval actions from the age of sail. Followers of the series have seen fleet actions in the Atlantic and Mediterranean between the great European fleets of Great Britain, France and Spain, fought battles off the coast of India, in the Great Lakes of North America, and even in the Baltic and Black Seas.  Volume IV: Under the Southern Cross (USC) promises an entirely new set of challenges as the scene of action shifts to the rocky Pacific coast and the expansive river systems of South America.

Even among fighting sail enthusiasts in North America and Europe, the early naval campaigns in South America are virtually unknown. This is understandable in that sources in English or any language other than Spanish and Portuguese are few and far between and even then, modern scholarship in this area is somewhat rare. This article is intended simply as an introduction to this fascinating and often overlooked period of naval history, and of course, to inspire the reader to explore the subject further in the upcoming game. (All counter art shown is playtest art only! The final art will meet the standard of the other games in the series).

The South American theatre of action provided a unique set of logistical, tactical, and political challenges to naval planners of the newly independent nations as well as their European parent countries. The solutions each aspiring nation pursued were as unique as each country’s individual circumstances.  Under the Southern Cross contains scenarios depicting the navies of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires as well as the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata (modern Argentina, and abbreviated in the game as U.P.), Chile, Peru, Gran Colombia (a Bolivarian construct that eventually fractured into modern Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador), Uruguay (known as the Banda Oriental—the east bank—during this period) and Brazil, from the Wars of Independence to some of  the naval campaigns fought between the new countries in the first half of the 19^th century.

II. Background

Madrid controlled trade in its American colonies through a form of mercantilism, limiting New World imports and exports to royal convoys, or royally licensed carriers. This control extended to ship-borne trade between the various Viceroyalties, Captaincies General, and Audencias of the Spanish Empire as well. Trade overland was allowed as far as the challenging mountainous geography would permit, but the tight control of shipping persisted almost to the outbreak of the Independence Wars and facilitated an internal politics based on patronage. The local Captain General or Viceroy was expected to secure loyalty to the King through the granting of trade licenses. As an added deterrent to smuggling, ship-building on any meaningful scale was limited to the important naval yard at Havana in Cuba. Ports such as Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Valparaiso, and Callao served as depots for naval stores and secure anchorages for careening and repairs, but no major ship building was permitted during the period of Spanish control or indeed possible until years after Independence. In fact, the construction of a flotilla of shallow draft gunboats at Buenos Aires in the early 1820s was rightly considered a significant accomplishment.

The various Spanish colonies were forced to rely on seizing Spanish ships, converting merchantmen and privateers, and foreign purchases to establish their fleets. This they achieved with varying degrees of success, with the Pacific colonies of Chile and Peru most successful at ship captures and the U.P. primarily dependent upon converting merchant ships and making foreign purchases.

Portuguese Brazil provides a completely different example to that of the Spanish. The French invasion of Iberia in 1807 prompted the evacuation of the Portuguese court to its largest and most important colony. Large numbers of the nobility accompanied King Joao VI and the mad Queen Maria I to Brazil, and with them, much of the wealth of the kingdom of Portugal. Major building projects commenced creating new roads and infrastructure, schools and academies, with major improvements to the port and ship yards of the new capital city of the Empire: Rio de Janeiro.

While Spanish Latin America struggled to establish naval forces of their own, the Brazilians already had all of the resources required to speedily construct the most powerful fleet in South America when they achieved independence in 1824.

III. United Provinces/Argentina

San Nicolas is the first scenario presented in Under the Southern Cross.

The process of Argentine independence began on 25 May, 1810 when the town council (el cabildo) of Buenos Aires renounced allegiance to the Viceroy, asserting that his loyalty lay with Joseph Bonaparte, who assumed the throne with after King Ferdinand was deposed following the French invasion. What would become the Argentine navy began as a riverine force designed to assist Manuel Belgrano in his campaigns against the Spanish. This first iteration of the Argentine fleet was overwhelmed and defeated by the Spanish at the Battle of San Nicolas (Scenario 1 in USC) on the Parana River.

Any discussion of Argentine naval history form this period however, must include William Brown, universally hailed in Argentina as the founder of their naval tradition and considered to this day one of their national heroes.  “Guillermo” Brown was an Irishman, from County Mayo, who as a young boy left Ireland and served as a cabin boy on a merchantman out of Philadelphia, before emigrating to Buenos Aires as a young man.

Brown assumed command of Buenos Aires fleet and led it through each of the major wars fought by the Argentines from the Independence War though the final naval battles fought exclusively under sail, against the Uruguayans in 1841. Brown repeatedly demonstrated personal courage under fire and an uncanny ability to anticipate his opponents’ actions, allowing him to meet often superior forces and emerge victorious. After a dazzling success against Spain in 1814 (Scenarios 2, 3, and 4), the government awarded him his flagship, Hercules, as a token of their appreciation. He faced a scandal brought about by his privateering with Hercules in the Caribbean when he was captured by the Royal Navy and held on suspicion of piracy.

Brown faced a more formidable foe in the form of the mighty Brazilian Empire during the Cisplatine War of 1825-1828. Frustrated by what he considered the timidity of some of his commanders at the Battle of Punta Corrales (Scenario 10; also sometimes called Colares) he was embarrassed when those commanders were cleared of wrongdoing in a very public court martial. Nevertheless, his spirited defense of the capital within sight of a crowd of spectators on the Buenos Aires docks, and especially his legendary victory at Juncal (8-9 February, 1827; Scenarios 14 and 15) secured for Brown a prominent position in the pantheon of Argentine heroes

IV. Chile

The Chilean Navy played an important role in their own War for Independence, but lent valuable assistance to the patriot cause in Peru as well. Their first attempt at a naval force was thwarted when the privateers hired to break the Spanish blockade of Valparaiso, instead defected and delivered their ships to the Spanish.

The Chilean fleet received a significant boost when former Royal Navy hero Thomas Cochrane, later Earl Dundonald, arrived at the invitation of Bernardo O’Higgins and assumed command of the fledgling Chilean navy. Cochrane proved a controversial figure in Chilean service. An undeniably brave and inspiring leader, he personally led the successful cutting-out of the Spanish heavy frigate Esmeralda, and on his own initiative used his small force of 300 sailors and marines to capture the 7 Spanish forts that guarded the port of Valdivia. Pro-and anti-Cochrane cliques formed among the officers of the fleet, and Cochrane ultimately resigned after a dispute over prize money.

The First National Squadron of Chile Painting by T.Summerscales

The Chileans have several interesting ships depicted in USC. Among them is the privateer Rosa de los Andes. The English ship Rose brought Lord Cochrane to Chile, and her captain had her fitted out as a 36-gun privateer, renamed her, and began preying on Spanish shipping in the Pacific. Two one-on-one ship duels are included in USC where Rosa confronted Spanish frigates.

The Chileans became the strongest naval power on the Pacific side of South America, and two scenarios (numbers 21 and 22) are presented in USC highlighting their 1837-1839 war with Peru and Bolivia—the so called War of the Confederation (not to be confused with the later and more famous War of the Pacific).

V. Peru/Gran Columbia

The Battle of Cruces, 23 November 1828

One of Simon Bolivar’s most cherished visions was a single, united and independent South American state which he called Gran Colombia. This dream was of course never realized, but the state of Gran Colombia did exist from 1821-1831. Encompassing modern Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador, Gran Colombia’s squadron is depicted in USC on its Pacific side along with the Peruvian navy in three scenarios. In the first, the Colombians are allied to the Peruvians in a short and ultimately indecisive fight off the port of Callao in 1824 against the last vestiges of Spanish power in the Pacific (scenario 9), and then in two scenarios depicting the Peru-Gran Colombia War of 1828. The most interesting of these is the Battle of Cruces (scenario 20), fought in the Guayas River just outside of Guayaquil. A Peruvian squadron under the former Royal Navy officer Martin Guise attempted to break through the fortifications guarding the city which include shore batteries and an imposing floating chain barrier.

Evolution of Prueba to Presidente.

This scenario also illustrates one of the challenges of researching this period in that the names of several of the ships in the game changed, sometimes several times. At Cruces, Guise’s flagship was the frigate Presidente, which was previously known as Protector, and, as the building of larger warships was beyond the capability of the new American republics at the time, it was clear that that ship must have been a prize or perhaps a foreign purchase.  Presidente/Protector in fact arrived in the Americas as the Spanish Prueba, but was surrendered to the Patriots after Cochrane’s blockade of available Pacific ports left the ship short of food and supplies.

VI. Brazil

As mentioned, the Brazilians were well positioned to rapidly build a large and capable naval force soon after achieving independence from Portugal. As they did so, the Brazilians realized that naval superiority would be crucial to establishing and maintaining a dominate position over their rivals in the Rio de la Plata: Buenos Aires and the U.P., and Montevideo in the Banda Oriental.

Part of that strategy involved the unique—in South America anyway—armament of many of the Empire’s ships. To reduce the draft of their warships in the shallow and shoal ridden waters of the Plata region, the Brazilians relied on carronades, sometimes making those shorter-range, lighter weight guns the sole armament on the ships. As a result, some Brazilian ships have been “de-rated” in game terms to reflect the limited long guns carried, while Brazil is the only power in USC to have extra carronade bonuses applied to their fire.

Typical adversaries in the Cisplatine War scenarios of USC, Brazil on the left, U.P. on the right.

This results in some interesting tactical situations when Brown and the Argentines face off against the Empire of Brazil in scenarios set in the Cisplatine War (there are 10 such included).  The Argentine player must try to neutralize superior Brazilian numbers by maneuvering at distance, taking shots at long range, staying out of range of Brazilian carronades while the Brazilian player tries to close and hammer the smaller enemy ships.

In all there are 25 full scenarios in Under the Southern Cross, with an additional 19 ship duels included as the popular Ship Duel rules and activation cards from Serpents of the Seas (vol. II) make their return to the Flying Colors series in this volume. I hope that this brief introduction to the age of fighting sail in Latin America whetted your appetite for more. Perhaps future articles will explore more of the important personalities that fought in these battles, and the rules that we’ve developed to simulate some of the unique conditions in which they were fought.

Author: Steven Paul