SANTO ANTONIO DA BARRA LIGHTHOUSE AND ITS TRAGIC ORIGINS

摘要

In the early evening of May 5, 1668, facing rain and strong wind, the Portuguese Galleon SANTISSIMO SACRAMENTO (Blessed Sacrament), Flagship of a fleet with more than 50 sails, was sailing straight to the entrance to the Bay of Todos os Santos, which houses the city of Salvador. She was probably with wind abeam or broad reach, keeping a good speed, but collided with the «Santo Antonio» sandbar, about four Nautical Miles from the entrance of the bar. The records are not completely reliable, but it is estimated that there were more than 500 deaths, including the Fleet Commander, also appointed Governor-General of Brazil. « Regrettable occurrence» ... and ... «the most unfortunate event that Brazil has ever seen» wrote the Governor-General reporting the accident in his letters. After 29 years, with a few more incidents of lesser gravity in the same place, the first tower of Santo Antonio da Barra Lighthouse was built, inside the Fort of the same name. Cecil William Dampier (1651 -1715), English explorer, pirate, and navigator, wrote in his book "A Voyage to New-Holland in the Year of 1699" that, on March 1999 he saw its lights; and draws the Fort with its lighthouse on a sketch. On December 2, 1839, the original quadrangular tower was replaced by a new one, with a truncated shape, which still stands and operates today.