Cannons from Ipanema: technology, industry, logistics, and politics in 1840

ABSTRACT

Unpublished documents from 1840 describe the fabrication of three cannons - a technical fact to be remembered due to its uniqueness, the technical challenges and the detailed descriptions provided by major João Bloem, the director of the Fábrica de Ferro de Ipanema, and the difficulties after the 1842 Liberal Revolt. The expansion of the sugar industry in São Paulo is concurrent with the investments in cast iron machines and components used to grind sugarcane for hundreds of sugar mills from Sorocaba to the South of Minas Gerais, made during Feijó Regency. The iron cannons were the only ones made in Brazil; they were cast, milled, and submitted to firing tests with gunpowder charges three times higher than the regularly used. Although iron foundries spread to many Brazilian cities, they all used imported cast iron, for until the end of the 19th century Ipanema was the only place where the raw material, cast iron, was produced from iron ore. The casting of cannons demonstrates the presence of sophisticated metallurgical and technical competence, related to the investments of the Regency period and the intention to regain the original objective of producing military supplies in that plant. This experience and the developed competences led the director to propose a subsidiary in Juquiá, near the port of Iguape, which was not accepted by the Navy ministry. In presenting the history of these cannons, this paper discusses some of the situations that hindered the dream of bringing the first industrial revolution to Brazil.

KEYWORDS:
Fábrica de Ferro de Ipanema; Foundries; Cannon; Cast iron; João Bloem