Trindade and Martim Vaz
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Trindade and Martim Vaz).
The islands are of volcanic origin and have rugged terrain. They are largely barren, except for the southern part of Trindade. They were discovered in 1502 by Portuguese explorer Estêvão da Gama and stayed Portuguese until they became part of Brazil at its independence in 1822. From 1895 to 1896, Trindade was occupied by the United Kingdom until an agreement with Brazil was reached. During the period of British occupation, Trindade was known as South Trinidad.
The islands are situated some 2,100 kilometres (1,300 miles) southwest of Ascension Island and 2,550 kilometres (1,580 miles) west of Saint Helena, and the distance to the west coast of Africa is 4,270 kilometres (2,650 miles).
Due the introduction of invasive species such as sheep, etc. the island's biodiversity has heavily deteriorated since the second half of the 20th century, with many indigenous species becoming endangered.[5]
Geography
The individual islands with their respective locations are given in the following:
- Ilha da Trindade (Portuguese for "Trinity Island") (20°31′30″S 29°19′30″W / 20.52500°S 29.32500°W)
- Ilhas de Martim Vaz (20°30′00″S 28°51′00″W / 20.50000°S 28.85000°W)
- Ilha do Norte ("North Island"), 300 metres (980 feet) north-northwest of Ilha da Racha, 75 metres (246 feet) high. (20°30′00″S 28°51′00″W / 20.50000°S 28.85000°W)
- Ilha da Racha ("Crack Island") or Ilha Martim Vaz, the largest, 175 metres (574 feet) high near the northwest end. The shores are strewn with boulders. (20°30′18″S 29°20′42″W / 20.50500°S 29.34500°W)
- Rochedo da Agulha ("Needle Rock"), a flat circular rock 200 metres (660 feet) northwest of Ilha da Racha, is 60 metres (200 feet) high.
- Ilha do Sul ("South Island"), 1,600 metres (5,200 feet) south of Ilha da Racha, is a rocky pinnacle. Ilha do Sul is the easternmost point of Brazil. (20°31′00″S 28°51′00″W / 20.51667°S 28.85000°W)
Trindade
Trindade is a mountainous, desiccated volcanic island. The highest summit is Pico Desejado, near the center, 620 metres (2,030 feet) high. Nearby to the northwest are Pico da Trindade (590 m (1,940 ft)) and Pico Bonifácio (570 m (1,870 ft)). Pico Monumento, a remarkable peak in the form of a slightly inclined cylinder, rises from the west coast to 270 m (890 ft). Until around 1850, between 75 and 85% of the island was covered by a forest of Colubrina glandulosa trees, 15m in height and 40 cm trunk diameter. The introduction of non-native animals (like goats, pigs, sheep, etc.), and the indiscriminate cutting of trees, led to total extirpation of the forest, causing heavy erosion on the island, with a loss of about 1 to 2 meters of fertile soils. The effect of this devastation impaired the flow of water streams, with the depletion of several springs.
There is a small settlement in the north on the shore of a cove called Enseada dos Portugueses, supporting a garrison of the Brazilian Navy, 32 strong.
The archipelago is the main nesting site of the green sea turtle in Brazil. There are also large numbers of breeding seabirds, including the endemic subspecies of the Great frigatebird (Fregata minor nicolli) and Lesser frigatebird (F. ariel trinitatis), and it is the only Atlantic breeding site for the Trindade petrel.[6] Humpback whales have been confirmed to use the Trindade island as a nursery.[7]
History
16th to 18th century
The Trindade and Martim Vaz Islands were discovered in 1502 by Portuguese navigators led by
Many visitors have been to Martim Vaz, the most famous of whom was the English astronomer
Johnstone had made a naval base in Trindade, so Portugal reacted. They sent the 64-gun Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres, commanded by
Captain
19th to 20th century
In 1839, the Ross expedition made a brief stop on Trindade, as chronicled by Robert McCormick. He described Pico Monumento as the "Nine Pin Rock".[11]
In 1889, Edward Frederick Knight went treasure hunting on the island. He was unsuccessful but he wrote a detailed description of the island and his expedition, titled The Cruise of the Alerte.
In 1893 another
In July 1895, the British again tried to take possession of this strategic position in the Atlantic.[15] The British planned to use the island as a cable station.[15] However, Brazilian diplomatic efforts, along with Portuguese support[citation needed], reinstated Trindade Island to Brazilian sovereignty.
In order to clearly demonstrate sovereignty over the island, now part of the State of
In July 1910 the ship Terra Nova carrying the last expedition of Captain Robert Falcon Scott to the Antarctic arrived at the island, at the time uninhabited. Some members of the Scott's expedition explored the island with scientific purposes, and a description of it is included in The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, one of the members of the expedition.
In August 1914, the
21st Century
Trindade was a port passing mark for the 2022 Golden Globe Race, a single-handed round-the-world yacht race.[23] In March 2023, plastic rocks called plastistone were found on Trindade.[24]
See also
References
- ^ Ilha da Trindade - Infográficos e mapas Folha de S.Paulo. Retrieved on 6 June 2009.
- ^ a b "PROGRAMA DE PESQUISAS CIENTÍFICAS NA ILHA DA TRINDADE". CIRM (in Portuguese). 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- ^ National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Web: http://geonames.nga.mil/namesgaz/
- ^ "Conheça o Arquipélago de Trindade e Martim Vaz". Mar Sem Fim. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ "Islands off the coast of eastern Brazil - Ecoregions - WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- ^ Fund, W. 2014. Trinidade-Martin Vaz Islands tropical forests
- ^ Siciliano S., Heissler L.V., Ilha B.E., Wickert C.J., Moura F. de J., Moreno B.I., 2016, Humpback whales off Trindade Island, Brazil: the last piece of the puzzle is in place?, SC66-b-SH-02, International Whaling Commission scientific reports, Retrieved on August 11, 2016
- ^ OCLC 36768251.
- ^ National Geographic Magazine annotated map of Atlantic Ocean, dated July 1939
- ISBN 978-0955250880.
- ISBN 978-0-665-09223-7.
- New York Tribune, 5 November 1893, p 1
- ^ Bryk, William, "News & Columns", New York Press, v 15 no 50 (December 10, 2002) Archived April 30, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- New York Times, June 10, 1894, p 23
- ^ a b c Bryk (2002) Archived 2006-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Trinidad's Prince Awake: An Appeal to Washington Against Brazil and Great Britain", New York Times, August 1, 1895, p 1
- ^ "Grand Chancellor of Trinidad: Significant Phases in the Ascent of Male Comte de la Boissiere to His Elevated Diplomatic Post", New York Times, August 2, 1895, p 9
- ^ "Trinidad's Case in Washington: Courteously, the Chancellor Would Permit Britain's Cable Station and Use It, but There Is Graver Trouble", New York Times, August 7, 1895, p 1
- ^ "Trinidad's Diplomat in Action: M. de la Boissiere Asks that His Sovereign's Land Be Recognized as a Neutral Principality", New York Times, August 9, 1895, p 5
- ^ "Trinidad's Prince at Work: Grand Chancellor de la Boissiere Tells How the War Between Great Britain and Brazil Will Be Averted", New York Times, Jan 24, 1896, p 9
- ^ Flags of the World - Trindade and Martins Vaz Islands (Brazil) (sic)
- ISBN 0-905617-50-9.
- ^ The Route from Les Sables D'Olonne, France, and Return, accessed 2022-09-29
- ^ "A Strange Plastic Rock Has Ominously Invaded 5 Continents". Popular Mechanics. 2024-01-02. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
Further reading
- Alves, RJV; da Silva, NG; Aguirre-Muñoz, A (2011). "Return of endemic plant populations on Trindade Island, Brazil, with comments on the fauna" (PDF). In Veitch, CR; Clout, MN; Towns, DR (eds.). Island invasives: eradication and management : proceedings of the International Conference on Island Invasives. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. pp. 259–263. OCLC 770307954. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
- Olson, Storrs L. (1981). "Natural history of vertebrates on the Brazilian islands of the mid South Atlantic". National Geography Society Research Reports. 13: 481–492. hdl:10088/12766.
External links
- "Trindade". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
- "Martin Vaz". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
- TRINDADE(Spanish)