Before discussing the Rocas Lighthouse, it is worth expanding a little on the Rocas atoll– a circular coral reef of about two kilometres in diameter located in the state of Rio Grande do Norte – as after the discovery of Brazil, its history has been permeated by many maritime accidents.
The first occurred in 1503 with the wreck of a Portuguese ship. And over the years a number of other accidents occurred. For example in 1805, the ships HMS Britannia and HMS King George, members of a British task force, were wrecked.
Another tragedy involved the merchant ship Mercurius. According to obtained reports, its crew (numbering 22) spent 51 days in hunger and thirst on the atoll, and only 6 people survived.
It is known that around the Rocas atoll are remnants of 18 past shipwrecks. So from 1852, there were numerous demands for nautical signalling of the atoll.
The Navy, however, only took the initiative from 1881, when it sent an expedition to the site with certain objectives: to undertake geological surveys and reconnaissance the place, as well as build the foundations of a 48-metre high metal tower that had previously been ordered.
The initial project failed to go much further, however. Alleging that the place did not inspire confidence, one of the engineers spoke out against this construction. This opinion was adopted by the Director General of Lighthouses, and consequently the works were abandoned.
Despite this, on 1 January 1883, on top of a wooden post of 14 metres, a lantern with a solid white light was lit, and that light was never extinguished.
In the second decade of the 20th century, the wooden pole was replaced by an iron one, 16 metres high, and on it a Canadian Wilson system gas acetylene torch was placed. Remarkably, at the time the gas was produced by mixing calcium carbide with salt water at the Rocas Atoll itself.
The Rocas Lighthouse was automated in 1914, having acquired an iron lattice tower as well as an AGA lantern containing a solar valve. Despite technological advances, the trip to the lighthouse, the replacement of 12 acetylene accumulators and landing on the atoll demanded a lot of effort and care.
In 1935, the Navy built a reinforced concrete tower (of 16 metres), replacing the iron lattice. Nearly three decades later, as the salt air had corroded its ironwork, an aluminium tower (slightly smaller in height) replaced the concrete one. Finally, in 1986, the Rocas Lighthouse acquired solar panels and a photovoltaic battery bank.
Recife, 8 April 2004.
(Updated on 25 March 2008).
Translated by Peter Leamy, October 2016.
sources consulted
SIQUEIRA, Ricardo. Luzes do novo mundo; história dos faróis brasileiros / fotos Ricardo Siqueira; texto: Ney Dantas. Rio de Janeiro: Edição do Autor, 2002.
how to quote this text
Source: VAINSENCHER, Semira Adler. Farol Rocas, RN. Pesquisa Escolar Online, Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, Recife. Disponível em: <http://basilio.fundaj.gov.br/pesquisaescolar/>. Acesso em: dia mês ano. Ex: 6 ago. 2009.