Royal St. John of Ipanema Iron Foundry
Encyclopedia
Royal St. John de Ipanema Iron Foundry as known Ipanema Iron Foundry or Factory, Fazenda Ipanema was the first ironworks
in Brazil. It is located in Sorocaba
region, near city of Iperó
, state of São Paulo
.
also called Araçoiaba hill
, which began even in the 16th century with Afonso Sardinha (father and son). There, in what was called Furnas Valley (now Stream Iron, Ribeirão do ferro), they did install a oven
and two Smithies
for making iron
by the direct method recognized asthe first attempt to iron manufacturing on American soil.
Until the arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family to Brazil, in 1808, the manufacture of iron was monitored in the Colony, having been allowed only in restricted periods. The venture started by Afonso Sardinha (father and son) worked where the Portuguese Crown allowed, especially after them, Domingos Pereira Ferreira, which installed ovens, those of African model.
Since the reform of the University of Coimbra, professor of chemistry Domingos Vandelli encouraged many of his students to study mineralogy and metallurgy. The Portuguese crown sent several of his former students to travel with in Europe. Jose Alvares Maciel was a year and a half in Birmingham, England, and Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva and Manuel Ferreira da Camara toured France, Germany, Italy and Sweden for 8 years. Back from trip, Bonifacio was commissioned to restore the factory iron d'Alge Foz, Portugal, where he engaged the German metallurgists Frederico Luiz Varnhagen and Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege. Manuel Ferreira da Camara and Aguiar Sá Bittencout returned to Brazil with the project to deploy an Iron Factory in Minas Gerais. With the coming of the royal family to Brazil, the two Germans were invited to contribute to the implementation of other venture steel in Brazil.
The company was established by Royal Charter from December 4, 1810 as a mixed capital company shareholder with 13 shares belonging to the Portuguese Crown and the 47 private shareholders of São Paulo
, Rio de Janeiro
and Bahia
.
To deploy it created the District of Ipanemaandbrought the region a team of technicians Swedish
, hired in December 1809, led by Carl Gustav Hedberg .
Besides the presence of deposits of magnetite
, were decisive in the choice of location, plenty of wood
that would feed the furnaces, and water
, driving force for excellence by the middle of 19th century. Thus, the activities of casting that worked up there on the hill of Ipanema
to the banks of a dam built in the waters of the River Ipanema.
TheReal Fábrica de Ferro St. John's Ipanema marked the beginning of the production of iron by the indirect method in the country. Technicians Swedes started the production of low iron furnaces and implemented all the infra-structure that would ensure the operation of the plant to extinction in 1895. These ovens have now disappeared, producing a ton and a half of iron per week, transformed itself in the factory, munitions and war material, wire, spades, nails, axes, sickles.
In 1815, Hedberg was replaced by German Ludwig Wilhelm Varnhagen (father of Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen
), commissioned to build the blast furnaces of the factory, opened in 1818. He came to Portugal at the invitation of the Portuguese government to direct the Foz de Alge ironworks in 1803. He then traveled to Brazil in 1808 when the royal family and the entire Court moved to Rio de Janeiro. The Royal Iron Mill of São João de Ipanema was yet another of those consequences of the arrival of the Royal Family to Brazil in 1808. The initial studies were carried out by sergeant-major Varnhagen, but the person who installed the steel mill was the Swede, Carl Gustave Hedberg, who brought techniques, equipment and tools. Differences of opinion led to the dismissal of Hedberg in 1814, and his substitution by Varnhagen, who was exceptionally successful in the following seven years. The iron foundry at Ipanema was productive and profitable.
At the time, the army
showed concern and interest towards the national steel industry, so that by mid-nineteenth century, Lieutenant Francisco Carlos da Luz was assigned to coordinate both the technical as the financial sector the establishment of such industry.
In 1863 was revitalized under the leadership of William Schüch, baron of Capanema future.
Blast Furnaces of the Real Fábrica de Ferro de Ipanema came out guns and ammunition to the Liberal Revolt for the War of Paraguay and all the necessary items to Brazil in the nineteenth century of pan
s of the iron mills sugar
and coffee
, railings, bars, ladder
s, luminaries
, etc. with winning articles in national and international fairs, at the time.
Considered the birthplace of the national steel industry, the Real Fábrica de Ferro de Ipanema retains less than 20% of its original set. Your furnace, twin, still exist today and are in the custody of ICMBio through the National Forest of Ipanema, in Iperó
.
Official documents of the factory are archived, and mostly for free consultation at different institutions: National Archives National Library of Brazil
(Rio de Janeiro) and File State Public São Paulo (Sao Paulo).
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
in Brazil. It is located in Sorocaba
Sorocaba
Sorocaba is a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Sorocaba is the fourth largest city in the state of São Paulo. Outside the Greater São Paulo region, it ranks behind only Campinas, Sao Jose dos Campos and Ribeirão Preto...
region, near city of Iperó
Iperó
Iperó is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. Its latitude is 23.35/23°28'14" S and the longitude is 46.69/47°44'05" W. The population in 2004 was 22,390 and the area is 171.44 km². The elevation is 590 m...
, state of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
.
Background
This important industrial enterprise was the result of a long planning for the Portuguese Crown. It was preceded by experiences of manufacturing iron in Ipanema HillIpanema Hill
The Ipanema Hill , "also known as Araçoiaba Ridge or "Serra de Araçoiaba", is a prominent and isolated topographic elevation in area about 5069 ha, located in the region of Sorocaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil...
also called Araçoiaba hill
Ipanema Hill
The Ipanema Hill , "also known as Araçoiaba Ridge or "Serra de Araçoiaba", is a prominent and isolated topographic elevation in area about 5069 ha, located in the region of Sorocaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil...
, which began even in the 16th century with Afonso Sardinha (father and son). There, in what was called Furnas Valley (now Stream Iron, Ribeirão do ferro), they did install a oven
Oven
An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance. It is most commonly used for cooking. Kilns, and furnaces are special-purpose ovens...
and two Smithies
Smithies
Smithies is a surname.- People named Smithies :*Alex Smithies*Bob Smithies *Frank Smithies mathematician*Karen Smithies *Oliver Smithies, emigrated to the United States...
for making iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
by the direct method recognized asthe first attempt to iron manufacturing on American soil.
Until the arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family to Brazil, in 1808, the manufacture of iron was monitored in the Colony, having been allowed only in restricted periods. The venture started by Afonso Sardinha (father and son) worked where the Portuguese Crown allowed, especially after them, Domingos Pereira Ferreira, which installed ovens, those of African model.
Since the reform of the University of Coimbra, professor of chemistry Domingos Vandelli encouraged many of his students to study mineralogy and metallurgy. The Portuguese crown sent several of his former students to travel with in Europe. Jose Alvares Maciel was a year and a half in Birmingham, England, and Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva and Manuel Ferreira da Camara toured France, Germany, Italy and Sweden for 8 years. Back from trip, Bonifacio was commissioned to restore the factory iron d'Alge Foz, Portugal, where he engaged the German metallurgists Frederico Luiz Varnhagen and Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege. Manuel Ferreira da Camara and Aguiar Sá Bittencout returned to Brazil with the project to deploy an Iron Factory in Minas Gerais. With the coming of the royal family to Brazil, the two Germans were invited to contribute to the implementation of other venture steel in Brazil.
The Royal St. John of Ipanema Iron Foundry
D. Rodrigo de Souza Coutinho, minister of D. John VI, and instructed Varnhagen Martim Francisco de Andrada e Silva of designing a modern factory which build on iron ore Araçoiaba. The project was completed in July 1810, estimated at 60 contos. The proposal emphasized the need to bring in European experts experienced in technical steel.The company was established by Royal Charter from December 4, 1810 as a mixed capital company shareholder with 13 shares belonging to the Portuguese Crown and the 47 private shareholders of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
.
To deploy it created the District of Ipanemaandbrought the region a team of technicians Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, hired in December 1809, led by Carl Gustav Hedberg .
Besides the presence of deposits of magnetite
Magnetite
Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. The chemical IUPAC name is iron oxide and the common chemical name is ferrous-ferric oxide. The formula for magnetite may also be written as FeO·Fe2O3, which is one part...
, were decisive in the choice of location, plenty of wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
that would feed the furnaces, and water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, driving force for excellence by the middle of 19th century. Thus, the activities of casting that worked up there on the hill of Ipanema
Ipanema Hill
The Ipanema Hill , "also known as Araçoiaba Ridge or "Serra de Araçoiaba", is a prominent and isolated topographic elevation in area about 5069 ha, located in the region of Sorocaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil...
to the banks of a dam built in the waters of the River Ipanema.
TheReal Fábrica de Ferro St. John's Ipanema marked the beginning of the production of iron by the indirect method in the country. Technicians Swedes started the production of low iron furnaces and implemented all the infra-structure that would ensure the operation of the plant to extinction in 1895. These ovens have now disappeared, producing a ton and a half of iron per week, transformed itself in the factory, munitions and war material, wire, spades, nails, axes, sickles.
In 1815, Hedberg was replaced by German Ludwig Wilhelm Varnhagen (father of Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen
Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen
Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen, Viscount of Porto Seguro was a Brazilian military, diplomat and historian. He is the patron of the 39th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.-Life:...
), commissioned to build the blast furnaces of the factory, opened in 1818. He came to Portugal at the invitation of the Portuguese government to direct the Foz de Alge ironworks in 1803. He then traveled to Brazil in 1808 when the royal family and the entire Court moved to Rio de Janeiro. The Royal Iron Mill of São João de Ipanema was yet another of those consequences of the arrival of the Royal Family to Brazil in 1808. The initial studies were carried out by sergeant-major Varnhagen, but the person who installed the steel mill was the Swede, Carl Gustave Hedberg, who brought techniques, equipment and tools. Differences of opinion led to the dismissal of Hedberg in 1814, and his substitution by Varnhagen, who was exceptionally successful in the following seven years. The iron foundry at Ipanema was productive and profitable.
At the time, the army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
showed concern and interest towards the national steel industry, so that by mid-nineteenth century, Lieutenant Francisco Carlos da Luz was assigned to coordinate both the technical as the financial sector the establishment of such industry.
In 1863 was revitalized under the leadership of William Schüch, baron of Capanema future.
Blast Furnaces of the Real Fábrica de Ferro de Ipanema came out guns and ammunition to the Liberal Revolt for the War of Paraguay and all the necessary items to Brazil in the nineteenth century of pan
PAN
Pan and panning can have many meanings as listed below in various categories.-Prefix:* Pan- as a prefix , e.g.:** Pan American** Pan-Americanism...
s of the iron mills sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, railings, bars, ladder
Ladder
A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps. There are two types: rigid ladders that can be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rope ladders that are hung from the top. The vertical members of a rigid ladder are called stringers or stiles . Rigid ladders are usually...
s, luminaries
Luminary
The luminaries were what traditional astrologers called the two astrological "planets" which were the brightest and most important objects in the heavens, that is, the Sun and the Moon.- Origins :...
, etc. with winning articles in national and international fairs, at the time.
Considered the birthplace of the national steel industry, the Real Fábrica de Ferro de Ipanema retains less than 20% of its original set. Your furnace, twin, still exist today and are in the custody of ICMBio through the National Forest of Ipanema, in Iperó
Iperó
Iperó is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. Its latitude is 23.35/23°28'14" S and the longitude is 46.69/47°44'05" W. The population in 2004 was 22,390 and the area is 171.44 km². The elevation is 590 m...
.
Official documents of the factory are archived, and mostly for free consultation at different institutions: National Archives National Library of Brazil
National Library of Brazil
The Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil is the depository of the bibliographic and documentary heritage of Brazil. It is located in Rio de Janeiro, at Cinelândia square....
(Rio de Janeiro) and File State Public São Paulo (Sao Paulo).