James Norton (

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

, 9 June 1789 – 29 August 1835) was a British navy officer who participated as a combatant and commander of the

Imperial Brazilian Navy The Imperial Brazilian Navy (Portuguese: ''Armada Nacional'', commonly known as ''Armada Imperial'') was the navy created at the time of the independence of the Empire of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. It exis ...

during the

Cisplatine War The Cisplatine War (), also known as the Argentine-Brazilian War () or, in Argentine and Uruguayan historiography, as the Brazil War (''Guerra del Brasil''), the War against the Empire of Brazil (''Guerra contra el Imperio del Brasil'') or t ...

. He joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 1802, taking part in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

under the command of Admiral

Edward Pellew Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younger brother ...

. With the

independence of Brazil The Independence of Brazil comprised a series of political and military events that led to the independence of the Kingdom of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as the Brazilian Empire. Most of the events occurre ...

, the emperor Pedro I began the formation of a navy, hiring the services of Lord Thomas Cochrane, having sent Felisberto Caldeira Brant to Great Britain to recruit officers, among them James Norton. In the Pernambuco campaign, in 1824, at the head of a corps of sailors, he seized

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

. In the Cisplatine War, he was sent to the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

with the frigate ''Niterói'' under his command. Soon after he assumed and commanded the naval division blockading

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, achieving several victories and dinstinguishing himself in many battles, particularly those of 30 July 1826,

April 8 Events Pre-1600 * 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. * 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids. *1139 – Ro ...

and December 7, 1827 and of June 16, 1828. In the latter, he lost his right arm and, on February 17 of the same year, he was slightly wounded. He successfully led the blockade of the Río de la Plata, which brought Argentine public finances to the brink of collapse, hastening the peace agreement that ended the war, despite Brazilian defeats on land. Norton then destroyed the best ships of the Argentine fleet: the frigate ''25 de Mayo'', the brigs ''Independencia'', ''Republica'', ''Congreso'' and ''General Brandzen''. After the war, he was knighted in the Imperial Order of the Cross, and also received the Imperial Order of the Rose. On 17 October 1829, he was promoted to head of division, with the rank of Rear Admiral. He died on 29 August 1835 on board of a ship off the west coast of New Zealand travelling back to Brazil. His widow, Eliza Bland, published in 1837 a small work, entitled ''A noiva do Brasil'' (''The Brazilian Bride''). The couple's enthusiasm for the new country, according to British historian Brian Vale, is revealed by some of the names given to their children: Fletcher Carioca, Fredrick da Prata and Maria Brasília.

References

Bibliography

External links

''The Brazilian Bride''.

Biography of James Norton, by the Baron of Rio Branco.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, James People of the Cisplatine War 1789 births 1835 deaths Royal Navy officers People from Newark-on-Trent Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars 19th-century Brazilian military personnel English amputees Brazilian admirals English emigrants to Brazil People who died at sea