Hi there
Before introducing the model, allow me a short prologue to locate the story.
This is History...He was baptized as "Miguel Maria do Patrocinio João Carlos Francisco de Assis Xavier de Paula Pedro
Alcântara António Joaquim Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga José Evaristo de Bragança e Bourbon "and was,
successively, Infant of Portugal, Lord Infantado and Duke of Beja, Duke of Braganza and Count of Samora Correia,
Prince Regent of Portugal and later, King of Portugal.
In practice he was known as "D. Miguel I of Portugal" to his supporters, and as "The Usurper" to his opponents,
who accused him of stealing the throne from his niece, D. Maria da Glória.
He was the main responsible for the Portuguese civil war that afflicted Portugal for more than three years, until
he was finally defeated in 1834. Shortly after the signing of the Concession of Évoramonte, and still off the Portuguese coast,
he denounced the deal, saying he had been forced to signed it, and as a protest against the resignation had been forced
to do to his rights to the crown of Portugal.
By doing so, he lost the right a substancial annuity that Portugal had been forced to pay him, leaving him without any
personal fortune, as he had already offered his personal treasure to his brother D. Pedro, as a contribution to the effort
to rebuild the country after the war.
He started living on the goodwill of the Pope and his supporters, and lived in exile. First in Italy, then in England and
finally in Germany, in the Grand Duchy of Baden-Württemberg, where he married Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg,
who gave him six daughters and one son, and he died in 1866.
This is my Story...In fact, contrary to what the "official History" would have us believe, D. Miguel did not live the rest of his life in Germany
just seeing the sights and making babies!
Since the early days of his quest that he had on his side two very powerful allies: the United States and the Vatican,
which, by the way, were the only two countries who acknowledged his title as King of Portugal in the early 1830s
(this detail is still true History, though!).
When D. Miguel was exiled, the U.S. and the Vatican support not only did not disappeared, but it was in fact strengthened,
although in a very discreet and confidential manner.
The objectives were clear to all parties involved. For the U.S. to support the future King of Portugal meant an important step
in its policy of economic expansionism in Africa and Asia. For the Vatican was the equivalent in religious terms,
allowing them to take the true faith to the most obscure and remote corners of the planet.
Now if you remember well, by that time the U.S. were doing secret tests with a new type of ships, called "ironclads".
A conception of French origin, but whose concept had already been used by naval forces from various countries in severalvarious wars,
although an incipient fashion.
Fact or fiction, the reality is that the U.S. were militarily supporting the construction of a secret naval force for
rapid intervention with this type of vessels, to support the cause of D. Miguel in regaining the throne of Portugal,
a process that went on during the 40 and 50 of the nineteenth century, until finishing abruptly in 1861, which contributed
to the sharp decline of D. Miguel'heath in the final years of his life.
The secret support of the U.S. Senate to the Miguelist cause channeled an important part of the financial resources and
slave labor to the construction of these ships. When President Lincoln came to power in 60, when confronted with the
situation decided to discontinue the aid program which contributed, among others factors, for the outbreak of the
American Civil War.
It seems that civil wars are something contagious ...
NMP D. Fuas Roupinho - A Portuguese "Ironclad"Firstly NMP means Navio da Marinha Portuguesa (literally Ship of the Portuguese Navy). Clarified this point, then we move into
the description of the ship that originated the ship class with the same name, consisting of 6 more identical vessels,
of which only 2 came to be built: the MPN D. Fuas Roupinho and the NMP Martim Moniz.
As its name indicates, "iron clad" means that the ship had a strong metal shield that protected it from the projectiles hurled
by other ships or coastal defenses, especially the incendiary projectiles, so harmful to the ships built entirely in wood,
as hitherto usual.
To move such a mass was reinforced needed an energy source more powerful and concentrated than the wind, being the steam
the ideal solution at the time.
Thanks to the pioneering work of Richard Trevithick and George Stephenson, improved and enlarged by the genius of Armindo Castro
and Daniel de Almeida, the technology reached an apex that allowed to provide a power/weight ratio far beyond originally expected.
This allowed navigation much faster and quieter, with a minimal carbon footprint, given the warming of boilers was not due to the usual burning of coal,
but the process was shrouded in secrecy, and involved the reuse of animal and vegetable fats resulting from industrial processes.
And that´s the way the cookie crumbles!
Now, into the model itself.
It all started as a French vessel, the "La Superbe" form Heller, which spent nearly 20 years in one of my shelves,
waiting for the rigging the never came. An ideal candidate for the job, so to speak.
And here are the self-explanatory photos of the evolution:
Now it was time to choose the scale. And the N scale (1/160) won!
To be continued....
