Dom Fernando II e Glória

Portugal’s last super ship lies largely unnoticed in the port of Almada.

This is a fantastic experience that you should plan for one to two hours. The frigate boasts four masts and four decks: the upper deck is for maneuvering, the heavily armed battery quarters the commander. The lower deck offers a galley, cabins, mess hall, and dormitory, while the hull houses work and storage rooms. Normal crew complement is 145 people, but in exceptional cases, it could accommodate up to 380. Special passengers enjoyed small private rooms and the fact that the ship could travel for three months without a stop. That was quite something in 1850.

When the General Superintendent of Goa proposed its construction in 1821, the fleet was not competitive, and the government was hardly solvent. The decision to build a new ship was driven by the idea of cutting down a ”perfectly suitable” teak forest in the hinterland of Daman with cheap laborers and financing the shipyard through increased taxes. Ultimately, it was more of a prestige project: it transported soldiers and settlers, administrators and convicts, sheep and mares, and sometimes celebrities. The most famous guests were the Brazilian Empress and her daughter, who, while they arrived safely for a cure in Madeira, unfortunately died there in 1853 from tuberculosis — she was supposed to be the wife of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand, the brother-in-law of Empress Sisi. Allegedly, the two were actually in love with each other.

 

An intriguing passenger in 1854 was António da Silva Porto. As a merchant, he established good diplomatic relations in the African interior, supported David Livingstone’s expedition to the Zambezi, and Henry Morton Stanley in the search for Livingston — although neither of them spoke well of him. When Silva Porto found himself caught between his own government, England, and tribal chiefs in 1890, he wrapped himself in a Portuguese flag, set it on fire, and thereby caused a powder magazine, including himself, to explode.

 

 

Until its retirement, the Dom Fernando covered more than 100,000 nautical miles. That’s equivalent to five circumnavigations of the globe. From 1940, the frigate trained disadvantaged youth until it burned down in 1963. Completely renovated to the 1850 standard, the Dom Fernando is one of the oldest preserved warships in the world and was a star attraction at Expo 98, with 900,000 visitors. Since then, it has led a rather quiet life in the docks of Cacilhas. If the ticket seller is currently buying sandwiches, just wait a moment. Next door, there’s a submarine that is now also open to the public. But we haven’t been there yet.