Barra Lighthouse

The Barra Lighthouse or Santo Antônio Lighthouse is located at the old tip of the Standard, current Ponta de Santo Antônio, in Salvador , on the coast of the state of Bahia , Brazil . The primitive lighthouse was the second existing in the entire American continent, preceded only by the lighthouse of the old Palace of Friburgo in Recife. 

The present tower , of 1839 , is truncated in masonry with lantern and gallery, has 22 meters of height and was painted with bands black and white. The lighthouse is built inside the Fort of Santo Antônio da Barra .

History

In the seventeenth century , the port of Salvador was one of the busiest and most important in the continent , and it was necessary to assist the ships that arrived in the Bay of All Saints by trading black slaves or in search of Brazilwood and other hardwoods, law, sugar , cotton , tobacco and other items to supply the European consumer market.

At the end of this century, after the tragic shipwreck of the Galeão Santíssimo Sacramento , captain of the fleet of the General Company of Commerce of Brazil , on a sandbank in front of the mouth of the Rio Vermelho , on May 5 , 1668 , the Santo Antônio da Barra Fort was rebuilt from 1696 , during the General Government of João de Lencastre (1694-1702), to receive a lighthouse - a quadrangular turret surmounted by a glazed bronze lantern , fed with whale oil -, the second one in Brazil and throughout the Continent ( 1698 ), preceded only by the lighthouse of the old Palace of Freiburg( 1642 ) in Recife .  It happened to be called Vigia da Barra or Barra Lighthouse .

The log book of English privateer William Dampier in 1699 reports: " The entrance to the Bay of All Saints is defended by the imposing Fort of St. Anthony, whose lanterns lit and suspended for guidance of the ships, we saw at night. "

The Ordinance Decree of July 6, 1832 ordered the installation of a more modern headlamp, manufactured in England , replacing the old one. At the end of the works, inaugurated on December 2, 1839 , the new catoptric light equipment was erected on a masonry tower , with a range of eighteen nautical miles in clear weather.

In 1937 , the old "Barbier" system (lighting the kerosene ) was replaced by electric light, celebrating the first centenary of the lighthouse on December 2 , 1939 . Today, the lighthouse is consecrated as one of the icons of the Bahian capital, inspiring artists and poets.

Source: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farol_da_Barra_(Salvador)