Page 264 - Il Mediterraneo quale elemento del Potere Marittimo - Atti 16-18 settembre 1996

250 LUIZ P. MACEDO CARVALHO

climates. To the North there is a cçmpaèt geographic group adjoining Western
Europe, encompassing Spain, the South of France, the ltalian peninsula, the Bal-
kan countries, Greece and Turkey. To the South, from East to W est, there unfold
the Middle East, Egypt, and the Maghreb- comprising Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and
M o rocco.
According to Mahan, the strategie value of a naval disposition is the result
"of its location, strength and means", the first factor being the most significant,
"since it derives from the nature of things, while the last two, when scarce, can
be provided artificially, in part or totally". The vulnerability of a position is com-
pensateci by fortificarions. Advanced planning minimizes the lack of natura! defen-
sive condirions. However, che h urna n mi n d cannot alter a geographic position that
is beyond the limits of strategie effectiveness.
The northeastern bulge ofBrazil siruated between che meridians 40° and 34°
W an d parallels O an d 12 ° S, overlooking che Atlantic, projects towards the Por-
0
ruguese an d Spanish islands a t the entrance to the Mediterranean, an d W est Afri-
ca, which it faces.
The South Atlantic is Mare Nostrum. Portuguese nav.igators crossed ir co reach
Brazil. Brazil trades with the rest of the world across its waters, and the main po-
pula~ion centers are concentrateci along its coast. The Adantic continues to repre-
sent our natura! means of communication with the Northern Hemisphere, the African
continent, Antarctica, and the Indian and Pacific oceans.
With Northwest Africa it forms the Atlantic "canyon" referred to by Presi-
dent Roosevelt in World War II as "the strategie bridge" in view of the distance
from the region between Natal and Dakar: 3,500 km, as the crow flies (the Ameri-
cas' closest point to Africa), an d an eight hour flight a t that time. Belém, a t rhe
mouth ofthe Amazon, is 4,000 km from Cape Verde and 6,000 km from the strait
of Gibraltar, the entrance to the Mediterranean.
Shortening che distance between the Brazilian Northeast and Africa stili fur-
ther, there is che Fernando de Noronha archipelago, 300 km from Recife and 195
km from Cape Sao Roque, situated at 3° 51•s and 32° and 25·w, apart from che
islands of Sao Pedro and Sao Paulo. The main island of the archipelag(}, where its
main anchorage and airport are located, is approximately 5 km long.
2
With an area of 234,399 km , 2. 75% of the total area of the country, the
bulge of the Brazilian Northeast gained significant strategie importance for access
to the Mediterranean. lt was made noteworthy by the airports and ports of N a tal
and Recife, apart from the Belém terminai at the mouth of the Amazon.
"Brazil dominates the South Atlantic in such a way that it is unnecessary to
obtain the right co use bases in other counrries ... capable of susraining anti-submarine
warfare with landbased aircraft ... From the moment that a ship rounds the Cape
of Good Hope (35° S) until it reaches 15° N, on its way to New York, London
or Gibraltar, it will always be closest co Brazilian ports", noted Rear-Admiral Cla-
rence A. Hill, Jr., of the United States Navy, at the Brazilian Naval War College
in 1970.