Remember France Antarctique? The colonizers initially named Ilha das Cobras, Isle des Chèvres. Later, the island was granted to Pedro Rodrigues in 1565 by Estácio de Sá. Rodrigues cultivated provisions there.
Let’s rewind to 1574. Ilha das Cobras appeared on Luís Teixeira’s map as Ilha da Madeira. Jacques de Vau de Claye’s map also referenced Isle des Chèvres in 1579.
In 1583, João Gutierrez Valério, a slave trader, acquired the island. He used Ilha das Cobras as a depot. By 1589, the monks from Mosteiro de São Bento bought the island. The price? 15.300 réis. Afterward, it was called Ilha dos Monges.
Why Ilha das Cobras? The monastery’s chronicle explains it best. The island was like Rubraria in Tarragona. It had many venomous snakes. Monks saw snakes swimming to the monastery. They even found them in their beds but they never hurt anyone. Soon, they disappeared.
Nicolas Van Geelkerken mapped the island between 1622 and 1623. He identified it as Ilha dos Monges. At that time Brazil was a strategic target for the Dutch West India Company. They coveted sugar, timber, leather, tobacco, and cotton.
The Dutch captured Salvador in 1624 causing panic in Rio. They reinforced the citadel’s walls on Morro do Castelo. Then, Governor Martim Correia de Sá ordered the fortification of Ilha das Cobras. Construction of the Fortaleza de São José da Ilha das Cobras began in 1623. It was small but strategically placed. It guarded the city’s old anchorage.
Flash forward to 1638. Maurício de Nassau attacked Salvador. Governor Salvador Correia de Sá e Benevides, Martim’s son, built a new fortress. Indigenous labor from Mosteiro de São Bento completed it in 1639. It was renamed Forte de Santa Margarida da Ilha das Cobras. This honored Margarida de Saboia.
From 1702 to 1709, they constructed Baluarte de Santo Antônio. It was the third fortress on Ilha das Cobras. It defended Rio’s old port. Pedro Gomes Chaves’s map from 1710-1711 shows Fortaleza de Santa Margarida and Baluarte de Santo Antônio.
Following a French invasion in 1711, a new fortress was needed. But construction started only in 1725. Governor Luís Vahía Monteiro secured funds to protect gold and diamond shipments. Military engineer José da Silva Paes designed a new defense. He made the island’s slopes inaccessible.
The island’s defense included three forts. Forte de Santa Margarida now São José included service buildings. There was Casa do Governador, a chapel, a gunpowder house, and a guardhouse. Forte do Pau da Bandeira stood in the center. Forte de Santo Antônio was at the lower end.
In 1809, the Royal Marine Brigade was stationed at Fortaleza de São José da Ilha das Cobras. They remain there today. Now, Ilha das Cobras houses the Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro. It also hosts a naval hospital, a medical center, and the Marine Corps headquarters. The island is also home to a prison.