Name John Pritz | ||
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Commodore John Charles Pritz (Portuguese: João Carlos Pedro Pritz) was a Danish mariner who had a career with the Brazilian Imperial Navy during the Cisplatine War.
Biography
Pritz was part of the First Division, also called División Bloqueo, of the Brazilian navy operating in the waters of the Rio de la Plata during the Cisplatine War. The mission of this squadron, initially commanded by James Norton but eventually taken over by Pritz, was to blockade the primary Argentine port of Buenos Aires. Although the squadron had superior resources compared to the Argentine navy, commanded by William Brown, it was unable to stop the Argentines from routinely escaping.
While in command of the frigate Dona Paula, Pritz participated in the naval battles of Los Pozos on June 11, 1826 and of Quilmes on June 30, 1826.
On April 8, 1827, Pritz—by that time a comodore—was one of the participants in the Battle of Monte Santiago, in which the superior firepower of the Brazilians forced two grounded Argentine brigs to rely on the support of a schooner.