I wrote about the sinking of the Brazilian ship Paran by the German U-boat the UB-32.

I chose to write about it because this event is one of the main reasons that Brazil fought in
WWI. The Germans sunk several other Brazilian ships, but this ship was the last ship
that was sunk before Brazil joined the war. Brazil didnt play a major role in WWI, so
this incident was one of the biggest events that involved Brazil during the WWI timeline.
Additionally, I wrote about this episode, because I felt that I could use aspects of an event
similar to this in a poem or story.
According to The Minor Powers During World War One Brazil, Until October 26th,
1917 Brazil remained neutral in the war due to the numerous amount of patriotic German
immigrants in its country and the impending effect that a conflict between Germany and
Brazil would have on Brazil (Simpson). As stated by Schulze in the article Brazil,
The outbreak of the First World War seriously affected Brazils foreign trade and
illustrated its dependence on exportation of primary goods, mainly trading with the
United States, Great Britain and Germany. Trade with Germany was particularly
interrupted which affected exports of coffee and rubber. But already in 1916, Brazil was
able to reestablish its trade and profit from the Allied demand for goods which were vital
to the war. This shift in trading activities impacted Brazilian foreign policy: The country
tried to forge closer ties with the U.S. which accepted, in return, Brazils geopolitical
importance in South America. (Schulze) There for Brazil had more of a motive to side
with the Allies. After a final push from the Germans in February of 1917, Brazil fought
on the side of the Allies during WWI. On October 26, 1917 Brazil declared war on
Germany due to German submarine attacks on Brazilian ships.
As stated in an article on First World War.com, the Germans declared unrestricted
submarine warfare on February 1st, 1917 (Duffy). Off the coast of Europe, German UBoats were sinking innocent merchant, cargo, and passenger ships from numerous
countries. Several other Brazilian ships, such as the Tijuc, were sunk by German U-boats
before the Paran. The Paran was a cargo ship sailing from Rio de Janeiro to Bafleur,
France, which resulted in the boat crossing into waters infested with German U-boats.
The event as stated in the book Latin America and the War is, On April 5, 1917, one day
before the United States declared war on Germany, a German submarine sank the
Brazilian steamer Paran some twelve miles off the coast of France without warning of
any kind. Not only was no attempt made to save the crew, but also five shots were fired
into the Brazilian ship just before she sank. Three members of the crew perished; the
remainder were rescued by two French destroyers and a British cargo boat (Martin).
Based off of information from Uboat.net, the ship The Paran was sunk by the German

U-boat UB-32, which was commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Max Viebeg on April 4,
1917 (Helgason).
Due to the small amount of aid the Brazilians supplied, they had little impact on the
global outcome of the war. In 1918, Brazil sent a small combat group and nearly a
hundred paramedics to France. More important was the Diviso Naval em Operaes de
Guerra (Brazilian Naval Division for War Operations, or DNOG) under Admiral Pedro
Frontin (1867-1939). This naval division, consisting of eight ships, was supposed to join
the British forces, but the Brazilian fleet only arrived at Gibraltar on 10 November 1918,
one day before the armistice. On the African coast, the division had suffered from the
Spanish influenza. http://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/brazil However, this
event caused Brazil to fight in WWI, and additionally on the side of the Allies.
However, the paramedics that Brazil sent to France may have added to the number
of wounded soldiers that survived their injuries.
Works Cited
Duffy, Michael. "Firstworldwar.com." First World War.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/uboat_bernstorff.htm>.
Helgason, Gumundur. "Uboat.net." Kapitnleutnant Max Viebeg. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
<http://uboat.net/wwi/men/commanders/376.html>.
Martin, Percy Alvin, PH.D. Latin America and the War. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1925. Print.
Schulze, Frederik. "Brazil." New Articles RSS. N.p., 31 Aug. 2015. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
<http://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/brazil>.
Simpson, Matt. "Firstworldwar.com." First World War.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/minorpowers_brazil.htm>.