High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A South American dreadnought race between Argentina, Brazil, and Chile was kindled in 1907 when the Brazilian government announced their intention to purchase three dreadnoughts—powerful battleships whose capabilities far outstripped older vessels in the world`s navies—from the British company Armstrong Whitworth. Previous Argentine–Chilean naval arms races, combined with the overthrow of the Brazilian monarchy and subsequent naval rebellions, had left the Brazilian navy well behind the other two major South American navies in terms of quality and total tonnage. Brazilian politicians moved to address this imbalance in 1904, as part of an overarching goal of becoming an international power. Three small battleships were ordered in 1906, but after the appearance of HMS Dreadnought in 1906, the Brazilian government canceled all three in favor of the new "dreadnought" type. Two ships of the Minas Geraes class were laid down immediately with a third to follow.