The station was separated from the
Pacific Station in 1838 in order to combat the slave trade in
Brazil. In its early years it was often referred to as the " and River Plate Station". In the mid-1840s Rear Admiral
Samuel Inglefield took decisive action to keep the
Paraná River open so ensuring continuity of trade during the
Uruguayan Civil War. The station suffered significant ship reductions between 1869 and 1874. From 1870 it was commanded by a
captain, designated the "senior officer", and comprised just three gunboats although it had responsibility for the Western Atlantic from Brazil South. The squadron's only permanent base was a coal station at
Stanley on the
Falkland Islands. It was disbanded altogether in 1905. Its area of operation, along with that of the Pacific Station, was ultimately absorbed, in 1928, into that of the
North America and West Indies Station, with its main base at the
Royal Naval Dockyard in the
Imperial fortress colony of
Bermuda, which was redesignated the
America and West Indies Station. ==Commanders==