American Brazilian
Encyclopedia
An American Brazilian is a Brazilian person of full, partial or predominant North American ancestry, or a US
–born person immigrant in Brazil.
The Confederados are a cultural sub-group in the nation of Brazil. They are the descendants of people who fled from the Confederate States of America
to Brazil with their families after the American Civil War
.
At the end of the American Civil War in the 1860s, a migration of Confederates
to Brazil began, with the total number of immigrants estimated in the thousands. They settled primarily in Southern and Southeastern Brazil: in Americana
, Campinas
, São Paulo, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste
, Juquiá
, New Texas, Xiririca, Rio de Janeiro
and Rio Doce. But in Santarém, Pará
– in the north on the Amazon River
– and in the states of Bahia
and Pernambuco
received a significant number of American immigrants
.
At the end of the American Civil War, the Emperor Dom Pedro II
of Brazil
was interested in having cotton
crops due to the high prices and, through Freemasonry
contacts, recruited experienced cotton farmers for his nation. Dom Pedro offered the potential immigrants subsidies and tax breaks. General Robert E. Lee
advised Southerners not to flee to South America
but many ignored his advice and set out to establish a new life away from the destruction of war.
Many Southerners
who took the Emperor's offer had lost their land during the war, were unwilling to live under a conquering army, or simply did not expect an improvement in the South's economic position. In addition, Brazil would not outlaw slavery
until 1888. Although a number of historians say that the existence of slavery was an appeal, Alcides Gussi, an independent researcher of State University of Campinas, found that only four families owned a total of 66 slaves from 1868 to 1875. The Confederates
were the first organized Protestant group to settle in Brazil.
The American
Immigration to Brazil
was started within that year of 1865, in small ship
s and sailboat
s hurriedly reshaped, "motivated more by the pain and feelings of despair than by the vessels themselves." They were exhausted men, women and children, many were very injured, others were sick and depressed, but they were determined to give a new start to their lives in faraway Brazil.
Between 1865 and 1885, almost ten thousand White American
s coming mainly from Alabama
, Texas
, Louisiana
, South Carolina
, Mississippi
, Ohio
, Virginia
, Florida
, Georgia
, North Carolina
, Arkansas
, Kentucky
and Tennessee
ran ashore in the port
s of Belém
, Vitória, Rio de Janeiro
and Santos. Once they arrived, they had to redouble their so weakened energies and confront other faraway and tough trips around the land until they could reach the region of Campinas, whose climate
and lands are similar to those of the Southern United States
.
It is unknown just how many immigrants went to Brazil as refugees from the war, but unpublished research in the records of the port of Rio de Janeiro by Betty Antunes de Oliveira counts some 20,000 Americans
that entered Brazil from 1865 to 1885. Of those, an unknown number returned to the United States as conditions improved there. Many immigrants renounced their U.S. citizenship and adopted Brazilian citizenship.
The immigrants settled in various places in Brazil ranging from the urban areas of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to the northern Amazon
region (especially Santarém) and Paraná
in the south. But most of the Confederados settled in the area around present-day Santa Bárbara d'Oeste
and Americana – this, derived from the name Vila dos Americanos. This was the name given by natives in the region because of its American population.
The first original Confederados known to arrive was the senator William H. Norris
of Alabama
—the colony at Santa Bárbara d'Oeste
is sometimes called the Norris Colony. Dom Pedro's program was judged a success for both the immigrants and the Brazilian government. The settlers brought with them modern agricultural techniques and new crops such as watermelon
, and pecan
s that soon spread among the native Brazilian farmers. Some foods of the American South also crossed over and became part of general Brazilian culture such as chess pie
, vinegar pie, and southern fried chicken.
The original Confederados continued many elements of American culture and established the first Baptist
churches in Brazil. They also established public schools and provided education to their female children, which was unusual in Brazil at the time.
The Confederate emigres
were some 20,000 Southerners, from 12 southern states (i.e. Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi) who preferred the Brazilian wilderness to life under Yankee
rule after the Civil War
.
The first generation of Confederados remained an insular community, but by the third generation, most of the families had intermarried with native Brazilians or immigrants of other origins. Descendants of the Confederados increasingly spoke the Portuguese language
and identified themselves as Brazilians. As the area around Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and Americana turned increasingly to the production of sugar cane and society became more mobile, the Confederados drifted to cities. Today, only a few descendant families still live on the original land owned by their ancestors. The descendants of the original Confederados are mostly scattered throughout Brazil but maintain the headquarters of their descendant organization at the Campo Cemetery, in Santa Bárbara D'Oeste.
The descendants maintain affection for the Confederate flag even though they all consider themselves completely Brazilian. Modern Confederados distance themselves from any of the racial controversies.
In Brazil, the Confederate flag has not previously had the racial stigma that has been attached to it in the United States
. Many descendants are of mixed race and reflect the varied racial categories that make up Brazilian society in their physical appearance. Recently the Brazilian residents of Americana
, now of primarily Italian-descent, have removed the Confederate flag from the city's crest citing the fact that Confederados now make up only 10% of the city's population. The Confederate flag was associated with the city in the wake of Jimmy Carter's visit to the region.
In 1972, then Governor (and future President) Jimmy Carter
of Georgia
visited the city of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and visited the grave of his wife Rosalyn's great-uncle who was one of the original Confederados.
Many Confederados have traveled to the United States at the invitation of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
, an American descendants' organization, to visit Civil War battlefields, attend reenactments, or see where their ancestors lived in the United States.
"...My father took part in the 1st Battalion that left Gonzalez. He was hurt in a battle in Virginia
and sent back home, but he soon afterwards recovered and went back to the war
. He was confined to prison
and released. He returned home and once again returned to the battle field. "...In those days of shocking terror
, both rebuilding and staying there turned impossible. Daily crime
s surrounded us and there was nothing we could do..."
"Our farm
was beautiful, had several acres, good house
s, horse
s and cattle
. We had a corn mill, cotton
-benefiting machineries (...) The Brazilian government received us very well, hosted us on the Immigrant Hotel, thus giving us shelter and food. It was my duty to explain that we were not immigrants. We were refugees. War
refugees."
"I have sugar cane, cotton
, pumpkin
s, squash, five kinds of sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, cornfield peas, snap beans, butter bean
s, ochre, tomatoes and fine chance at tobacco
. I have a great variety of fruit
s on my place. I have made enough to live well on and am better pleased than other."
"I remember when I was 4 years old, I was lost in a textile
factory
and I couldn't tell the people
anything because I only spoke English
", recalled an engineer
and third-generation descendant
. "I didn't learn Portuguese
until I started school
."
"They came here because they felt that their 'country
' had been invaded and their land
confiscated," said great-granddaughter of the original McKnight family that moved to Brazil from Texas
, in the Southern United States
. "To them, there was nothing left there. So, they came here to try to re-create what they had before the war
." "I grew up listening to the stories. They were angry and bitter. When they talked about it, moving here, the war, leaving their home
s, it was always a very sore subject for them."
Today, Brazil is home to many American schools.
The descendants still foster a connection with their history through the Fraternity of American Descendants, a descendant organization dedicated to preserving the unique mixed culture. The Confederados also have an annual festival, called the Festa Confederada which is dedicated to fund the Campo Cemetery. The festival is marked by Confederate flags, traditional dress of Confederate uniforms and hoop skirts, food of the American south with a Brazilian flair, and dance
s and music
popular in the American south
during the antebellum period.
s change what they grow. But some farmers in the American Midwest are changing where they grow. The Midwest is the traditional center of American agriculture. In Brazil, undeveloped land can cost two hundred forty dollars a hectare
, or less. That is a little more than one-tenth the cost of land
in the Midwest. Some of the farmers see low-cost land in Brazil as a way to expand their operations. And it may serve other purposes. It may help keep farming in the family, by letting other family members have their own farm
. Crops like soybean
s and cotton
grow well in Brazil's climate. The South American country has grown into a major agricultural exporter. It is the second largest exporter of soybean
s after the United States. In the last five years, millions of hectares have been newly planted in Brazil. Growth has been especially high in Central States with grassland known as "cerrado
". It usually gets rain
in summer and is dry
in winter.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
–born person immigrant in Brazil.
The Confederados are a cultural sub-group in the nation of Brazil. They are the descendants of people who fled from the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
to Brazil with their families after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
At the end of the American Civil War in the 1860s, a migration of Confederates
Confederados
The Confederados are an ethnic sub-group in Brazil descended from some 10,000 Confederate Americans who immigrated chiefly to the area of the city of São Paulo, Brazil after the American Civil War...
to Brazil began, with the total number of immigrants estimated in the thousands. They settled primarily in Southern and Southeastern Brazil: in Americana
Americana, São Paulo
Americana is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. As of 2006, its population was 203,845.The original settlement developed around the local railway station, founded in 1875, and the development of a cotton weaving factory in a nearby farm.After 1866, several Confederate...
, Campinas
Campinas
Campinas is a city and municipality located in the coastal interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. is the administrative center of the meso-region of the same name, with 3,783,597 inhabitants as of the 2010 Census, consisting of 49 cities....
, São Paulo, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste
Santa Bárbara d'Oeste
Santa Bárbara d'Oeste is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. , it has a population of 189,573. The elevation is 570 meters....
, Juquiá
Juquiá
Juquiá is a municipality/county in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 was 22,344 and the area is 822.88 km². The elevation is 17 m. This place name comes from the Tupi language.-People from Juquiá:...
, New Texas, Xiririca, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and Rio Doce. But in Santarém, Pará
Pará
Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
– in the north on the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
– and in the states of Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
and Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
received a significant number of American immigrants
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
.
Original Confederados
Pedro II of Brazil
Dom Pedro II , nicknamed "the Magnanimous", was the second and last ruler of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of...
of Brazil
Brazilian Empire
The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pedro I and his son Dom Pedro II, both members of the House of Braganza—a...
was interested in having cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
crops due to the high prices and, through Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
contacts, recruited experienced cotton farmers for his nation. Dom Pedro offered the potential immigrants subsidies and tax breaks. General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
advised Southerners not to flee to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
but many ignored his advice and set out to establish a new life away from the destruction of war.
Many Southerners
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
who took the Emperor's offer had lost their land during the war, were unwilling to live under a conquering army, or simply did not expect an improvement in the South's economic position. In addition, Brazil would not outlaw slavery
Slavery in Brazil
Slavery in Brazil shaped the country's social structure and ethnic landscape. During the colonial epoch and for over six decades after the 1822 independence, slavery was a mainstay of the Brazilian economy, especially in mining, cotton, and sugar cane production.Brazil obtained an estimated 35% of...
until 1888. Although a number of historians say that the existence of slavery was an appeal, Alcides Gussi, an independent researcher of State University of Campinas, found that only four families owned a total of 66 slaves from 1868 to 1875. The Confederates
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
were the first organized Protestant group to settle in Brazil.
The American
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
Immigration to Brazil
Immigration to Brazil
Immigration to Brazil is the movement to Brazil of foreign persons to reside permanently. It should not be confused with the colonisation of the country by the Portuguese, or with the forcible bringing of people from Africa as slaves....
was started within that year of 1865, in small ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s and sailboat
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
s hurriedly reshaped, "motivated more by the pain and feelings of despair than by the vessels themselves." They were exhausted men, women and children, many were very injured, others were sick and depressed, but they were determined to give a new start to their lives in faraway Brazil.
Between 1865 and 1885, almost ten thousand White American
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
s coming mainly from Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
ran ashore in the port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
s of Belém
Belém
Belém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...
, Vitória, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and Santos. Once they arrived, they had to redouble their so weakened energies and confront other faraway and tough trips around the land until they could reach the region of Campinas, whose climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
and lands are similar to those of the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
.
It is unknown just how many immigrants went to Brazil as refugees from the war, but unpublished research in the records of the port of Rio de Janeiro by Betty Antunes de Oliveira counts some 20,000 Americans
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
that entered Brazil from 1865 to 1885. Of those, an unknown number returned to the United States as conditions improved there. Many immigrants renounced their U.S. citizenship and adopted Brazilian citizenship.
The immigrants settled in various places in Brazil ranging from the urban areas of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to the northern Amazon
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
region (especially Santarém) and Paraná
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
in the south. But most of the Confederados settled in the area around present-day Santa Bárbara d'Oeste
Santa Bárbara d'Oeste
Santa Bárbara d'Oeste is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. , it has a population of 189,573. The elevation is 570 meters....
and Americana – this, derived from the name Vila dos Americanos. This was the name given by natives in the region because of its American population.
William Hutchinson Norris
William Hutchinson Norris is known for being a founder of the city of Americana, and a significant figure in the history of the Confederados....
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
—the colony at Santa Bárbara d'Oeste
Santa Bárbara d'Oeste
Santa Bárbara d'Oeste is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. , it has a population of 189,573. The elevation is 570 meters....
is sometimes called the Norris Colony. Dom Pedro's program was judged a success for both the immigrants and the Brazilian government. The settlers brought with them modern agricultural techniques and new crops such as watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
, and pecan
Pecan
The pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...
s that soon spread among the native Brazilian farmers. Some foods of the American South also crossed over and became part of general Brazilian culture such as chess pie
Chess pie
Chess pie is a particularly sugary dessert characteristic of Southern U.S. cuisine. According to James Beard's American Cookery chess pie was brought from England originally, and was found in New England as well as Virginia...
, vinegar pie, and southern fried chicken.
The original Confederados continued many elements of American culture and established the first Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
churches in Brazil. They also established public schools and provided education to their female children, which was unusual in Brazil at the time.
Immigration in numbers
American immigration to Brazil by State up to January (1867)| State | Immigrants |
|---|---|
| São Paulo | 800 |
| Espírito Santo Espírito Santo Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity... |
400 |
| Rio de Janeiro | 200 |
| Paraná Paraná (state) Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,... |
200 |
| Pará Pará Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state... |
200 |
| Minas Gerais Minas Gerais Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the... |
100 |
| Bahia Bahia Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size... |
85 |
| Pernambuco Pernambuco Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the... |
85 |
| Total | 2,070 |
The Confederate emigres
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
were some 20,000 Southerners, from 12 southern states (i.e. Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi) who preferred the Brazilian wilderness to life under Yankee
Yankee
The term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
rule after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Descendants of the immigrants
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and identified themselves as Brazilians. As the area around Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and Americana turned increasingly to the production of sugar cane and society became more mobile, the Confederados drifted to cities. Today, only a few descendant families still live on the original land owned by their ancestors. The descendants of the original Confederados are mostly scattered throughout Brazil but maintain the headquarters of their descendant organization at the Campo Cemetery, in Santa Bárbara D'Oeste.
The descendants maintain affection for the Confederate flag even though they all consider themselves completely Brazilian. Modern Confederados distance themselves from any of the racial controversies.
In Brazil, the Confederate flag has not previously had the racial stigma that has been attached to it in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Many descendants are of mixed race and reflect the varied racial categories that make up Brazilian society in their physical appearance. Recently the Brazilian residents of Americana
Americana, São Paulo
Americana is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. As of 2006, its population was 203,845.The original settlement developed around the local railway station, founded in 1875, and the development of a cotton weaving factory in a nearby farm.After 1866, several Confederate...
, now of primarily Italian-descent, have removed the Confederate flag from the city's crest citing the fact that Confederados now make up only 10% of the city's population. The Confederate flag was associated with the city in the wake of Jimmy Carter's visit to the region.
In 1972, then Governor (and future President) Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
visited the city of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and visited the grave of his wife Rosalyn's great-uncle who was one of the original Confederados.
Many Confederados have traveled to the United States at the invitation of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans is an American national heritage organization with members in all fifty states and in almost a dozen countries in Europe, Australia and South America...
, an American descendants' organization, to visit Civil War battlefields, attend reenactments, or see where their ancestors lived in the United States.
Confederado phrases in Brazil
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and sent back home, but he soon afterwards recovered and went back to the war
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He was confined to prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
and released. He returned home and once again returned to the battle field. "...In those days of shocking terror
State terrorism
State terrorism may refer to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to acts of violence by a state against its own people.-Definition:...
, both rebuilding and staying there turned impossible. Daily crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s surrounded us and there was nothing we could do..."
"Our farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
was beautiful, had several acres, good house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
s, horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s and cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
. We had a corn mill, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
-benefiting machineries (...) The Brazilian government received us very well, hosted us on the Immigrant Hotel, thus giving us shelter and food. It was my duty to explain that we were not immigrants. We were refugees. War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
refugees."
"I have sugar cane, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
s, squash, five kinds of sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, cornfield peas, snap beans, butter bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
s, ochre, tomatoes and fine chance at tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. I have a great variety of fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s on my place. I have made enough to live well on and am better pleased than other."
"I remember when I was 4 years old, I was lost in a textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
and I couldn't tell the people
People
People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:* as the plural of person or a group of people People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:*...
anything because I only spoke English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
", recalled an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and third-generation descendant
Lineal descendant
A lineal descendant, in legal usage, refers to a blood relative in the direct line of descent. The children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc...
. "I didn't learn Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
until I started school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
."
"They came here because they felt that their 'country
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
' had been invaded and their land
Real property
In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
confiscated," said great-granddaughter of the original McKnight family that moved to Brazil from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. "To them, there was nothing left there. So, they came here to try to re-create what they had before the war
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
." "I grew up listening to the stories. They were angry and bitter. When they talked about it, moving here, the war, leaving their home
Home
A home is a place of residence or refuge. When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either...
s, it was always a very sore subject for them."
Education
- São Paulo: Escola GraduadaAssociação Escola Graduada de São PauloAssociação Escola Graduada de São Paulo, also called Graded School, is an American school in São Paulo, Brazil. It is most commonly referred to as Graded School. The school opened on October 17, 1920 in a small schoolhouse on Avenida São João...
, Chapel International School, Pan American Christian Academy, St. Francis College, American School of Campinas; - Rio de Janeiro: American School of Rio de Janeiro, ICS - International Christian School - Rio, Our Lady of Mercy School;
- Federal DistrictBrazilian Federal DistrictThe Federal District is set apart for Brasília, the capital of Brazil. Located in a region called Planalto Central, or Central Plateau, the Federal District is divided in 29 administrative regions. Brasilia - place where the three branches of the Federal Government are located - is the main...
: American School of Brasilia, Brasilia International School; - Minas GeraisMinas GeraisMinas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
: American School of Belo Horizonte; - Rio Grande do SulRio Grande do SulRio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
: Pan American School of Porto Alegre; - ParanáParaná (state)Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
: International School of Curitiba; - BahiaBahiaBahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
: Pan American School of Bahia; - PernambucoPernambucoPernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
: American School of Recife; - ParáParáPará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
: Amazon Valley Academy; - Amazonas: International School of Amazonas.
Culture
The center of Confederado culture is the Campo Cemetery in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, where most of the original Confederados from the region were buried. Because of their Protestant religion, they established their own cemetery. The Confederado community has also established a Museum of Immigration at Santa Bárbara d'Oeste to present the history of Brazilian immigration and highlight its benefits to the nation.The descendants still foster a connection with their history through the Fraternity of American Descendants, a descendant organization dedicated to preserving the unique mixed culture. The Confederados also have an annual festival, called the Festa Confederada which is dedicated to fund the Campo Cemetery. The festival is marked by Confederate flags, traditional dress of Confederate uniforms and hoop skirts, food of the American south with a Brazilian flair, and dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
s and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
popular in the American south
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
during the antebellum period.
Recent Immigration
To increase profits, some farmerFarmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s change what they grow. But some farmers in the American Midwest are changing where they grow. The Midwest is the traditional center of American agriculture. In Brazil, undeveloped land can cost two hundred forty dollars a hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
, or less. That is a little more than one-tenth the cost of land
Real property
In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
in the Midwest. Some of the farmers see low-cost land in Brazil as a way to expand their operations. And it may serve other purposes. It may help keep farming in the family, by letting other family members have their own farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
. Crops like soybean
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
s and cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
grow well in Brazil's climate. The South American country has grown into a major agricultural exporter. It is the second largest exporter of soybean
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
s after the United States. In the last five years, millions of hectares have been newly planted in Brazil. Growth has been especially high in Central States with grassland known as "cerrado
Cerrado
The Cerrado, is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, particularly in the states of Gioas and Minas Gerais...
". It usually gets rain
Rain
Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
in summer and is dry
Dry
Dry or dryness may refer to:* Lack of water* Prohibiting alcohol * Dryness , the lack of sugar in a drink, especially an alcoholic one * Dryness * Dryness...
in winter.
Notable American Brazilians
- Bob FalkenburgBob FalkenburgRobert Falkenburg is a former American amateur tennis player and entrepreneur. He is best known for winning the 1948 men's singles Wimbledon Championship and for introducing soft ice cream and American fast food to Brazil in 1952...
- Jaime Nelson Wright
- Charles Frederick HarttCharles Frederick HarttCharles Frederick Hartt was an Canadian-American geologist, paleontologist and naturalist who specialized in the geology of Brazil.-Exploration in Brazil:...
- Christine FernandesChristine FernandesChristine Fernandes Alves is an American Brazilian actress.Born in Chicago, Illinois, to Brazilian parents, Christine moved to Brazil at 4 years old. At 13 she started playing volleyball and became federated. Soon after she began modeling. At 17 she moved back to the United States to attend High...
- David NeelemanDavid NeelemanDavid G. Neeleman is a Brazilian-born American entrepreneur who has founded three commercial airlines, Morris Air, JetBlue Airways and Azul Brazilian Airlines.-Biography:...
- Dorothy StangDorothy StangSister Dorothy Mae Stang, S.N.D., was an American-born, Brazilian member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She was murdered in Anapu, a city in the state of Pará, in the Amazon Basin of Brazil...
- Eduardo DoughertyEduardo DoughertyFr. Edward John Dougherty, SJ is an American-Brazilian Jesuit priest, educator, communicator and religious leader of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement in Brazil....
- Ellen Gracie NorthfleetEllen Gracie NorthfleetEllen Gracie Northfleet is a Brazilian judge of American descent. She is the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Brazil and the Court's first female president....
- Dionne WarwickDionne WarwickDionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
- Elsie LessaElsie LessaElsie Lessa was a Brazilian journalist and writer of American descent.She was hired as a reporter for the newspaper O Globo in 1946. From 1952 till her death in May 2000, she wrote continuously for the paper...
- Fabiana SemprebomFabiana SemprebomFabiana Semprebom is a Brazilian fashion model. She is the daughter of a Brazilian father and an Italian-American mother and she is engaged to Argentinian tennis player Guillermo Ignacio Cañas...
- Ivan LessaIvan LessaIvan Pinheiro Themudo Lessa is a Brazilian journalist and writer of American descent. Born in São Paulo, he is the son of the journalist and writer Elsie Lessa and the writer Orígenes Lessa and the father of the British writer Juliana Foster....
- Jeffrey Abrahams
- José LewgoyJosé LewgoyJosé Lewgoy was an American-Brazilian television, film and theatre actor.He was born in Veranópolis, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to a Russian father and an American mother, who met in New York. He died in Rio de Janeiro. He was considered one of the best actors in Brazil, and was usually typecast...
- Julio Cézar Ribeiro Vaughan
- Orville Adalbert DerbyOrville Adalbert DerbyOrville Adalbert Derby was an American geologist who worked in Brazil.-Education:Derby studied geology at the Cornell University, obtaining his degree in 1873...
- Pérola Byington
- Rita LeeRita LeeRita Lee Jones Carvalho , simply known as Rita Lee, is a Brazilian rock singer and composer. Lee continues to be a popular figure in Brazilian entertainment, where she is also known for being an animal rights activist and a vegetarian...
- Warwick Kerr
- Stuart AngelStuart AngelStuart Edgar Angel Jones was an American Brazilian guerrilla fighter captured, tortured and killed by officers of the Brazilian military dictatorship.-Biography:...
- Kátia LundKátia LundKátia Lund is an American-Brazilian film director and screenwriter. Her most notable work was as co-director of the film City of God....
- Lewis Joel GreeneLewis Joel GreeneLewis Joel Greene is an American Brazilian biochemist, scientist, university professor and editor of the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research....
- Llewellyn Ivor PriceLlewellyn Ivor PriceLlewellyn Ivor Price was one of the first Brazilian paleontologists.-Biography:Price's work contributed not only to the development of Brazilian but also to global paleontology...
- William Hutchinson NorrisWilliam Hutchinson NorrisWilliam Hutchinson Norris is known for being a founder of the city of Americana, and a significant figure in the history of the Confederados....
- Alessandra Maestrini
- Sergio Hondjakoff
See also
- Brazil – United States relations
- Immigration to BrazilImmigration to BrazilImmigration to Brazil is the movement to Brazil of foreign persons to reside permanently. It should not be confused with the colonisation of the country by the Portuguese, or with the forcible bringing of people from Africa as slaves....
- White BrazilianWhite BrazilianWhite Brazilians make up 48.4% of Brazil's population, or around 92 million people, according to the IBGE's 2008 PNAD . Whites are present in the entire territory of Brazil, although the main concentrations are found in the South and Southeastern parts of the country...
- White AmericanWhite AmericanWhite Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
- Brazilian AmericanBrazilian AmericanBrazilian Americans are Americans of Brazilian origin. There were an estimated 351,914 Brazilian Americans as of 2008, according to the United States Census Bureau. Another source gives an estimate of some 800,000 Brazilians living in the U.S...