Richard H. Kirk

Portuguese Brazilian
Luso-brasileiro

File:Portuguese immigrants in Brazil.jpg Portuguese immigrants in Brazil
Regions with significant populations
All Brazil
Languages
Portuguese
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic
Related ethnic groups
White Brazilian, Portuguese people

Portuguese-Brazilian (Portuguese: luso-brasileiro) is a Portuguese born citizen with Brazilian citizenship or a Brazilian born citizen of Portuguese ancestry or citizenship.

Brazil has long been a melting pot for a wide range of cultures. From colonial times Portuguese Brazilians have favoured assimilation and tolerance for other peoples, and intermarriage was more acceptable in Brazil than in most other European colonies. Portuguese are the main European ethnic group in Brazil, and most Brazilians can trace their ancestry to an ethnic Portuguese or a mixed-race Portuguese. Portuguese Brazilians first appeared in the colonial period, in the 16th century, as settlers and colonists, though most arrived in the early 20th century, as immigrants.

Immigration to Brazil

The first Portuguese settlers celebrating the first Mass in Brazil among the Indigenous.

Portuguese colony in Recife, in 17th century.

Existing since 1553, the Biquinha of Anchieta was one of the main water sources of the population of the city of São Vicente, State of São Paulo, through the centuries.

First Portuguese (1500-1700)

On 22 April 1500, the first Portuguese explorer, Pedro Álvares Cabral, disembarked in what nowadays is Porto Seguro, Brazil. Initially, the Portuguese believed they had discovered an island, but soon learned they had come across a vast new continent. Unbeknownst to them at the time, they were laying the foundations of what was to become the world's most populous Lusophone nation. Throughout the early 16th century, Portuguese emigration to Brazil remained very low. Only a small quantity of Portuguese, often living among the Amerindians, actually settled in Brazil.

Some of the earliest colonists for whom we have written records are João Ramalho and Caramuru. At the time the Portuguese Crown was focused on securing its highly lucrative Portuguese Empire in Asia, and so did little to protect the newly discovered lands in the Americas from foreign interlopers. As a result, many pirates, mainly French, began dealing in pau brasil with the Amerindians. This situation worried Portugal, which in the 1530s started to colonize Brazil, principally for defensive reasons. The towns of Cananéia (1531), São Vicente (1532) and Iguape (1538) date from that period.

By the mid-16th century, Portuguese colonists were already settling in significant numbers, mainly along the coastal regions of Brazil. Numerous cities were established, including Salvador (1549), São Paulo (1554) and Rio de Janeiro (1565). While some Portuguese settlers came willingly, many were degredados. Nevertheless, these deported convicts were not thieves and murderers, as is often believed, but rather tended to be people guilty of committing "crimes" against religion or morality. Thus, they were primarily New Christians, individuals accused of witchcraft or sorcery, reprobate priests, blasphemers, homosexuals and adulturers. In other words, these exiles were condemned for "criminal" behavior that would not be considered illegal by modern standards.

During the 17th century, most Portuguese settlers in Brazil were relatively wealthy people who moved to the northeastern part of the country to establish the first sugar plantations. Some were Sephardi Jews who had been expelled from Portugal by the Inquisition. The city of Recife, in particular, had a thriving Jewish community, which founded the first synagogue in the Americas, i.e. the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue. Some Portuguese-Gypsies also immigrated to Brazil during this period.

Most of these Portuguese were men. The number of Portuguese women in Brazil during the colonial period was low. For that reason, many Portuguese men had relationships with Amerindian women and, later, with female African slaves, which then resulted in racial miscegenation.

Growing Portuguese immigrants (1700-1850)

In the 18th century, immigration to Brazil from Portugal increased dramatically. Many gold and diamond mines were discovered in the region of Minas Gerais, which then led to the arrival of not only Portuguese, but also of native-born Brazilians. Regarding the former, most were peasants from the Minho region in Northern Portugal. In the beginning, Portugal stimulated the immigration of minhotos to Brazil. After some time, however, the number of departures was so great that the Portuguese Crown had to establish barriers to further immigration. Most of these Portuguese involved in the goldrush ended up settling in Minas Gerais and in the Center-West region of Brazil, where they founded dozens of cities such as Ouro Preto, Congonhas, Mariana, São João del Rei, Tiradentes, Goiás, etc.

Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais an 18th century colonial city and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Between 1748 and 1756, approximately 6,000 settlers from the Azores Islands arrived in the Southern Region of Brazil. The majority, composed of small farmers and fishermen, settled along the litoral of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul states. Florianópolis and Porto Alegre were founded by Azoreans, who accounted for over half of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina's population in the late 18th century. Unlike previous trends, in the south entire Portuguese families came to seek a better life for themselves, not just men. In passing, a small settlement of Macanese people from Macau also occurred. During this period, the number of Portuguese women in Brazil increased, which resulted in a larger white population. This was especially true in Southern Brazil.

A significant immigration of very rich Portuguese to Brazil occurred in 1808, when Queen Maria I of Portugal and her son and regent, the future João VI of Portugal, fleeing from Napoleon, relocated to Brazil with 15,000 members of the royal family, nobles and government and established themselves in Rio de Janeiro. They returned to Portugal in 1821, and in 1822 Brazil became independent. Thousands of ordinary Portuguese settlers left Brazil after independence.

Waves of Portuguese immigrants (1850-1960)

After independence from Portugal in 1822, Portuguese emigration to Brazil continued and, instead of a decrease, the Portuguese population actually increased significantly. In 1850, the traffic of African slaves to Brazil was forbidden, and the Brazilian Government worked towards attracting European immigration to Brazil in order to obtain workers for the coffee plantations that were spreading enormously in the region. Consequently, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, hundreds of thousands of Portuguese immigrated to Brazil. Most of them were peasants from the rural areas of Portugal and tended to immigrate as entire families. The majority settled in urban centers, mainly in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, working mainly as small traders.

Portuguese teenagers waiting for a ship to immigrate to Brazil: early 20th century.

They and their descendants were quick to organize themselves and establish mutual aid societies (such as the Casas de Portugal), hospitals (e.g. Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo, Beneficência Portuguesa de Porto Alegre, Hospital Português de Salvador, Real Hospital Português de Recife, etc.), libraries (e.g. Real Gabinete Português de Leitura in Rio de Janeiro and in Salvador), newspapers, magazines and even major sports clubs with football teams, including the Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama and Associação Atlética Portuguesa in Rio de Janeiro, the Associação Portuguesa de Desportos in São Paulo, the Associação Atlética Portuguesa Santista in Santos, and the Associação Portuguesa Londrinense in Londrina.

Low Portuguese immigration (1960-present)

In the 1930s, the Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas created a law that established difficulties to the settlement of immigrants in Brazil. This law made Portuguese immigration decline. However, between 1940 and 1960 (when António de Oliveira Salazar ruled as dictator), thousands of Portuguese, even from their African possessions and Macau, still immigrated to Brazil. After that, with the growth of the Portuguese economy, very few Portuguese immigrants settled in Brazil.

Portuguese immigration in numbers

Portuguese immigration to Brazil from the beginning of colonization, in 1500, until present day in 1990 Source: Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE)
	Decade
Nationality	1500-1700	1701-1760	1808-1817	1827-1829	1837-1841	1856-1857	1881-1900	1901-1930	1931-1950	1951-1960	1961-1967	1981-1991
Portuguese	100,000	600,000	24,000	2,004	629	16,108	316,204	754,147	148,699	235,635	54,767	4,605

Portuguese-Brazilian identity

Portuguese Brazilians in Salvador, Bahia celebrating Saint Gonçalo, in 1718.

Brazil was colonized by Portugal, and both countries share many cultural aspects: the language, the main religion and many traditions. After independence, the elite of Brazil, even though they were of Portuguese descent, tried to diminish the Portuguese culture in the new country, and establish a Brazilian culture, different from that of Portugal. Portuguese immigration to Brazil has occurred since the 15th century. Since then, the Portuguese mixed a lot with other ethnic groups of Brazil, first with the Amerindians later with Africans.

From the 19th century, their Portuguese-Brazilian descendants mixed with other European immigrants in Brazil, such as Italians and Germans. For all these reasons, many Portuguese-Brazilians of old ancestry do not know or are not interested about their Portuguese ancestry and do not have much affinity with Portugal, different from other more recent immigrant groups in Brazil, such as Japanese Brazilians, who are for the most part, still connected with Japan.

The more recent immigrant groups of Portuguese in Brazil keep a close relation with Portugal and the Portuguese culture mainly through the Casa de Portugal. Several events also take place to keep a cultural interchange between Portuguese and Brazilian students, and between the Portuguese community in Brazil and Portugal. There are many Portuguese associations "Associações Portuguesas" in Brazil. Other institutions preserve the cultural heritage of the Portuguese community like the "Real Gabinete" and the Liceu Literário.

Today, news online like "Mundo Lusíada" keeps the Portuguese immigrants informed about the many cultural events of the Portuguese community in Brazil. A recent analysis suggests that the more recent Portuguese immigrants (from 1900 onwards) had "low rates of intermarriage with native Brazilians and other immigrants".

Identity Merge

Many Portuguese who had a significant importance in the Brazilian culture are known in Brazil as being Brazilians. This way, much of the Portuguese people influence and contribution has been systematically erased from the Brazilian culture. Tomás Antônio Gonzaga, Padre António Vieira, Carmen Miranda are some of the Portuguese who are presented as Brazilians. The Brazilian culture is in large part derived from the Portuguese culture and for the similarities between both cultures and the relatively easy integration of immigrants in Brazil, makes it nearly impossible for some to keep a separate Portuguese identity. Starting from the second generation, Portuguese descendants start seeing themselves as purely Brazilians.

Portuguese language

Map of Brazilian Portuguese dialects.

Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. Portuguese is the first language of the vast majority of Brazilians, but numerous foreign words have expanded the national lexicon. The Portuguese language has undergone many transformations, both in the mother country and in its former colony, since it was first introduced into Brazil in the 16th century. The two countries have largely standardized their spellings, but pronunciations, vocabularies, and the meanings of words have diverged so widely that it now may be easier for some Brazilians to understand Spanish-language films from other Latin American countries than films from Portugal. Italians, Germans, Japanese, and Spanish-speaking immigrants have introduced new words and expressions in Brazilian Portuguese, such as the ubiquitous expression tchau ("farewell"), which was adopted from the Italian ciao. Foreign products and technologies have introduced additional terms.

Brazil's indigenous peoples speak dozens of discrete languages, and some authorities suggest that the greatest divergence of the Brazilian language from the Portuguese can be traced to initial contact with the Amerindians. The Tupian, or Tupi-Guarani, language group has especially influenced Brazilian place-names and added perhaps thousands of words and expressions to Brazilian Portuguese. Tupian was the principal language of Brazil's native peoples before European contact, and it became the "lingua franca" between Amerindians and Portuguese traders, missionaries, adventurers, and administrators, it was widely used in the Amazon region and western Brazil until the 19th century. The Tupian influence also caused Brazilians to enunciate more clearly and to use more nasal speech patterns than their Iberian counterparts.

Portuguese in the world

Portuguese in the world.

The Portuguese in contemporary Brazil

Portuguese people are the largest immigrant community in Brazil. In the 2000 census, there were 213,203 Portuguese immigrants in Brazil, most of them immigrated in the mid-20th century, and the community is in full decline, because the majority of them are old people.

In recent years, some Portuguese pensioners have been moving to Brazil, mainly to the northeast, attracted by the tropical weather and the beaches.

The Brazilians in contemporary Portugal

The biggest immigrant community in Portugal, after the Ukrainian, is the Brazilian one with more than 67 thousand Brazilians resident in 2004 and an estimated 80 thousand in 2007. More than 40 thousand also living in Portugal are waiting to be legalized. (Casa do Brasil 2007)

How many Brazilians have Portuguese ancestry?

File:Portuguese in Brazil.jpg

Portuguese immigrants in Brazil.

Most Brazilians have some degree of Portuguese ancestry: some may trace their ancestry to 16th century settlers, while others have recent Portuguese origin, dating back to the mid-20th century. Due to the intensive race mixing, Brazilians of different races may have Portuguese ancestry: Whites, Blacks, Amerindians and mixed-race people.

There are no official figures about how many Brazilians have Portuguese roots. This is mainly because the immigration to Brazil from Portugal is very old, making it almost impossible to find correct numbers. Even with Portuguese heritage, many Portuguese-Brazilians identify themselves as being simply Brazilians, since Portuguese culture was a dominant cultural influence in the formation of Brazil (like many Americans which though of British ancestry will never describe themselves as of British extraction, but only as "Americans").

In 1872, there were 3.7 million Whites in Brazil (the vast majority of them of Portuguese ancestry), 4.1 million mixed-race people (mostly of Portuguese-Amerindian-African ancestry) and 1.9 million Blacks. These numbers give the percentage of 80% of people with total or partial Portuguese ancestry in Brazil in the 1870s. At that time, Portuguese were the only Europeans to settle Brazil in large numbers, since other groups only started arriving in large numbers after 1875 (mainly Italians).

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a new large wave of immigrants from Portugal arrived. From 1881 to 1991, over 1.5 million Portuguese immigrated to Brazil. In 1906, for example, there were 133,393 Portuguese-born people living in Rio de Janeiro, comprising 16% of the city's population. Rio is, still today, considered the largest "Portuguese city" outside of Portugal itself.

Genetic studies also confirm the strong Portuguese racial influence in Brazilians. According to a study, at least half of the Brazilian population's Y Chromosome comes from Portugal. Black Brazilians have an average of 48% non-African genes, most of them may come from Portuguese ancestors.

Some notable Portuguese-Brazilians

Portuguese-Brazilian flag.

Most notable Brazilians are at least partially of Portuguese descent. However, for the sake of brevity, the following list only mentions a few well-known individuals who were either born in Portugal or who have close Portuguese ancestry, i.e. 1st or 2nd generation.

Historic colonial Portuguese figures of Brazil

The following Portuguese people were either born in Brazil when it belonged to the Portuguese empire, thus Portuguese, or in Kingdom of Portugal. At this time to be a Brazilian was to be a Portuguese born in Brazil.

• Baltazar Fernandes (explorer and early colonist; born in Portugal);
• Bartolomeu de Gusmão (colonial inventor and naturalist; born in Brazil);
• Brás Cubas (founder of Santos; born in Portugal);
• Caramuru (early settler of Bahia; born in Portugal);
• Estácio de Sá (soldier and co-founder of Rio de Janeiro; born in Portugal);
• Manuel da Nóbrega (co-founder of São Paulo; born in Portugal);
• Mem de Sá (Governor-General of Brazil and founder of Rio de Janeiro; born in Portugal);
• Pedro Teixeira (explorer of the Amazon region; born in Portugal);
• Tiradentes (revolutionary who participated in the Inconfidência Mineira; born in Brazil).

Historic Brazilian figures

File:Pasaporte de un inmigrante portugués de 1927.jpg

Portuguese passport used by Portuguese immigrant in 1927.

Although still born under the Portuguese empire,with the independence of Brazil they acquired the Brazilian nationality:

• Dom Pedro I (Brazilian emperor; Portuguese father);
• Frei Galvão (first Brazilian saint; Portuguese father);
• Domitila, Marchioness of Santos (noblewoman and mistress of Pedro I of Brazil; Azorean-Portuguese grandparents);
• Dom Pedro II (Brazilian emperor; Portugues father);
• José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva (naturalist and statesman; Portuguese grandparents).

Business

• Abílio dos Santos Diniz (chairman and former owner of Grupo Pão de Açúcar; Portuguese parents);
• Albino Sousa Cruz (founder of Souza Cruz; Portuguese-born);
• Antônio Alberto Saraiva (businessman and founder of Habib's; Portuguese-born);
• Antônio Ermírio de Moraes (businessman, chairman of Grupo Votorantim; Portuguese grandfather);
• Dimas de Melo Pimenta (founder of DIMEP; Portuguese-born);
• Fernando Augusto Saraiva (geologist chairman and former owner of (GEA) Ambiental SS Ltda; Portuguese parents);
• Irineu Evangelista de Sousa (Barão de Mauá) (industrialist; Azorean-Portuguese grandparents)
• Joaquim Inácio da Fonseca Saraiva (founder of Livraria Saraiva bookstore chain; Portuguese-born);
• José Francisco Correia (Conde de Agrolongo) (industrialist and philanthropist; Portuguese-born);
• Luís Dumont Vilares (businessman, founder of Indústrias Villares, manufacturer of Atlas elevators; Portuguese-born);
• Manoel Saraiva (businessman, co-founder of (MTE) Metalúrgica Termo Elétrica; Portuguese-born)
• Maria da Conceição Tavares (economist; Portuguese-born);
• Valentim dos Santos Diniz (businessman, founder of Grupo Pão de Açúcar; Portuguese-born).

Literature

Olinda, metropolitan region of Recife, in the State of Pernambuco, founded by Portuguese.

• Aluísio Azevedo (writer; Portuguese ancestry - Brazilian-born);
• Antônio Gonçalves Dias (poet; Portuguese father);
• Padre António Vieira (writer; Portuguese-born);
• Augusto Boal (playwright and essayist; Portuguese parents);
• Augusto Emílio Zaluar (poet, writer and journalist; Portuguese-born);
• Basílio da Gama (poet and writer; Portuguese father);
• Casimiro de Abreu (writer; Portuguese father);
• Cecília Meireles (writer; Portuguese grandparents);
• Cláudio Manuel da Costa (writer; Portuguese father);
• Coelho Neto (writer; Portuguese father);
• Euclides da Cunha (writer; grandparents);
• Gregório de Matos (colonial poet; Portuguese father);
• João Ubaldo Ribeiro (writer; Portuguese paternal grandfather);
• Machado de Assis (writer, Portuguese mother);
• Manuel Antônio de Almeida (writer; Portuguese parents);
• Rubem Fonseca (writer; Portuguese parents);
• Tomás Antônio Gonzaga (poet and involved in the Inconfidência Mineira; Portuguese-born).

Music

Paço Imperial, 18th century palace that served as seat for the colonial government, King John IV of Portugal and the two Emperors of Brazil, is located in Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro.

• Andre da Silva Gomes (colonial composer; Portuguese-born);
• Arthur Napoleão dos Santos (composer and pianist);
• Carmen Miranda (singer and Hollywood actress; Portuguese-born);
• César Guerra-Peixe (composer and conductor; Portuguese father);
• Daniela Mercury (singer; Portuguese father);
• Dóris Monteiro (singer; Portuguese parents);
• Fernanda Abreu (singer and songwriter; Portuguese father);
• Francisco de Morais Alves (singer; Portuguese parents);
• Aníbal Augusto Sardinha (Garoto) (violinist and composer; Portuguese parents);
• Joanna (singer and songwriter; Portuguese father);
• João Ricardo Carneiro Teixeira Pinto (principal composer of Secos & Molhados; Portuguese-born);
• Marcos Portugal (colonial composer; Portuguese-born);
• Nelson Gonçalves (singer; Portuguese parents);
• Nilton Bastos (sambista; Portuguese father);
• Roberto Leal (singer; Portuguese-born).

Sciences

• Alberto Pacheco (Professor at São Paulo State University specialist on cemetery contamination and groundwater; Portuguese-born).

Entertainment

Portuguese Hospital in the city of Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul.

• Amácio Mazzaropi (actor and film-maker; Portuguese mother);
• Antunes Filho (theater director de teatro; Portuguese parents);
• Bibi Ferreira (actress; Portuguese maternal grandmother);
• Elza Gomes (actress; Portuguese-born);
• Eugênia Câmara (actress; Portuguese-born);
• Fabiana Oliveira (actress; Portuguese father);
• Fernanda Montenegro (Oscar-nominated actress; Portuguese grandparents);
• Lília Cabral (atriz, mãe portuguesa);
• Maria Adelaide Amaral (playwright; Portuguese-born);
• Marília Pêra (actress; Portuguese father);
• Procópio Ferreira (actor; Portuguese parents);
• Ruth Escobar (actress and businesswoman; Portuguese-born);
• Ruy Guerra (director; Portuguese-born);
• Thiago Lacerda (actor; Portuguese grandparents);
• Anderson Deco (Portuguese footballer; unknown).

Azorean Portuguese house in the city of Florianópolis, State of Santa Catarina.

Fine Arts

• Antônio Francisco Lisboa (Aleijadinho) (colonial sculptor and architect; Portuguese father);
• Agostinho da Piedade (first sculptor in Brazil; Portuguese-born);
• Artur Barrio (sculptor and artist; Portuguese-born);
• Christiano Júnior (photographer; Portuguese-born);
• Joaquim Insley Pacheco (photographer; Portuguese-born);
• Joaquim Tenreiro (plastic artist, Portuguese-born);
• Manuel da Costa Ataíde (colonial painter; Portuguese parents);
• Mestre Valentim (colonial sculptor; Portuguese father);
• Ricardo Severo (architect who introduced the neocolonial style; Portuguese-born);
• Victor Meirelles (painter; Azorean-Portuguese parents).

Government and politics

• Afonso Augusto Moreira Pena (Portuguese ancestry- Brazilian citizenship);

  

  President Getúlio Vargas was of Azorean-Portuguese descent.

• Antônio Carlos Magalhães (politician; paternal Portuguese grandparents);
• Artur da Costa e Silva (Brazilian president; Portuguese parents);
• Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazilian president; Portuguese grandparents);
• Getúlio Vargas (Brazilian president; descendant of Azorean-Portuguese);
• José Gomes Temporão (Health Minister in the Lula administration, Portuguese-born);
• Mário Covas (politician; Portuguese grandparents);
• Nicolau Pereira de Campos Vergueiro (Senador Vergueiro) (politician; Portuguese-born);
• Rodrigues Alves (Brazilian president; Portuguese grandparents);
• Rubem Fonseca (Brazilian writer).

References

See also

• Portuguese
• Geographic distribution of Portuguese
• Demography of Brazil
• White Brazilians
• White Latin American
• Brazilian people

References

• Casa do Brasil quer imigração em debate na cimeira UE-Brasil

External links

• Article about immigration to Brazil
• IBGE, in Portuguese
• Casa do Brasil quer imigração em debate na cimeira UE-Brasil