From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brazilian society is made up of a confluence of people of Indigenous, Portuguese, and African descent. Other major significant groups include Italians, Spaniards, Germans, Lebanese, and Japanese.
Latin Europe accounted for four-fifths of the arrivals (2.25 million Portuguese, 1.5 million Italians, and 700,000 Spaniards).
Brazil has seen greater racial equality
over time. According to a recent review study, "There has been major,
albeit uneven, progress in these terms since slavery, which has
unfortunately not wholly translated into equality of income: only in
2011 did the black-to-white income ratio eclipse its 1960 level,
although it appears to be at an all-time high. Education and migration
were important factors in closing the gap, whereas school quality and
discrimination may explain its persistence."
Historic background
The Brazilian population was formed by the influx of Portuguese settlers and African slaves, mostly Bantu and West African populations (such as the Yoruba, Ewe, and Fanti-Ashanti), into a territory inhabited by various indigenous South American tribal populations, mainly Tupi, Guarani and Ge.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in what is known as Great Immigration, new groups arrived, mainly of Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and German origin, but also from Japan, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
When the Portuguese reached what is now called Brazil in 1500,
its native population was probably composed of about 2.5 million
Amerindians.
Up to 1532, the Portuguese made no real effort to colonise the land,
limiting to the establishment of "feitorias" to organise the trade of
brazilwood.
When it became clear that this policy would result in the land
being taken by other European powers, namely the French and the Dutch,
the Portuguese Crown decided to effectively occupy the territory by
fostering agricultural activities, especially sugarcane crops, in
Brazil. This resulted not only in the growth of the population of Portuguese origin, but also in the introduction of African slavery in Brazil.
During the colonial period, the Portuguese prohibited any influx of other Europeans to Brazil.
In consequence, the Portuguese and their descendants constituted the
overwhelming majority of the White population of colonial Brazil.
However, in the Southern Brazilian areas disputed between Portugal and
Spain, a genetic study suggests that the predominant genomic ancestry of
the Brazilian Gaúchos (inhabitants of the Pampas) may be Spanish, not Portuguese.
Also a small number of Dutch settlers remained in the Northeast after the Portuguese retook Dutch Brazil and may have contributed to the demographic composition of Northeastern Brazil. Even then and after the country's independence in 1822, immigration to Brazil was mainly Portuguese, though a significant number of German immigrants settled in the Southern region.
European, Arab and East Asian immigration
Combined with the European demographic crisis,
this resulted in the immigration of about 5 million people, mostly
European peasants, in the last quarter of the 19th century and first
half of the 20th. The majority of these immigrants were either Portuguese or Italian (about 1,500,000 each), though significant numbers of Spaniards, which possibly include Portuguese emigrating from Vigo on false passports (690,000), Germans (250,000), Japanese (170,000), Middle Easterns (100,000, mostly people from what are now Syria and Lebanon arriving on Turkish passports), and Eastern Europeans (mostly Poles and Ukrainians arriving on Russian passports) also immigrated.
There are few reliable statistics on the Brazilian population before the 1872 census, in Brazil of 1872 were:
- 3,787,289 Whites (European mainly)
- 4,188,737 Mixed-race (Pardo)
- 1,954,452 Blacks (African)
In the 2010 census, Whites were the largest single group, but not the majority. What has happened since the first half of the 20th century, is that new categories were added, such as East Asian and Indigenous. In 2010, the ethnic backgrounds of Brazilians were:
- 91,051,646 Whites (European mainly)
- 82,277,333 Mixed-race (Pardo)
- 14,517,961 Blacks (African)
- 2,084,288 East Asians (Japanese mainly)
- 817,963 Indigenous (Native)
These figures do not yet reflect the influx of the five million immigrants mentioned above, since up to 1872 only about 270,000 immigrants had arrived in Brazil. According to Judicael Clevelário's calculations, the total population of immigrant origin in 1872 would be of about 240,000 people; consequently, the total White population of non-immigrant origin for that year would be of about 3,540,000 people at least.
Origin
|
Period
|
1830–1855
|
1856–1883
|
1884–1893
|
1894–1903
|
1904–1913
|
1914–1923
|
1924–1933
|
Portuguese
|
16,737
|
116,000
|
170,621
|
155,542
|
384,672
|
201,252
|
233,650
|
Italians
|
—
|
100,000
|
510,533
|
537,784
|
196,521
|
86,320
|
70,177
|
Spaniards
|
—
|
—
|
113,116
|
102,142
|
224,672
|
94,779
|
52,405
|
Germans
|
2,008
|
30,000
|
22,778
|
6,698
|
33,859
|
29,339
|
61,723
|
Japanese
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
11,868
|
20,398
|
110,191
|
Levantines
|
—
|
—
|
96
|
7,124
|
45,803
|
20,400
|
20,400
|
Others
|
—
|
—
|
66,524
|
42,820
|
109,222
|
51,493
|
164,586
|
Abolition of slavery (1888)
There seems to be no easy explanation of why slaves were not employed as wage workers at the abolition of slavery.
One possibility is the influence of race-based ideas from the second
half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, which were based on theories
of White superiority. On the other hand, Brazilian latifundiaries
had been using slave manpower for centuries, with no complaints about
the quality of this workforce, and there were not important changes in
Brazilian economy or work processes that could justify such sudden
preoccupation with the "race" of the labourers.
Their embracing of those new identitarian ideas, moreover, proved quite
flexible, even opportunist: with the slowdown of Italian immigration
since 1902 and the Prinetti Decree, Japanese immigration started in
1908, with any qualms about their typically non-European origins being
quickly forgotten.
An important, and usually ignored, part of this equation was the
political situation in Brazil, during the final crisis of slavery.
According to Petrônio Domingues, by 1887 the slave struggles pointed to a
real possibility of widespread insurrection. On October 23, in São
Paulo, for instance, there were violent confrontations between the
police and rioting Blacks, who chanted "long live freedom" and "death to
the slaveowners". The president of the province, Rodrigues Alves, reported the situation as following:
The massive flight of slaves from several fazendas threatens, in some places in the province, public order, alarming the proprietaries and the productive classes.
Uprisings erupted in Itu, Campinas, Indaiatuba, Amparo, Piracicaba
and Capivari; ten thousand fugitive slaves grouped in Santos. Fights
were happening in daylight, guns were spotted among the fugitives, who,
instead of hiding from police, seemed ready to engage in confrontation.
It was as a response to such events that, on May 13, 1888,
slavery was abolished, as a means to restore order and the control of
the ruling class, in a situation in which the slave system was almost completely disorganised.
As an abolitionist newspaper, O Rebate, put it, ten years later,
Hadn't the slaves fled massively from the plantations,
rebelling against the masters ... Hadn't they, in more than 20,000, gone
to the famous quilombo of Jabaquara (out of Santos, itself a
center of abolitionist agitation), and maybe they would today be still
slaves ... Slavery ended because slaves no longer wanted to be slaves,
because slaves rebelled against their masters and against the law that
enslaved them ... The law of 13 May was nothing more than the legal
recognition – so that public authority wasn't discredited – of an act
that had already been accomplished by the mass revolt of slaves.
Another factor, also usually neglected, is the fact that, regardless
of the racial notions of the Brazilian elite, European populations were
emigrating in great numbers – to the United States, to Argentina, to
Uruguay – which African populations certainly were not doing, at that
time. In this respect, what was new in "immigration to Brazil" was not
the "immigration", but the "to Brazil" part. As Wilson do Nascimento
Barbosa puts it,
The collapse of slavery was the economic result of three
conjugated movements: a) the end of the first industrial revolution
(1760–1840) and the beginning of the so-called second industrial
revolution (1880–1920); b) the lowering of the reproduction costs of the
White man in Europe (1760–1860), due to the sanitary and
pharmacological impact of the first industrial revolution; c) the rising
costs of African Black slaves, due to the increasing reproduction costs
of Black men in Africa.
Racial and ethnic theories
Immigration discussion and policy in the 19th century
In Brazil, particularly in São Paulo, the dominant idea was that
national workers were unable to develop the country, and that only
foreign workers would be able to work in a regime of "free" (i.e., wage)
labour. The goal was to "whiten" Brazil through new immigrants and
through future genetic mixing in which former slaves would disappear by
becoming "Whiter."
In 1878, ten years before the abolition of slavery, Rio de Janeiro hosted the Congresso Agrícola
(Agricultural Congress) and that meeting reflected what the Brazilian
elite (especially coffee planters) expected from their future workers.
Although national workers were an option to some of the participants,
especially to those not from São Paulo, most of them, under the lead of
coffee planters from São Paulo, agreed that only immigration would be
good to Brazil, and, moreover, European immigration. The Congresso Agrícola showed that the elite was convinced that Europeans were racially and culturally superior to other races.
Although discussions were situated in a theoretical field,
immigrants arrived and colonies were founded through all this period
(the rule of Pedro II), especially from 1850 on, particularly in the Southeast and Southern Brazil. These discussions culminated in the Decree 528 in 1890, signed by Brazil's first President Deodoro da Fonseca, which opened the national harbors to immigration except for Africans and Asians.
This decree remained valid until October 5, 1892 when, due to pressures
of coffee planters interested in cheap manpower, it was overturned by
Law 97, which allowed the entry of Japanese immigrants to work on the coffee plantations, because, until that moment, the Brazilian ports could receive Whites only, who came mainly from Europe and the Middle East.
As a result of those discussions and policies, Brazil experienced immigration mostly from countries such as Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Poland, Russia, Ukraine,
etc, during the end of the empire and the beginning of the republic
period (late 19th and early 20th centuries). Later immigration, from
1908 on, was not so much influenced by that race discussions and Brazil
attracted, besides Europeans, more immigrants from Lebanon, Syria and Japan, for example.
Oliveira Vianna and the ideology of "Whitening"
Racial whitening, or "whitening" (branqueamento), is an ideology that was widely accepted in Brazil between 1889 and 1914, as the solution to the "Negro problem."
The Brazilian government, as was commonplace at that time, endorsed
positions expressed by Brazilian intellectuals and scientists. An
example is a text, written by Oliveira Vianna,
that was issued as introductory material to 1920 Census results. Many
pages of Vianna's work were dedicated to the discussion of a "pure race"
of white Brazilians. According to the text, written by Oliveira Vianna, the first Portuguese colonists who came to Brazil were part of the blond Germanic
nobility that ruled Portugal, while the dark-haired "poor" Portuguese
only came to Brazil later, in the 17th and especially the 18th century.
According to Oliveira Vianna, the blond Portuguese of Germanic
origin were "restless and migratory", and that's why they emigrated to
Brazil. On the other hand, the Portuguese of darker complexions were of Celtic or Iberian
origin and came when the Portuguese settlement in Brazil was already
well established, because, according to him, "The peninsular brachyoids,
of Celtic race, or the dolicoides, of Iberian
race, of sedentary habits and peaceful nature, did not have, of course,
that mobility nor that bellicosity nor that spirit of adventure and
conquest."
The text reported the different levels of intelligence
found among blacks and highlights the existence of "lazy blacks" (Gêgis
and Angolans) or "laborious blacks" (Timinins, Minas, Dahomeyanos) and
also the existence of "peaceful and obedient blacks" and of "rebels and
fierce" ones. Vianna also compares the "morality" and intellectual level
found among blacks and reports that Gêgis, Krumanos and Cabindas
revealed the "mental inferiority, typical from the lowest types of the
black race."
Gilberto Freyre's work
In 1933, Brazilian anthropologist Gilberto Freyre published his famous book Casa-Grande & Senzala (The Masters and the Slaves). The book appeared at a moment when there was a widespread belief among social scientists that some races were superior to other ones, and in the same period when the Nazi Party in Germany was on the rise. Freyre's work was very important to change the mentality, especially of the white Brazilian elite,
who considered the Brazilian people as "inferior" because of their
African and Amerindian ancestry. In this book, Freyre argued against the
idea that Brazil would have an "inferior race" because of the
race-mixing.
Then, he pointed the positive elements that permeate the
Brazilian cultural formation because of genetic mixing (especially
between Portuguese,
Amerindians and Blacks). Freyre's book has changed the mentality in
Brazil, and the mixing of races, then, became a reason to be a national
pride. However, Freyre's book created the Brazilian myth of the Racial democracy,
which held that Brazil was a "post-racial" country without
identitarianism or desire to preserve one's European ancestry. This
theory was later challenged by several anthropologists who claim that,
despite the race-mixing, the white Brazilian population still occupies
the top of the Brazilian society, while Blacks, Indians and mixed-race
people are largely found in the poor population.
Gilberto Freyre on the criticisms that he received
The life of Gilberto Freyre, after he published Casa-Grande & Senzala,
became an eternal source of explanation. He repeated several times that
he did not create the myth of a racial democracy and that the fact that
his books recognized the intense mixing between "races" in Brazil did
not mean a lack of prejudice or discrimination.
He pointed out that many people have claimed the United States to have been an "exemplary democracy" whereas slavery and racial segregation were present throughout most of the history of the United States.
"The interpretation of those who want to place me among the
sociologists or anthropologists who said prejudice of race among the
Portuguese or the Brazilians never existed is extreme. What I have
always suggested is that such prejudice is minimal ... when compared to
that which is still in place elsewhere, where laws still regulate
relations between Europeans and other groups".
"It is not that racial prejudice or social prejudice related to
complexion are absent in Brazil. They exist. But no one here would have
thought of "white-only" Churches. No one in Brazil would have thought of
laws against interracial marriage ... Fraternal spirit is stronger
among Brazilians than racial prejudice, colour, class or religion. It is
true that equality has not been reached since the end of slavery ...
There was racial prejudice among plantation owners, there was
social distance between the masters and the slaves, between whites and
blacks ... But few wealthy Brazilians were as concerned with racial
purity as were the majority of Anglo-Americans in the Old South."
Racial legislation
During the 19th century, there were some instances of legally formalized racism.
In 1809, when a provincial militia was formed in Rio Grande do Sul, it
was established that the members should be "White", this being defined
as "those whose great-grandparents were not Black, and whose parents
were free-born".
On July 28, 1921, representatives Andrade Bezerra and Cincinato Braga proposed a law whose Article 1 provided: "It is prohibited in Brazil immigration of individuals from the black race."
On October 22, 1923, representative Fidélis Reis produced another
project of law on the entry of immigrants, whose fifth article was as
follows: 'It
is prohibited the entry of settlers from the black race in Brazil and,
to Asians, it will be allowed each year, a number equal to 5% of those
existing in the country.(...)'. Both bills were decried as identitarian and rejected by the Brazilian Congress.
In 1945, the Brazilian government issued a decree favoring the entrance of European immigrants in the country: "In
the admission of immigrants, the need to preserve and develop, in the
ethnic composition of the population, the more convenient features of
their European ancestry shall be considered".
Genetic mixing between ancestral groups
The degree of genetic mixing between ancestral groups in Brazil has
been very high, as Brazil was colonized by male Portuguese adventurers
who tended to procreate with Amerindian and African women.
This made possible a myth of "racial democracy" that tends to obscure a
widespread discrimination connected to certain aspects of physical
appearance: aspects related to the concept of cor
("colour"), used in a way that is roughly equivalent to the English
term "race" but based on a combination of skin colour, hair type, shape
of nose and lips, and even clearly cultural phenomena such as
neighborhood of residence, linguistic habits and class. It is possible
for siblings to belong to different "colour" categories.
So a "White" Brazilian may be understood as a person perceived and
socially accepted as "White", and thus "white" potentially regardless of
ancestry or sometimes even immediate family.
Nonetheless, and in conjunction with recent emphases on genetic
testing, a variety of social movements, government programs, and
academic and popular initiatives have led to an increasing emphasis on
historicity and ancestry in racial identification in Brazil and this has
tended to counteract what many commentators have long sought to
characterize—perhaps incorrectly, perhaps correctly, as a Brazilian
racial mutability or malleability.
The patterns of racialized "assortative mating"
in Brazil are complex. The genome of the first generation offspring of
European fathers and African mothers was 50% European and 50% African,
but the distribution of the genes that affect visible features (skin
colour, hair type, lip shape, nose shape) was random. Those of the
second generation with features considered closer to a "White"
stereotype would have tended to procreate with others like themselves,
while those considered closer to "Black" would also have tended to
procreate among themselves; in the long term producing "White" and
"Black" groups with surprisingly similar proportions of European and
African ancestry.
IBGE's racial categories
Race in Brazil, 2010
Brancos (Whites) (47.7%)
Pardos (Multiracial) (43.1%)
Pretos (African) (7.6%)
Amarelos (East Asians) (1.1%)
Indígenas (Indigenous) (0.4%)
Não declarados (Undeclared) (0%)
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), which has conducted censuses in Brazil since 1940, racially classifies the Brazilian population in five categories: Branco
(White), "Pardo" (Multiracial), Preto (Black), Amarelo/Asiático
(Yellow/Asian), and Indígena (Indigenous). As in international practice, individuals are asked to self identify within these categories.
The following are the results for the different Brazilian censuses, since 1872:
Brazilian Population, by Race, from 1872 to 20101 (Census Data)
Race or Color |
Brancos ("whites") |
Pardos ("mixed") |
Pretos ("blacks") |
Morenos "Evens"
|
Amarelos ("yellow"/"East Asian") |
Indigenous |
Undeclared |
Total
|
18722 |
7,390,048 |
2,380,165 |
1,910,077 |
1,090,646 |
- |
209,480 |
- |
13,084,616
|
1890 |
9,558,776 |
3,410,505 3 |
2,698,067 |
1.846.090 3 |
92.558 |
286,027 |
- |
18,019,331
|
1940 |
29,064,180 |
7.138.065 4 |
6.958.067 |
5.086.033 |
931.035 |
472.191 |
|
50,165,958
|
1950 |
34,816,552 |
8,790,338 |
7,706,225 |
6,854,331 |
1,209,436 |
556,0155 |
|
59,810,635
|
1960 |
48,354,097 |
12,865,339 |
9,335,589 |
8,865,190 |
1,558,265 |
- 748,993 6 |
|
81,635,919
|
1980 |
74.933.819 |
21,504,709 |
14,933,265 |
16,165,464 |
2,285,938 |
1,140,805 |
|
131,805,939
|
1990[51] |
85,766,135 |
25,196,209 |
18,535,021 |
19,904,010 |
2,665,938 |
1,372,289 |
|
154,085,656
|
2000[52] |
98,095,364 |
33,008,236 |
20,212,689 |
24,065,331 |
3,158,929 |
1,862,095 |
|
179,033,805
|
2010[53] |
110,996,435 |
39,767,946 |
23,896,775 |
31,090,504 |
3,465,093 |
1,995,358 |
|
209,436,861
|
Race or Color |
Brancos ("whites") |
Pardos ("mixed") |
Pretos ("blacks") |
Morenos "Evens"
|
Amarelos ("yellow"/"East Asian") |
Indigenous |
Undeclared |
Total
|
1872 |
56,54 |
18,19 |
15,23 |
8,46 |
- |
1,58 |
- |
100%
|
1890 |
53,04 |
18,93 |
15,25 |
10,65 |
0,52 |
1,61 |
- |
100%
|
1940 |
58,06 |
14,22 |
13,95 |
10,90 |
1,86 |
0,95 |
|
100%
|
1950 |
58,33 |
14,76 |
12,93 |
11,65 |
2,06 |
0,93 |
|
100%
|
1960 |
59,04 |
15,75 |
11,42 |
11,04 |
1,86 |
1,05 |
|
100%
|
1980 |
56,90 |
15,35 |
12,28 |
13,10 |
1,77 |
0,86 |
|
100%
|
1990 |
55,79 |
16,24 |
12,05 |
13,46 |
1,73 |
0.89 |
|
100%
|
2000 |
54,96 |
18,35 |
11,42 |
13,10 |
1,78 |
1,06 |
|
100%
|
2010 |
53,54 |
19,25 |
11,09 |
13,64 |
1,63 |
0.95 |
|
100%
|
^1 The 1900, 1920, and 1970 censuses did not count people for "race".
^2 In the 1872 census, people were counted based on self-declaration, except for slaves, who were classified by their owners.
^3 The 1872 and 1890 censuses counted "caboclos" (White-Amerindian mixed race people) apart. In the 1890 census, the category "pardo" was replaced with "mestiço". Figures for 1890 are available at the IBGE site.
^4
In the 1940 census, people were asked for their "color or race"; if the
answer was not "White", "Black", or "Yellow", interviewers were
instructed to fill the "color or race" box with a slash. These slashes
were later totaled in the category "pardo". In practice this means
answers such as "pardo", "moreno", "mulato", "caboclo", etc.
^5 In the 1950 census, the category "pardo" was included on its own. Amerindians were counted as "pardos".
^6 The 1960 census adopted a similar system, again explicitly including Amerindians as "pardos".
Controversy
A
map of predominant racial groups by municipality. Green indicates an
indigenous majority, blue a white majority, red a pardo majority, and
yellow a black majority.
As the IBGE itself acknowledges, these categories are disputed, and
most of the population dislike it and do not identify with them.
Most Brazilians see "Indígena" as a cultural rather than racial term,
and don't identify as such if they are part of the mainstream Brazilian
culture; many Brazilians would prefer to self-describe as "morenos"
(used in the sense of "tanned" or "brunettes");
some Black and parda people, more identified with the Brazilian Black
movement, would prefer to self-describe as "Negro" as an inclusive
category containing pardos and pretos; and if allowed to choose any classification, Brazilians will give almost 200 different answers.
According to the American scholar Edward Telles, in Brazil there are three different systems related to "racial classification" along the White-Black continuum. The first is the Census System, which distinguishes three categories: "branco" (White), "pardo", and "preto" (Black). The second is the popular system that uses many different categories, including the ambiguous term "moreno" ("tanned", "brunette", or "with an olive complexion"). The third is the Black movement system that distinguishes only two categories, summing up "pardos" and "pretos" as "negros". More recently, the term "afrodescendente" has been brought into use.
The first system referred by Telles is that of the IBGE. In the
census, respondents choose their race or color in five categories: branca (white), parda (multiracial), preta (black), amarela (yellow) or indígena
(indigenous). The term "parda" needs further explanation; it has been
systematically used since the census of 1940. People were then asked for
their "colour or race"; if the answer was not "White", "Black", or
"Yellow", interviewers were instructed to fill the "colour or race" box
with a slash. These slashes were later summed up in the category
"pardo". In practice this means answers such as "pardo", "moreno", "mulato", and "caboclo". In the following censuses, "pardo" became a category on its own, and included Amerindians,
which became a separate category only in 1991. So it describes people
who have a skin darker than Whites and lighter than Blacks, but doesn't
necessarily imply a White-Black mixture.
Telles' second system is that of popular classification. Two IBGE
surveys (the 1976 PNAD and the July 1998 PME) have sought to understand
the way Brazilians think of themselves in "racial" terms, with the
explicit aim of adjusting the census classification (neither, however,
resulted in actual changes in the census). Besides that, Data Folha has
also conducted research on this subject. The results of these surveys
are somewhat varied, but seem to coincide in some fundamental aspects.
First, there is an enormous variety of "racial" terms in use in Brazil;
when Brazilians are inquired in an open ended question, from 135 to 500
different race-color terms may be brought. The 1976 PNAD found 136
different answers to the question about race; the July 1998 PME found 143.
However, most of these terms are used by very small minorities. Telles
remarks that 95% of the population chose only six different terms (branco, moreno, pardo, moreno-claro, preto and negro); Petrucelli shows that the 7 most common responses (the above plus amarela) sum up 97%, and the 10 more common (the previous plus mulata, clara, and morena-escura) make 99%.
Petrucelli, analysing the July 98 PME, finds that 77
denominations were mentioned by only one person in the sample. Other 12
are misunderstandings, referring to national or regional origin (francesa, italiana, baiana, cearense). Many of the "racial" terms are (or could be) remarks about the relation between skin colour and exposure to sun (amorenada,
bem morena, branca-morena, branca-queimada, corada, bronzeada, meio
morena, morena-bronzeada, morena-trigueira, morenada, morenão,
moreninha, pouco morena, queimada, queimada de sol, tostada, rosa
queimada, tostada). Others are clearly variations of the same idea (preto, negro, escuro, crioulo, retinto, for Black, alva, clara, cor-de-leite, galega, rosa, rosada, pálida, for White, parda, mulata, mestiça, mista, for "parda"), or precisions of the same concept (branca morena, branca clara), and can actually grouped together with one of the main racial terms without falsifying the interpretation. Some seem to express an outright refusal of classification: azul-marinho (navy blue), azul (blue), verde (green), cor-de-burro-quando-foge (literally, "the color of a donkey that has run away", a humorous Portuguese term for a color that cannot be determined).
Petrucelli grouped those 136 terms into 28 wider categories.
Most of these 28 wider categories can be situated in the White-Black
continuum when the answers to the open-ended question are compared to
the answers in the IBGE format:
Category |
Frequency |
White |
Mixed-race |
Black |
Amerindian |
Yellow |
Total |
difference between White and Black
|
branca (White) |
54.28% |
98.96% |
0.73% |
0.11% |
0.07% |
0.14% |
100.00% |
98,85
|
loira (Blonde) |
0.05% |
95.24% |
0.00% |
4.76% |
0.00% |
0.00% |
100.00% |
90,48
|
brasileira (Brazilian) |
0.12% |
91.20% |
6.05% |
2.27% |
0.00% |
0.47% |
100.00% |
88,93
|
branca + (adjectivated White) |
0.14% |
86.47% |
9.62% |
0.00% |
3.91% |
0.00% |
100.00% |
86,47
|
clara (of light colour) |
0.78% |
86.40% |
11.93% |
0.35% |
0.14% |
1.18% |
100.00% |
86,05
|
galega (Galician) |
0.01% |
70.99% |
19.78% |
0.00% |
0.00% |
9.23% |
100.00% |
70,99
|
castanha (Brown) |
0.01% |
63.81% |
36.19% |
0.00% |
0.00% |
0.00% |
100.00% |
63,81
|
morena clara (light Morena) |
2.92% |
38.35% |
57.12% |
1.46% |
2.27% |
0.81% |
100.00% |
36,89
|
jambo |
0.02% |
14.47% |
77.96% |
2.39% |
5.18% |
0.00% |
100.00% |
12,08
|
morena |
20.89% |
13.75% |
76.97% |
6.27% |
2.62% |
0.38% |
100.00% |
7,48
|
mestiça, mista (miscegenated, mixed) |
0.08% |
17.29% |
59.44% |
14.96% |
7.60% |
0.70% |
100.00% |
2,33
|
parda (multiracial) |
10.40% |
1.03% |
97.25% |
1.40% |
0.21% |
0.10% |
100.00% |
−0,37
|
sarará |
0.04% |
9.09% |
60.14% |
23.25% |
0.00% |
7.53% |
100.00% |
−14,16
|
canela (of the colour of cinnamon) |
0.01% |
11.13% |
57.55% |
26.45% |
4.87% |
0.00% |
100.00% |
−15,32
|
mulata (Mulatto) |
0.81% |
1.85% |
71.53% |
25.26% |
1.37% |
0.00% |
100.00% |
−23,41
|
marrom, chocolate (Brown, chocolate) |
0.03% |
4.56% |
57.30% |
38.14% |
0.00% |
0.00% |
100.00% |
−33,58
|
morena escura (dark Morena) |
0.45% |
2.77% |
54.80% |
38.05% |
4.15% |
0.24% |
100.00% |
−35,28
|
escura (of dark colour) |
0.38% |
0.59% |
16.32% |
81.67% |
1.42% |
0.00% |
100.00% |
−81,08
|
negra (Black) |
3.14% |
0.33% |
6.54% |
92.62% |
0.50% |
0.02% |
100.00% |
−92,29
|
preta (Black) |
4.26% |
0.37% |
1.73% |
97.66% |
0.17% |
0.06% |
100.00% |
−97,29
|
The other categories, except, naturally, for "amarela" (Yellow) seem related to Amerindian "race":
Category |
Frequency |
White |
Mixed-race |
Black |
Amerindian |
Yellow |
Total
|
vermelha (Red) |
0.02% |
58.97 |
8.22 |
0.00 |
21.56 |
11.24 |
100.00
|
cafusa |
0.01% |
6.02 |
65.14 |
22.82 |
6.02 |
0.00 |
100.00
|
caboverde (Capeverdian) |
0.02% |
0.00 |
48.72 |
23.08 |
28.21 |
0.00 |
100.00
|
cabocla |
0.02% |
3.60 |
49.37 |
10.43 |
36.60 |
0.00 |
100.00
|
bugre (Indian) |
0.00% |
12.50 |
37.50 |
0.00 |
50.00 |
0.00 |
100.00
|
amarela (Yellow) |
1.11% |
3.27 |
0.98 |
0.24 |
0.15 |
95.36 |
100.00
|
indígena (Indigenous) |
0.13% |
0.44 |
2.12 |
0.00 |
96.13 |
1.30 |
100.00
|
The remarkable difference of the popular system is the use of the
term "moreno". This is actually difficult to translate into English, and
carries a few different meanings. Derived from Latin maurus, meaning inhabitant of Mauritania,
traditionally it is used as a term to distinguish White people with
dark hair, as opposed to "ruivo" (redhead) and "loiro" (blonde). It is also commonly used as a term for people with an olive complexion, a characteristic that is often found in connection with dark hair.
In connection to this, it is used as a term for suntanned people, and
is commonly opposed to "pálido" (pale) and "amarelo" (yellow), which in
this case refer to people who aren't frequently exposed to sun. Finally,
it is also often used as a euphemism for "pardo" and "preto".
Finally, the Black movement system, in direct opposition to the
popular system, groups "pardos" and "pretos" in a single category,
"negro" (and not Afro-Brazilian). This looks more similar to the American racial perception,
but there are some subtle differences. First, as other Brazilians, the
Black movement understands that not everybody with some African descent
is Black,
and that many or most White Brazilians indeed have African (or
Amerindian, or both) ancestrals – so a "one drop rule" isn't what the
Black movement envisages.
Race and class
Another important discussion is the relation between social class and "race" in Brazil. It is commonplace to say that, in Brazil, "money whitens."
There is a persistent belief, both in academy and popularly, that
Brazilians from the wealthier classes with darker phenotypes tend to see
themselves and be seen by others in lighter categories. Other things,
such as dressing and social status, also influence perceptions of race.
However, some studies, focusing in the difference between self-
and alter-classification show that this phenomenon is far more complex
than "money whitens". For instance, according to a study conducted by
Paula Miranda-Ribeiro and André Junqueira Caetano among women in Recife, while there is significant inconsistency between the "parda" and "preta" categories, most women
are consistently classified by themselves and interviewers into
"brancas" and non-brancas. 21.97% of women were consistently classified
as White, and 55.13% of women were consistently classified as non-White,
while 22.89% of women where inconsistently classified.
But the inconsistently classified women reveal an important
aspect of economic "whitening". "Self-darkening" women, i.e., those who
view themselves as "pretas" or "pardas" but are classified as "brancas"
by the interviewers (4.08% of women) have above average education, while
the 18.82% "self-whitening" women have a low average education, lower
indeed than that of consistently non-White women.
This, assuming, that there is a correlation between wealth and education,
would show that, rather than "Brazilians from the wealthier classes
with darker phenotypes seeing themselves and being seen by others in
lighter categories", either wealth affects their perception by others,
but does not affect, or at least affects considerably less, their
self-perception, or that wealth in fact affects their self-perception in
the opposite way: it is poor people who are more prone to
self-whitening. This, naturally, contributes to show that
self-classification in censuses is in fact more objective than
alter-classification; but most importantly, it shows that economic
differences between Whites and non-Whites effectively exist.
It is important to notice that the alter-classification in this survey was made by a group of college students, i.e., mostly middle-class people.
David de Micheli argues that the recent phenomenon of racial
reclassification toward blackness is a result of the expansion of public
education.
Racial disparities
There are important differences in social position concerning "races". These differences encompass income, education, housing, etc. According to the 2010 IBGE Census, White workers wages were almost twice those of Blacks and "Pardos" (Multiracial). The illiteracy
rate among White people over 5 years old was 5.9%; among Blacks, 14.4%,
and among "Pardos" (Multiracial), 13%. The 2010 IBGE Census shows that
Whites also dominate higher education in Brazil, considering the age group between 15 and 24 years old, 31.1% of the White population attended university. In relation to "Pardos" (Multiracial) and Blacks, the rates are 13.4% and 12.8%, respectively.
According to the 2007 Brazilian national resource, the White
workers had an average monthly income almost twice that of Blacks and
"Pardos" (Multiracial). The Blacks and Mixed-race earned on average 1.8 minimum wages,
while the Whites had a yield of 3.4 minimum wages. Among workers with
over 12 years of study, the difference was also large. While the Whites
earned on average R$15.90
per hour, the Blacks and Mixed-race received R$11.40, when they worked
the same period. Among the 1% richest population of Brazil, only 12%
were Blacks and Mixed-race, while Whites constituted 86.3% of the group.
In the 10% poorest there were 73.9% of Blacks and Mixed-race, and 25.5%
of Whites.
Almost half of the Brazilian population (49.4%) is White. Those
with Mixed-race skin form 42.3%, the Black 7.4%, and the Indigenous and
East Asian, according to the IBGE, only 0.8%. The region with the
highest proportion of Mixed-race is the North, with 68.3%. The
population of the Northeast is composed of 8.5% of Blacks, the largest
proportion. In the South, 78.7% of the population is White.
Genetic studies
Autosomal studies
Genetic research on ancestry of Brazilians
of different races has extensively shown that, regardless of skin
colour, Brazilians generally have European, African, and Amerindian
ancestors.
A 2015 autosomal genetic study, which also analysed data of 25
studies of 38 different Brazilian populations concluded that: European
ancestry accounts for 62% of the heritage of the population, followed by
the African (21%) and the Native American (17%). The European
contribution is highest in Southern Brazil (77%), the African highest in
Northeast Brazil (27%) and the Native American is the highest in
Northern Brazil (32%).
An autosomal study from 2013, with nearly 1300 samples from all of
the Brazilian regions, found a predominant degree of European ancestry
combined with significant African and small Native American
contributions, in varying degrees. 'Following an increasing North to
South gradient, European ancestry was the most prevalent in all urban
populations (with values up to 74%). The populations in the North
consisted of a significant proportion of Native American ancestry that
was about two times higher than the African contribution. Conversely, in
the Northeast, Center-West and Southeast, African ancestry was the
second most prevalent. At an intrapopulation level, all urban
populations were highly admixed, and most of the variation in ancestry
proportions was observed between individuals within each population
rather than among population.'
An autosomal DNA
study (2011), with nearly 1000 samples from every major race group
("whites", "pardos" and "blacks", according to their respective
proportions) all over the country found out a major European
contribution, followed by a significant high African contribution and a
very small, yet still important Native American component.
"In all regions studied, the European ancestry was predominant, with
proportions ranging from 60.6% in the Central West to 77.7% in the
South". The 2011 autosomal study samples came from blood donors (the
lowest classes constitute the great majority of blood donors in Brazil), and also public health institutions personnel and health students.
"An autosomal DNA study from 2009 found a similar profile "all the
Brazilian samples (regions) lie more closely to the European group than
to the African populations or to the Mestizos from Mexico."
According to another autosomal DNA study from 2008, by the University
of Brasília (UnB), European ancestry dominates in the whole of Brazil
(in all regions), accounting for 65.90% of heritage of the population,
followed by the African contribution (24.80%) and the Native American
(9.3%).
São Paulo state, the most populous state in Brazil, with about 40
million people, showed the following composition, according to an
autosomal study from 2006: European genes account for 79% of the
heritage of the people of São Paulo, 14% are of African origin, and 7%
Native American.
A more recent study, from 2013, found the following composition in São
Paulo state: 61.9% European, 25.5% African and 11.6% Native American.
Several other studies have suggested that European ancestry is
the main component in all Brazilian regions. A study from 2002 quoted
previous and older studies (28. Salzano F M. Interciêência.
1997;22:221–227. 29. Santos S E B, Guerreiro J F. Braz J Genet.
1995;18:311–315. 30. Dornelles C L, Callegari-Jacques S M, Robinson W M,
Weimer T A, Franco M H L P, Hickmann A C, Geiger C J, Salzamo F M. Genet Mol Biol. 1999;22:151–161. 31. Krieger H, Morton N E, Mi M P, Azevedo E, Freire-Maia A, Yasuda N. Ann Hum Genet.
1965;29:113–125. [PubMed]), saying that: "Salzano (28, a study from
1997) calculated for the Northeastern population as a whole, 51%
European, 36% African, and 13% Amerindian ancestries whereas in the
north, Santos and Guerreiro (29, a study from 1995) obtained 47%
European, 12% African, and 41% Amerindian descent, and in the
southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, Dornelles et al. (30, a study
from 1999) calculated 82% European, 7% African, and 11% Amerindian
ancestries.
MtDna and y DNA studies
According to a genetic study about Brazilians, on the paternal side, 98% of the White Brazilian Y Chromosome
comes from a European male ancestor, only 2% from an African ancestor
and there is a complete absence of Amerindian contributions. On the maternal side, 39% have a European Mitochondrial DNA, 33% Amerindian and 28% African MtDNA.
This analysis only shows a small fraction of a person's ancestry (the Y
Chromosome comes from a single male ancestor and the mtDNA from a
single female ancestor, while the contributions of the many other
ancestors is not specified), but it shows that genetic mixing in Brazil was directional, between Portuguese males and African and Amerindian females.
Analyzing Black Brazilians' Y chromosome,
which comes from male ancestors through paternal line, it was concluded
that half (50%) of the Black Brazilian population has at least one male
ancestor who came from Europe, 48% has at least one male ancestor who
came from Africa and 1.6% has at least one male ancestor who was Native American. Analyzing their mitochondrial DNA,
that comes from female ancestors though maternal line, 85% of them have
at least a female ancestor who came from Africa, 12.5% have at least a
female ancestor who was Native Brazilian and only 2.5% have at least a
female ancestor who came from Europe.
European and Middle Eastern lineages contributions to Y-haplogroup in the Brazilian population:
Portugal |
45% |
36% |
18% |
42% |
63%
|
France |
17% |
52% |
14% |
- |
0%
|
Italy |
- |
1% |
61% |
27% |
14%
|
Germany |
16% |
- |
7% |
19% |
17%
|
Lebanon |
23% |
12% |
- |
13% |
4%
|
European and Middle eastern lineages contributions to R1b1a-M269 sub-haplogroups in Brazilian population.
Region
|
Central-West
|
Northern
|
Northeastern
|
Southeastern
|
Southern
|
Portugal |
47% |
34% |
20% |
37% |
12%
|
Spain |
11% |
35% |
52% |
27% |
46%
|
France |
21% |
16% |
- |
20% |
-
|
Italy |
3% |
6% |
8% |
5% |
10%
|
Netherlands |
11% |
7% |
3% |
9% |
7%
|
Germany |
- |
2% |
11% |
2% |
21%
|
Lebanon/Turkey |
7% |
- |
6% |
- |
3%
|
Descendants of colonial-era population
Sérgio Pena, a leading Brazilian geneticist, summed it up this way:
The correlation between color and genomic ancestry is
imperfect: at the individual level one cannot safely predict the skin
color of a person from his/her level of European, African and Amerindian
ancestry nor the opposite. Regardless of their skin color, the
overwhelming majority of Brazilians have a high degree of European
ancestry. Also, regardless of their skin color, the overwhelming
majority of Brazilians have a significant degree of African ancestry.
Finally, most Brazilians have a significant and very uniform degree of
Amerindian ancestry! The high ancestral variability observed in Whites
and Blacks suggests that each Brazilian has a singular and quite
individual proportion of European, African and Amerindian ancestry in
his/her mosaic genomes.
Brazil's racial base are its colonial-era population, consisting of Amerindians, Portuguese settlers, and African slaves:
- At least 50% of the Brazilian paternal ancestry would be of Portuguese origin.
- European ancestry predominates in the Brazilian population as a
whole, in all regions of Brazil, according to the vast majority of all
autosomal studies undertaken covering the entire population, accounting
for between 65% to 77% of the ancestry of the population."
- African ancestry is high in all regions of Brazil. 86% of Brazilians would have over 10% of their genes coming from Africans, according to a study based on about 200 samples from 2003.
The researchers however were cautious about its conclusions: "Obviously
these estimates were made by extrapolation of experimental results with
relatively small samples and, therefore, their confidence limits are
very ample". A new autosomal study from 2011, also led by Sérgio Pena,
but with nearly 1000 samples this time, from all over the country, shows
that in most Brazilian regions most Brazilians "whites" are less than
10% African in ancestry, and it also shows that the "pardos" are
predominantly European in ancestry, the European ancestry being
therefore the main component in the Brazilian population, in spite of a
very high degree of African ancestry and significant Native American
contribution.
The African contribution was found to be thus distributed according to
the 2011 autosomal study: 10.50% in the North region of Brazil, 29.30%
in the Northeast of Brazil, 17.30% in the Southeast of Brazil and 10.30%
in the South of Brazil. According to an autosomal study from 2008, African contribution accounts for 25% of the heritage of the population, and according to an autosomal study from 2010, it accounts for 14.30% of the ancestry of the population.
- Native American ancestry is significant and present in all regions of Brazil.
Descendants of immigrants
The largest influx of European immigrants to Brazil occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. According to the Memorial do Imigrante statistics data, Brazil attracted nearly 5 million immigrants between 1870 and 1953. These immigrants were divided in two groups: a part of them was sent to Southern Brazil to work as small farmers. However, the biggest part of the immigrants was sent to Southeast Brazil to work in the coffee plantations. The immigrants sent to Southern Brazil were mainly Germans (starting in 1824, mainly from Rhineland-Palatinate, the others from Pomerania, Hamburg, Westphalia, etc.) and Italians (starting in 1875, mainly from the Veneto and Lombardia). In Southeastern Brazil, most of the immigrants were Italians (mainly from the Veneto, Campania, Calabria and Lombardia), Portuguese (mainly from Beira Alta, Minho and Alto Trás-os-Montes), Spaniards (mainly from Galicia and Andalusia) and smaller numbers of French (most came from the southern regions) and Dutch (from the Netherlands and Belgium).
Notably, the first half of the 20th century saw a large inflow of Japanese (mainly from Honshū, Hokkaidō and Okinawa) and Arabic-speaking Levantine Christians (from modern day Lebanon and Syria) immigrants.
Total of entries of immigrants in the Port of Santos, São Paulo (1908–1936) – Gender.
Nationalities
|
Total
|
% Male
|
% Female
|
Portuguese
|
275,257
|
67.9
|
32.1
|
Spaniards
|
209,282
|
59.4
|
40.6
|
Italians
|
202,749
|
64.7
|
35.3
|
Japanese
|
176,775
|
56.2
|
43.8
|
Germans
|
43,989
|
64.3
|
35.7
|
"Turks"
|
26,321
|
73.4
|
26.6
|
Romanians
|
23,756
|
53.2
|
46.7
|
Yugoslavians
|
21,209
|
52.1
|
47.9
|
Lithuanians
|
20,918
|
58.6
|
41.4
|
Syrians
|
17,275
|
65.4
|
34.6
|
Poles
|
15,220
|
61.9
|
38.1
|
Austrians
|
15,041
|
72.7
|
27.3
|
Others
|
47,664
|
64.9
|
35.1
|
Total
|
1,221,282
|
63.8
|
36.2
|
Ethnicities by region
Historically,
the different regions of Brazil had their own migratory movements,
which resulted in racial differences between these areas. The Southern
region had a greater impact of the European immigration and has a large
White majority, which contrasts with the Northern and Northeastern
regions, which have a large Pardo (mixed-race) majority. In all regions
of Brazil, European ancestry predominates in the population, followed by
African and Amerindian ancestries. In Northern Brazil, native Amerindian
ancestry is more significant than the African one, while in the
Northeastern, Central-Western and Southeastern regions African ancestry
is more important than the indigenous one.
The Census of 2007 revealed that the self-reported White
population had its higher proportion in the state of Santa Catarina
(86.6%) and the lowest in Bahia (20.9%). The Multiracial (Mixed)
proportion was higher in Amazonas (72.4%) and lower in Santa Catarina
(9.4%). The Black proportion varied from 17% in Bahia to 2.4% in
Amazonas. Because of their small number, the Amerindian and Asian
population were counted together and they had a higher proportion in
Mato Grosso and Roraima (2.3%) and a lower proportion in Paraíba (0.1%).
AC
|
23.3
|
5.7
|
66.9
|
2
|
2.1
|
0
|
AL
|
31
|
6.6
|
60.8
|
1.1
|
0.4
|
0
|
AP
|
23.8
|
8.4
|
65.7
|
1.1
|
1.1
|
0
|
AM
|
21.2
|
4.1
|
69
|
0.9
|
4.8
|
0
|
BA
|
22
|
17
|
59.5
|
1.2
|
0.4
|
0
|
CE
|
31.6
|
4.6
|
62.3
|
1.2
|
0.2
|
0
|
DF
|
41.8
|
7.6
|
48.6
|
1.7
|
0.3
|
0
|
ES
|
42.1
|
8.3
|
48.7
|
0.6
|
0.3
|
0
|
GO
|
41.4
|
6.5
|
50.3
|
1.7
|
0.1
|
0
|
MA
|
21.9
|
9.6
|
66.9
|
1.1
|
0.5
|
0
|
MT
|
37.2
|
7.4
|
52.8
|
1.2
|
1.4
|
0
|
MS
|
46.8
|
4.9
|
44.1
|
1.2
|
2.9
|
0
|
MG
|
45.1
|
9.2
|
44.6
|
1
|
0.2
|
0
|
PA
|
21.6
|
7
|
69.9
|
0.9
|
0.5
|
0
|
PB
|
39.7
|
5.6
|
52.9
|
1.2
|
0.5
|
0
|
PR
|
70.1
|
3.1
|
25.4
|
1.2
|
0.2
|
0
|
PE
|
36.5
|
6.4
|
55.5
|
1
|
0.6
|
0
|
PI
|
24.2
|
9.3
|
64.3
|
2.1
|
0.1
|
-
|
RJ
|
47.4
|
12.1
|
39.6
|
0.8
|
0.1
|
0
|
RN
|
40.8
|
5.2
|
52.8
|
1.1
|
0.1
|
0
|
RS
|
83.2
|
5.5
|
10.6
|
0.3
|
0.3
|
0
|
RO
|
35
|
6.8
|
55.8
|
1.4
|
0.9
|
0.1
|
RR
|
20.9
|
6
|
60.9
|
1
|
11.2
|
-
|
SC
|
83.9
|
2.9
|
12.6
|
0.4
|
0.3
|
0
|
SP
|
63.7
|
5.4
|
29.4
|
1.4
|
0.1
|
0
|
SE
|
27.7
|
8.9
|
61.8
|
1.3
|
0.3
|
0
|
TO
|
24.5
|
9.1
|
63.6
|
2
|
0.9
|
0
|
Distribution by color or race by region
Brazil
|
47.5
|
7.5
|
43.4
|
1.1
|
0.4
|
0
|
Center-West
|
41.5
|
6.6
|
49.4
|
1.5
|
0.9
|
0
|
North
|
23.2
|
6.5
|
67.2
|
1.1
|
1.9
|
0
|
Northeast
|
29.2
|
9.4
|
59.8
|
1.2
|
0.4
|
0
|
Southeast
|
54.9
|
7.8
|
36
|
1.1
|
0.1
|
0
|
South
|
78.3
|
4
|
16.7
|
0.7
|
0.3
|
0
|
South
The South of Brazil is the region with the largest percentage of Europeans. According to the 2005 census, people of European ancestry account for 79.6% of the population. In colonial times, this region had a very small population.
The region what is now Southern Brazil was originally settled by Amerindian peoples, mostly Guarani and Kaingangs. Only a few settlers from São Paulo
were living there. This situation made the region vulnerable to attacks
from neighboring countries. This fact forced the King of Portugal to decide to populate the region. For this, settlers from the Portuguese Azores islands were sent to the coast in 1617.
To stimulate the immigration to Brazil, the king offered several
benefits for the Azorean couples. Between 1748 and 1756, six thousand Portuguese from the Azores moved to the coast of Santa Catarina.
They were mainly newly married who were seeking a better life. At that
time, the Azores were one of the poorest regions of Portugal. They
established themselves mainly in the Santa Catarina Island, nowadays the region of Florianópolis. Later, some couples moved to Rio Grande do Sul, where they established Porto Alegre,
the capital. The Azoreans lived on fishing and agriculture, especially
flour. They composed over half of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina's
population in the late 18th century. The state of Paraná was settled by colonists from São Paulo due to their proximity (Paraná was part of São Paulo until the mid-19th century).
With the development of cattle in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, African slaves began arriving in large numbers. By 1822, Africans
were 50% of Rio Grande do Sul's population. This number decreased to
25% in 1858 and to only 5.2% in 2005. Most of them came from Angola.
After independence from Portugal (1822) the Brazilian government
started to stimulate the arrival of a new wave of immigrants to settle
the South. In 1824 they established São Leopoldo,
a German community. Major Schaeffer, a German who was living in Brazil,
was sent to Germany in order to bring immigrants. From Rhineland-Palatinate,
the Major brought the immigrants and soldiers. Settlers from Germany
were brought to work as small farmers, because there were many land
holdings without workers.
To attract the immigrants, the Brazilian government had promised
large tracts of land, where they could settle with their families and
colonize the region. The first years were not easy. Many Germans died of
tropical disease, while others left the colonies to find better living
conditions. The German colony of São Leopoldo was a disaster.
Nevertheless, in the following years, a further 4,830 Germans arrived at
São Leopoldo, and then the colony started to develop, with the
immigrants establishing the town of Novo Hamburgo (New Hamburg).
From São Leopoldo and Novo Hamburgo, the German immigrants spread into others areas of Rio Grande do Sul,
mainly close to sources of rivers. The whole region of Vale dos Sinos
was populated by Germans. During the 1830s and part of the 1840s German
immigration to Brazil was interrupted due to conflicts in the country (Ragamuffin War). The immigration restarted after 1845 with the creation of new colonies. The most important ones were Blumenau, in 1850, and Joinville in 1851, both in Santa Catarina state;
these attracted thousands of German immigrants to the region.
In the next five decades, other 28 thousand Germans were brought to Rio
Grande do Sul to work as small farmers in the countryside. By 1914, it is estimated that 50 thousand Germans settled in this state.
Another immigration boom to this region started in 1875.
Communities with Italian immigrants were also created in southern
Brazil. The first colonies to be populated by Italians were created in
the highlands of Rio Grande do Sul (Serra Gaúcha). These were Garibaldi and Bento Gonçalves. These immigrants were predominantly from Veneto,
in northern Italy. After five years, in 1880, the great numbers of
Italian immigrants arriving caused the Brazilian government to create
another Italian colony, Caxias do Sul.
After initially settling in the government-promoted colonies, many of
the Italian immigrants spread themselves into other areas of Rio Grande do Sul seeking further opportunities.
They created many other Italian colonies on their own, mainly in
highlands, because the lowlands were already populated by Germans and
native gaúchos. The Italian established many vineyards in the
region. Nowadays, the wine produced in these areas of Italian
colonization in southern Brazil is much appreciated within the country,
though little is available for export. In 1875, the first Italian
colonies were established in Santa Catarina, which lies immediately to the north of Rio Grande do Sul. The colonies gave rise to towns such as Criciúma, and later also spread further north, to Paraná.
A significant number of Poles
have settled in Southern Brazil. The first immigrants arrived in 1869
and until 1959, it is estimated that over 100,000 Poles migrated to
Brazil, 95% of whom were peasants. The State of Paraná received the majority of Polish immigrants, who settled mainly in the region of Curitiba, in the towns of Mallet, Cruz Machado, São Matheus do Sul, Irati, and União da Vitória.
Southeast
The Southeastern region of Brazil is the most ethnically diverse part of the country. Europeans make up 55.16% of its population, those of mixed-race 35.69%, and African descent 7.91%. It has the largest percentage of Asian Brazilians, composing 0.8%, and a small Amerindian community (0.2%).
Southeast Brazil is home to the oldest Portuguese village in the Americas, São Vicente, São Paulo, established in 1532. The region, since the beginning of its colonization, is a melting pot
of Africans, Natives, and Europeans. The Indigenous peoples of the
region were enslaved by the Portuguese. The race mixing between the
indigenous females and their European masters produced the Bandeirante, the colonial inhabitant of São Paulo,
who formed expeditions that crossed the interior of Brazil and greatly
increased the Portuguese colonial territory. The main language spoken by
these people of mixed Indian/Portuguese heritage was Língua geral, a language that mixed Tupi and Portuguese words.
In the late 17th century the Bandeirantes found gold in the area that nowadays is Minas Gerais. A gold rush
took place in Brazil and thousands of Portuguese colonists arrived
during this period. The confrontation between the Bandeirantes and the
Portuguese for obtaining possession of the mines led to the Emboabas' War.
The Portuguese won the war. The Amerindian culture declined, giving
space to a stronger Portuguese cultural domination. In order to control
the wealth, the Portuguese Crown moved the capital of Brazil from Salvador, Bahia to Rio de Janeiro.
Thousands of African slaves were brought to work in the gold mines.
They were landed in Rio de Janeiro and sent to other regions. By the
late 18th century, Rio de Janeiro was an "African city": most of its
inhabitants were slaves. No other place in the world had as many slaves
since the end of the Roman Empire. In 1808 the Portuguese Royal Family, fleeing from Napoleon,
took charge in Rio de Janeiro. Some 15,000 Portuguese nobles moved to
Brazil. The region changed a lot, becoming more European.
After independence and principally after 1850, Southeast Brazil
was "inundated" by European immigrants, who were attracted by the
government to replace the African slaves in the coffee plantations. Most
immigrants landed in the Port of Santos
and have been forwarded to the coffee farms within São Paulo. The vast
majority of the immigrants came from Italy. Brazil attracted nearly 5
million immigrants between 1870 and 1953. The large number of Italians
are visible in many parts of Southeast Brazil. Their descendants are
nowadays predominant in many areas. For example, Northeast São Paulo is
45% Italian.
The arrival of immigrants from several parts of Europe, the Middle-East and Asia produced an ethnically diverse population. The city of Bastos, in São Paulo, is 11.4% Japanese. The city of São Paulo is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan itself.
Northeast
The population of Northeast Brazil
is a result of an intensive race mixing, which has occurred in the
region for more than four centuries. According to the 2006 census people
reported as "Pardo" (Multiracial) make up 62.5% of the population.
Those reported as African account for 7.8%.
This region did not have much effect from the massive European
immigration that took place in Southern Brazil in the late 19th century
and first decades of the 20th century. The Northeast has been a poorer
region of Brazil since the decline of sugar cane plantations in the late
17th century, so its economy did not require immigrants.
The ethnic composition of the population starts in the 16th
century. The Portuguese settlers rarely brought women, which led to
relationships with the Indian women. Later, interracial relationships
occurred between Portuguese males and African females. The coast, in the
past the place where millions of African slaves arrived (mostly from
modern-day Angola, Ghana, Nigeria and Benin) to work in sugar-cane plantations, is where nowadays there is a predominance of Mulattoes, those of African and European ancestry. Salvador, Bahia is considered the largest African city outside of Africa, with over 80% of its inhabitants being African-Brazilians. In the interior, there is a predominance of Indian and European mixture.
North
Northern Brazil, largely covered by the Amazon rainforest, is the Brazilian region with the largest Amerindian
influences, both in culture and ethnicity. Inhabited by diverse
indigenous tribes, this part of Brazil was reached by Portuguese and
Spanish colonists in the 17th century, but it started to be populated by
non-Indians only in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The
exploitation of rubber used in the growing industries of automobiles, has emerged a huge migration to the region.
Many people from the poor Northeast Brazil, mostly Ceará,
moved to the Amazon area. The contact between the Indians and the
northeastern rubbers created the base of the ethnic composition of the
region, with its mixed-race majority.
Central-West
The Central-West
region of Brazil was inhabited by diverse Indians when the Portuguese
arrived in the early 18th century. The Portuguese came to explore the
precious stones that were found there. Contact between the Portuguese
and the Indians created a mixed-race population. Until the mid-20th
century, Central-West Brazil had a very small population. The situation
changed with the construction of Brasília, the new capital of Brazil, in 1960. Many workers were attracted to the region, mostly from northeastern Brazil.
A new wave of settlers started arriving from the 1970s. With the
mechanization of agriculture in the South of Brazil, many rural workers
of German and Italian origin migrated to Central-West Brazil. In some
areas, they are already the majority of the population.
Days celebrating racial groups in Brazil
In Brazil, the "Day of the Caboclo" (Dia do Caboclo) is observed annually on June 24, in celebration of the contributions and identity of the original caboclos and their descendants. This date is an official public holiday in the State of Amazonas.
"Mixed Race Day" (Dia do Mestiço) is observed annually on June 27, three days after the Day of the Caboclo, in celebration of all mixed-race Brazilians, including the caboclos. The date is an official public holiday in three Brazilian states.
"Indian Day" (Dia do Índio), observed annually on April 19, recognizes and honours the indigenous peoples of Brazil.
"Black Awareness Day" (Dia da Consciência Negra) is observed annually on November 20 as a day "to celebrate a regained awareness by the black community about their great worth and contribution to the country". The date is an official public holiday in five Brazilian states.