Confederados
Southern U.S. immigrants who settled in Brazil after the Civil War.
Nafarroako Pinpilinpauxa · CC BY-SA 3.0
The term *Confederados* refers to white Southerners who left the United States after the Civil War and settled in Brazil, along with their descendants. Emperor Dom Pedro II encouraged this migration by offering inexpensive land, hoping to boost Brazil’s cotton industry. The Confederados were drawn by several aspects of Brazilian society, including the continued legality of slavery, a decentralized political system, and a strong commitment to free trade.
An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 former Confederates moved to Brazil following the war. Most initially settled in what is now the state of São Paulo, where they founded the city of Americana, originally part of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste. Descendants of later arrivals can be found across the country.
The heart of Confederado culture is the Campo Cemetery in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, where many of the original immigrants are buried. Because they were Protestant, they could not be interred in Catholic cemeteries, so they established their own burial ground. The community also runs the Museum of Immigration in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, which documents the history of immigration to Brazil and its contributions to the nation.
Descendants maintain ties to their heritage through the Fraternity of American Descendants, an organization that preserves this mixed culture. An annual event, the Festa Confederada, raises funds for the Campo Cemetery. The festival features Confederate flags, period attire such as uniforms and hoop skirts, Southern-style food with Brazilian influences, and music and dances from the antebellum American South. While the exact number of Confederado descendants in Brazil is uncertain, thousands were believed to live there as of 2016.
**History**
After the war, many Confederate planters rejected the Union’s victory and the resulting constitutional changes: the end of slavery, a new labor system, and the loss of political power due to African-American suffrage. Accustomed to growing cotton with enslaved labor, they looked for places in the Western Hemisphere where their old way of life might continue. In September 1865, the *New Orleans Daily Picayune* noted that many who were attached to slavery believed Brazil offered a chance to keep using that system, as it and Spanish possessions were the only remaining slaveholding communities in the civilized world.
Quick Facts
- Population
- Thousands of descendants across Brazil
- Popplace
- AmericanaSanta Bárbara d'Oeste
- Langs
- English (Southern American English)Portuguese
- Rels
- ProtestantismIrreligion
- Related Groups
- White Southerners and Black Southerners
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
After the American Civil War, many Confederate planters were unwilling to live by the new rules imposed by the Union's victory and the constitutional changes that followed: an end to chattel slavery, a new labor regime, and the loss of political power that came with African-American suffrage. Accustomed to raising cotton with the labor of enslaved people, some looked elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere for a place where their old life could be continued. The Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II saw an opportunity in the economic disruption in the southern United States and hoped to build up its cotton production for export to the looms of England and France, which had long relied on the Deep South. The Emperor encouraged the immigration of cotton planters from the defeated Confederacy, offering subsidized passage and land grants. Among the most prominent early settlers was Colonel William Hutchinson Norris, a former Alabama state senator who became a leading figure in the colony and helped establish agricultural practices in the region.
Reader's Guide
The Confederados represent a unique historical migration of white Southerners who, after the American Civil War, sought to preserve their way of life in Brazil, a country that still permitted slavery until 1888. Their significance lies in their role as the first organized Protestant group to settle in Brazil, and in their contributions to Brazilian agriculture, particularly cotton farming and agricultural education. The plow brought by Colonel Norris caused such curiosity that it led to a practical agricultural school, and the teaching methods developed by American teachers were later adopted by Brazilian official education. 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 could not be buried in a Catholic cemetery, so they created their own cemetery, the first non-Catholic, non-indigenous cemetery in Brazil. The descendants still foster a connection with their history through the Fraternity of American Descendants, an organization dedicated to preserving the unique mixed culture. The Confederados also have an annual festival, called the Festa Confederada, which is used 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 dances and music popular in the American South during the Antebellum period. Although the number of Confederado descendants living in Brazil today is difficult to estimate, in 2016 there were believed to be thousands.
Did You Know?
- The city of Americana was originally called 'Vila dos Americanos' due to the constant presence of these immigrants.
- Colonel William Hutchinson Norris made US$5,000 from giving practical courses in agriculture to farmers in the region.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the Confederados?
The Confederados were white Americans from the former Confederacy who emigrated to Brazil in the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War, along with their later generations.
Why did former Confederates choose to settle in Brazil?
They were attracted by a society where slavery remained legal, a less centralized form of government, and an economy built around free trade. Emperor Dom Pedro II actively recruited them by offering cheap land to strengthen Brazil's cotton sector.
Where in Brazil did the Confederados settle?
The vast majority made their permanent home in what is today the state of São Paulo.
How many Confederados immigrated to Brazil?
Historians estimate between 8,000 and 10,000 former Confederates and their families crossed the Atlantic after the war.
What city did the Confederados establish?
They founded the town of Americana in São Paulo state, which remains a point of pride for their descendants.
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