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Italian-Brazilians
Italian Immigration
See also: Immigration to Brazil
Places of Origin
Italian Regions
Most Italian-Brazilians are of Northern stock. Over half of the Italian immigrants came from Northern Italian regions of Veneto, Lombardy, Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna. About 30% emigrated from Veneto. On the other hand, during the 20th century, Central and Southern Italians predominated in Brazil, coming from the regions of Campania, Abruzzo, Molise, Basilicata and Sicily.
Region of Origin of Italian Immigrants:
Vêneto 365.710
Campânia 166.080
Calábria 113.155
Lombardia 105.973
Abruzzo-Molise 93.020
Toscana 81.056
Emília-Romagna 59.877
Basilicata 52.888
Sicília 44.390
Piemonte 40.336
Puglia 34.833
Marche 25.074
Lácio 15.982
Úmbria 11.818
Ligúria 9.328
Sardenha 6.113
Total : 1.243.633
History
Italian poster promoting immigration to São Paulo
Situation in Italy:
During the last quarter of the 19th century, the newly united Italy suffered an economic crisis. In the Northern regions, there was unemployment due to the introduction of new techniques in agriculture, while Southern Italy remained underdeveloped and untouched by modernization in agrarian structure. Even in the North, industrialization was still in its initial stages, and illiteracy was still common in Italy (though more in the south and islands than in the north). Thus, poverty and lack of jobs and income stimulated Northern (and also Southern) Italians to emigrate. Most Italian immigrants who settled in Brazil were poor rural workers (braccianti).
Situation in Brazil:
In 1850, under British pressure, Brazil finally passed a law that effectively banned transatlantic slave trade. The increased pressure of the abolitionist movement, on the other hand, made clear that the days of slavery in Brazil were coming to an end. Slave trade was in fact effectively suppressed, but the slave system still endured for almost four decades. So the discussion about European immigration to Brazil became a priority for Brazilian landowners. The latter claimed that such migrants were or would soon become indispensable for Brazilian agriculture. They would soon win the argument and mass migration would begin in earnest.
Immigration and Settlement:
Italian immigrants in São Paulo
The Brazilian government (with or following the Emperor's support) had created the first colonies of immigrants (colônias de imigrantes) in the early 19th century. These colonies were established in rural areas of the country, being settled by European families, mainly German immigrants that settled in many areas of Southern Brazil.
The first groups of Italians arrived in 1875, but the boom of Italian immigration in Brazil happened in late 19th century, between 1880 and 1900, when almost one million Italians arrived and headed mostly to São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul.
A great number of Italians was naturalized Brazilian at the end of the 19th century, when the 'Great Naturalization' conceded automatically citizenship to all the immigrants residing in Brazil prior to November 15, 1889 "unless they declared a desire to keep their original nationality within six months."
During the last years of the 19th century, the denouncements of bad conditions in some settlements in Brazil started appearing in press. Reacting to the public clamour and many proved cases of mistreatments of Italian immigrants, the government of Italy issued, in 1902, the Prinetti decree forbidding subsidized immigration to Brazil. In consequence, the number of Italian immigrants in Brazil fell drastically in the beginning of the 20th century, but the wave of Italian immigration continued until 1960, when new waves started arriving after the end of the WWII, this time composed mostly by South Italians.
Current Comminity
Today
According to the Italian government, there are 25 million Brazilians of Italian descent, the largest population of Italian background outside of Italy itself. Italian-Brazilians just like their counterparts in other countries are called Oriundi, that refers to an Italian living in the diaspora. Many Brazilian politicians, scientists, painters, entrepreneurs, artists, footballers, models, and personalities are or were of Italian descent. Amongst Italian-Brazilian one finds several State Governors, Congressmen, mayors and ambassadors. Three Presidents of Brazil were of Italian descent: Pascoal Ranieri Mazzilli, Itamar Franco and Emílio Garrastazu Médici.
Areas of Settlement
Areas of main Italian settlement in São Paulo and Southern Brazil
Among all Italians who immigrated to Brazil, 70% went to the State of São Paulo. In consequence, São Paulo has more people with Italian ancestry than any region of Italy itself. The rest went mostly to the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Cataria, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.
Due to the internal migration, many Italians, second, third and fourth generations descendants, moved to other areas. In the early 20th century, many rural Italian workers from Rio Grande do Sul migrated to the west of Santa Catarina and then further north to Paraná.
More recently, third and fourth generations have been migrating to other areas; thus it is possible to find people of Italian descent in Brazilian regions where the immigrants had never settled, such as in the Cerrado region of Central-West, in the Northeast and in the Amazon rainforest area, in the extreme North of Brazil.
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