The Confederados are a cultural sub-group in the nation of Brazil. They are the descendants of Confederate soldiers who fled to Brazil with their families after the American Civil War. Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... This article is becoming very long. ...

Original Confederados

At the end of the American Civil War, Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil was interested in having cotton crops due to the high prices and, through Masonry contacts, recruited experienced cotton farmers for his nation. Dom Pedro offered the potential immigrants subsidies and tax breaks. General Robert E. Lee advised Southerners not to flee to South America but many ignored his advice and set out to establish a new life away from the destruction of war. Many Southerners who took the Emperor's offer had lost their land during the war, were unwilling to live under a conquering army, or simply did not expect an improvement in the South's economic position. In addition, Brazil would not outlaw slavery until 1888. Although a number of historians say that the existence of slavery was an appeal, Alcides Gussi, an independent researcher of Campinas University, found that only four families owned a total of 66 slaves from 1868 to 1875. So, it is an established fact that the immigrants did not revert to large-scale, slave-intensive agriculture. Most of the immigrants were from the states of Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and South Carolina. Dom Pedro IIs family Dom Pedro II and President Ulysses S. Grant, Philadelphia Exposition, 1876 Dom Pedro II in his old age Dom Pedro II of Brazil Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil was the second and final Brazilian Emperor. ... Cotton ready for harvest. ... Cotton ready for harvest. ... Net migration rates for 2006: positive (blue) and negative (orange) Map of the world with countries coloured according to their immigrant population as a percentage of total population: Although human migration has existed throughout human history, immigration in the modern sense refers to movement of people from one nation-state... // For the author of Inherit the Wind and other works, see Robert Edwin Lee. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Slave redirects here. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states which have membership of the federation known as the United States of America (USA or U.S.). The separate state governments and the U.S. federal government share sovereignty. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) de jure: none de facto: English & French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city Baton Rouge [1] Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33°N  - Longitude 89°W... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston(1670-1789) Columbia(1790-present) Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32°430N to 35...

It is unknown just how many immigrants came to Brazil as refugees from the war, but an unpublished research in the Rio de Janeiro Port by Betty Antunes de Oliveira counts some 9,000 Americans that entered Brazil from 1865-1875. Of those, an unknown number returned to the United States as conditions improved there. Many immigrants renounced their American citizenship and adopted Brazilian citizenship.

The immigrants settled in various places in Brazil ranging from the urban areas of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to the northern Amazon region and Paraná in the south. But most of the Confederados settled in the area around present-day Santa Bárbara D'Oeste and Americana, Brazil near São Paulo, derived from the name Vila dos Americanos. This was the name given by natives in the region due to its American population. Location of Rio de Janeiro Coordinates: On GoogleMaps: SEE - On GoogleEarth: SEE. Country Brazil Region Southeast State Rio de Janeiro Government  - Mayor Cesar Maia (PFL) Area  - City 1,260 km²  (486. ... Landmark buildings Edifício Italia (at left) and Copan (curved façade at center), in São Paulo Downtown. ... // “Amazonian” redirects here. ... Americana is a city and county (município) located in Brazilian state of São Paulo. ...

The first original Confederados known to arrive was Colonel William H. Norris of Alabama—the colony at Santa Bárbara D'Oeste is sometimes called the Norris Colony.

Dom Pedro's program was judged a success for both the immigrants and the Brazilian government. The settlers brought with them modern agricultural techniques and new crops such as watermelon, and pecans that soon spread among the native Brazilian farmers. Some foods of the American South also crossed over and became part of general Brazilian culture such as chess pie, vinegar pie, and southern fried chicken. Binomial name Citrullus lanatus (Thunb. ... Binomial name Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh. ... Chess pie is a dessert characteristic of Southern U.S. cuisine. ... KFCs Fried chicken with french fries. ...

The original Confederados continued many elements of American culture and established the first Baptist churches in Brazil. They also established public schools and provided education to their female children, which was unusual in Brazil at the time. The Confederados also founded Colégio Internacional in Campinas and the Escola Americana in São Paulo to provide higher education to their children. Baptist is a term describing a tradition within Christianity and may also refer to individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. ... Government Country   State Brazil   São Paulo Geographical characteristics Area Total 797. ...

Surprising to modern Americans, the Confederados educated their slaves and black freemen in their new schools. To their Brazilian neighbors this practice was considered unusual and even scandalous.

Descendants of the immigrants

The first generation of Confederados remained an insular community, but by the third generation, most of the families had intermarried with native Brazilians or immigrants of other origins. Descendants of the Confederados increasingly spoke the Portuguese language and identified themselves as Brazilians. As the area around Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and Americana turned increasingly to the production of sugar cane and society became more mobile, the Confederados drifted to cities. Today, only a few descendant families still live on the original land owned by their ancestors. The descendants of the original Confederados are mostly scattered throughout Brazil but maintain the headquarters of their descendant organization at the Campo Cemetery, in Santa Bárbara D'Oeste. Portuguese ( , also língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is today Galicia (Spain) and northern Portugal as Latin spoken by romanized Celtiberians about a thousand years ago. ... Santa Bárbara dOeste (portuguese for Western Santa Barbara) is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. ... Species Ref: ITIS 42058 as of 2004-05-05 Sugarcane is one of six species of a tall tropical southeast Asian grass (Family Poaceae) having stout fibrous jointed stalks whose sap at one time was the primary source of sugar. ...

The descendants still foster a connection with their history through the Fraternity of American Descendants, a descendant organization dedicated to preserving the unique mixed culture. The Confederados also have an annual festival, called the Festa Confederada which is dedicated to fund the Campo Cemetery. The festival is marked by Confederate flags, traditional dress of Confederate uniforms and hoop skirts, food of the American south with a Brazilian flair, and dances and music popular in the American south during the antebellum period. The descendants maintain affection for the Confederate flag even though they all consider themselves completely Brazilian. Modern Confederados distance themselves from any of the racial controversies. A hoop skirt or hoopskirt is a womens undergarment worn in various periods to hold the skirt extended into a fashionable shape. ... The following are the flags used by the short-lived Confederate States of America. ...

In Brazil the Confederate flag has not previously had the racial stigma that has been attached to it in the United States. Many descendants are of mixed race and reflect the varied racial categories that make up Brazilian society in their physical appearance. Recently the Brazilian residents of Americana, now of primarily Italian-descent, have removed the Confederate flag from the city's crest citing the fact that Confederados now make up only 10 percent of the city's population. The Confederate flag was associated with the city in the wake of Jimmy Carter's visit to the region. Americana is a city and county (município) located in Brazilian state of São Paulo. ... This article is becoming very long. ...

Many Confederados have traveled to the United States at the invitation of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, an American descendant's organization, to visit Civil War battlefields, attend reenactments, or see where their ancestors lived in the US. Sons of Confederate Veterans logo Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an organization of male descendants of soldiers who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. ...

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. Due to their Protestant religion, they established their own cemetery. The Confederado community has also established a Museum of Immigration at Santa Bárbara d'Oeste to present the history of Brazilian immigration and highlight its benefits to the nation. Santa Bárbara dOeste (portuguese for Western Santa Barbara) is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. ...

In 1972 Then Governor (and future President) Jimmy Carter of Georgia visited the city of Americana and visited the grave of his wife Rosalyn's great-uncle who was one of the original Confederados. 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... White House portrait Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter (born August 18, 1927) is the former First Lady of the United States. ...

Sociological aspects

The Confederados have been mostly forgotten over the years, but in recent years some limited studies have been conducted on the influence the Confederado immigration had on Brazil and Latin America as a whole.

The Conferados have been the focus of a few books, The Confederados: Old South Immigrants in Brazil edited by Cyrus B. Dawsey, and The Lost Colony of the Confederacy by Eugene C. Harter. William Griggs wrote a book on the failed Iguape Colony, published by the University of Texas The Elusive Eden. They are also included in Lost White Tribes: Journeys among the Forgotten by Riccardo Orizio (Avril Bardoni, translator) which relates the stories of several such cultural artifacts left behind in the third world as colonialism ended. The Confederados were also the subject of a 1998 American Heritage report (The Deepest South. American Heritage 49(2), April 1998. Pages 84-95). Judith McKnight Jones, a descendant, also wrote a book in Portuguese that brings an insider's account on the immigration and family trees. It lists some 400 families. Alcides Fernando Gussi also wrote a Master's degree paper that materialized into a book, named Os Norte-Americanos Confederados do Brasil. Auburn University maintains a special collection of material related to the Confederado immigration including correspondence, memoirs, genealogies, and newspaper clippings related to the original immigrants especially the family of Colonel Norris. It has been suggested that Benign colonialism be merged into this article or section. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a state university located in Auburn, Alabama, in the United States. ...

See also

• Knights of the Golden Circle
• Golden Circle (Slavery)
• The Domination

The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a secret society originally founded to promote Southern interests and prepare the way for annexation of a golden circle of territories in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean which would be included into the United States as southern or slave states. ... The Golden Circle was a pan-Caribbean political alliance proposed by in the 1850s that would have included many countries into a United States-like federal union. ... The Domination is a dystopian alternate history series by S. M. Stirling. ...

External links

• Confederados collection at Auburn University
• Webpage with documentation on the Confederados