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White Brazilian
Brasileiro Branco

European immigrants in Brazil
Regions with significant populations
Brazil:    Entire country; highest numbers found in southern and southeastern Brazil
Languages
Predominantly Portuguese
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic · Protestant · Jewish minority
Related ethnic groups
Portuguese, Italians, Germans, Spaniards, Ukrainians, Poles, Lebanese, White Americans, Jews

According to the 2006 census, White Brazilians make up 49.7% of Brazil's population, or around 93 million people. Whites are present in the entire territory of Brazil, although the main concentrations are found in the South and Southeastern parts of the country. White Brazilians are all people who are full or mainly descended of European and other White immigrants.

Brazil has the largest White population in the Southern Hemisphere, and the third largest in the World, after the United States and Russia. The main ancestries of White Brazilians are Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and German.

History

Brazil received more European immigrants in its colonial era than did the United States of America. Between 1500 and 1760, 700,000 Europeans settled in Brazil, compared to 530,000 in the United States.

One important fact about the European immigration in Brazil is that it was, for three centuries, dominated exclusively by Portuguese. In the 17th century, Dutch and French settlers created colonies in the country. The Dutch presence in Northeast Brazil lasted 24 years. Many European Jews arrived in that period. However, in 1654, the Dutch were expelled. The hegemony of the Portuguese ethnicity in the White population of Brazil lasted until the 19th century, when in 1818 the first Swiss immigrants settled Nova Friburgo (Rio de Janeiro) and, in 1824, Germans settled São Leopoldo (Rio Grande do Sul).

Most of the immigrants were ethnically Portuguese, but some of the first settlers were, actually, Portuguese Jews. According to some estimates, 45% of colonial Portuguese settlers in Brazil came from Minho, 20% from the Azores Islands, 16% from Lisbon and 19% from other parts. In all Brazil's History, most immigrants came from Northern Portugal.

Another characteristic of the Portuguese colonization is that it was done mostly by males. The lack of European women was a problem faced during much of Brazil's colonization. The Portuguese Crown even sent orphaned women for marriage with the settlers, but a large part of the settlers was involved in relationships with indigenous women and with their African slaves. However, not all Portuguese colonists were in interracial relationships: at the end of the 16th century, Whites made up half of Brazil's population. It is remarkable that most Portuguese settlers arrived in Brazil in the 18th century: 600,000 in a period of only 60 years. The exploitation of gold in the region of Minas Gerais has been a crucial factor in the arrival of this contingent of immigrants.

The hegemony of the white Portuguese ethnicity had its end only in 1818, when Brazil attracted Swiss families to occupy inhospitable regions . The presence of German immigrants had great importance for the occupation of Southern Brazil. They founded rural communities that later became prosperous cities, as was the case of São Leopoldo, Joinville and Blumenau.

The end of the slave trade (1850) and the abolition of slavery (1888) were crucial to the entry of millions of Europeans to Brazil. The production of coffee, the main product of Brazil at the time, began to suffer a shortage of workers. The Brazilian Government then opened its doors to immigrants. From 1875, the Italians began to enter Brazil in huge numbers. From 1884 to 1933, 1.4 million Italians immigrated to Brazil, 70% of whom settled in São Paulo. Brazil is, nowadays, the country with the largest population of Italian descent outside of Italy itself: 25 million Brazilians are of Italian descent.

The period of the great European immigration in Brazil, between 1880 and 1930, brought to the country more than 5 million Europeans. A majority were Italians and Portuguese, followed by Spaniards, Germans, Poles, and Ukrainians. It is notable that most of this more recent wave of immigrants from Europe settled Southern and Southeastern Brazil.

Regions of settlement

Most European immigrants entered Brazil for the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais received most of the Portuguese settlers since the 16th century. São Paulo received most of the Italians and other immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, the impact of the European immigration was larger in Southern Brazil. This region received a smaller number of immigrants, but since it had a low population, the arrival of the Europeans was greater to its demography. Pernambuco was also an important place to the arrival of Portuguese immigrants. In the rest of Brazil, most Europeans and their descendants arrived from other states and had a smaller impact in the population's ethnicity.

Portuguese

Many Brazilians are full or partly of Portuguese ancestry. They started arriving in 1500, the immigration grew in the 18th century and the boom occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Brazilians make a sharp distinction between Portuguese immigrants and their descendants, and the much larger population that originated from colonial settling of the country. The latter are definitely not considered "Portuguese Brazilian".

Spaniards

Spaniards came in large numbers to Brazil, starting in the late 19th century. Most of them were attracted to work in the coffee plantations in the State of São Paulo. Today, there is an estimated 15 million Brazilians of direct Spanish descent .

Italians

Italians started arriving in Brazil in 1875. First they settled in rural communities across Southern Brazil. In the early 20th century, they mostly settled in the coffee plantations in the Southeast. 25 million Brazilians are of Italian origin,the largest numbers outside of Italy itself.

Germans

The first Germans arrived in Brazil in 1824. They were the first non-Portuguese immigrants to settle in the country. Most of them established themselves in rural communities across Southern Brazil, such as São Leopoldo, Novo Hamburgo, Blumenau and Pomerode. In states of the south, such as Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, they may represent as much as 35% of the population.

Poles

Poles came in significant numbers to Brazil after 1870. Most of them settled in the State of Paraná, working as small farmers.

Ukrainians

Ukrainians came to Brazil primary between 1895 and the Second World War, settling mostly in Parana (state) and working as small farmers. They currently number approximately 400,000.

Arabs

Besides the Europeans, many Brazilians descend from Caucasoid Arabs, mostly Syrians and Lebanese people. The Arab Brazilian population is estimated at about 10 million people. The Brazilian population of Lebanese descent is about 7 million people while Lebanon has a population of over 4 million people.

Jews

The history of the Jews in Brazil is relatively long and complex as it stretches over many centuries. Jews settled early in Brazil, especially during the Dutch rule of the Northeast, setting up the first synagogue in the Americas, in Recife, as early as 1636. Nowadays Brazil has about 295,000 Jews, but most of them are Ashkenazi Jews, descendants of immigrants from Germany, Poland, Russia and Ukraine, and the smaller Sephardic community is mostly composed of immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East.

Demography

By Brazilian states

The Brazilian states with the highest percentages of Whites are the three located in the South of the country: Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná. These states, along with São Paulo, were settled mainly by German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish immigrants. The other states in the list are those whose population is mainly of Portuguese ancestry.

• 1) Santa Catarina: 87.1% White
• 2) Rio Grande do Sul: 81.7%
• 3) Paraná: 73.1%
• 4) São Paulo: 67.9%
• 5) Rio de Janeiro: 54.6%
• 6) Mato Grosso do Sul: 51.1%
• 7) Minas Gerais: 46.2%
• 8) Goiás: 43.6%

The Brazilian states with the lowest percentages of Whites are those located in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil. Both had a stronger African and Amerindian influence to the population's ethnic composition.

• 1) Roraima: 19.9% White
• 2) Bahia: 20.3%
• 3) Amazonas: 21.0%
• 4) Pará: 22.4%
• 5) Amapá: 23.3%

Source: IBGE 2000

By Population

• 1) São Paulo: 28,814,000 Whites
• 2) Minas Gerais: 9,019,164
• 3) Rio Grande do Sul: 8,973,928
• 4) Rio de Janeiro: 8,513,778
• 5) Paraná: 7,620,000
• 6) Santa Catarina: 5,215,000
• 7) Pernambuco: 3,151,000
• 8) Ceará: 2,883,000
• 9) Bahia: 2,864,000

By cities and towns

In a list of the 144 Brazilian towns with the highest percentages of White people, all the cities were located in two states: Rio Grande do Sul or Santa Catarina. Another fact is that all these towns are settled predominantly by Brazilians of German and Italian descent. It is important to note that, in the late 19th century, many German and Italian immigrants created small communities across Southern Brazil. These communities were settled, in many cases, exclusivily by European immigrants and their descendants. The Brazilian towns with the largest percentages of Whites are:

• 1) Montauri (Rio Grande do Sul): 100% White
• 2) Leoberto Leal (Santa Catarina): 99.82%
• 3) Pedras Grandes (Rio Grande do Sul): 99.81%
• 4) Capitão (Rio Grande do Sul): 99.77%
• 5) Santa Tereza (Rio Grande do Sul): 99.69%
• 6) Cunhataí (Santa Catarina): 99.67%
• 7) São Martinho (Santa Catarina): 99.64%
• 8) Guabiju (Rio Grande do Sul): 99.62%

The Brazilian towns with the lowest percentages of Whites are located in Northern and Northeastern Brazil. Some of the towns are Indian reservations, others are Quilombos (rural areas settled by descendants of escaped African slaves).

• 1) Nossa Senhora das Dores (Sergipe): 0.71% White
• 2) Santo Inácio do Piauí (Piauí): 2.25%
• 3) Uiramutã (Roraima): 2.33%
• 4) Ipixuna (Amazonas): 2.35%
• 5) Caapiranga (Amazonas): 2.97%
• 6) Fonte Boa (Amazonas): 3.01%
• 7) Santa Isabel do Rio Negro (Amazonas): 3.15%
• 8) Serrano do Maranhão (Maranhão): 3.30%

Immigration

Genetic researches

The genes can reveal from what part of the world the oldest ancestors of the paternal and maternal line of a person came from. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is present in all human beings and passed down through the maternal line, i.e. the mother of the mother of the mother etc. The Y chromosome is present only in males and passed down through the paternal line, i.e., the father of father of father etc. The mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome suffer only minor mutations through centuries, thus can be used to establish the paternal line in males (because only males have the Y chromosome) and the maternal line in both males and females.

A genetic research carried out in a sample of white Brazilian people revealed that almost all (98%) Brazilian males Y Chromosome originated in Europe. However, in the maternal line, there would be a 39% European, 33% Native American and 28% Sub-Saharan African contribution to the total mtDNA pool..

The same genetic research concluded that over 75% of caucasians from North, Northeast and Southeast Brazil would have over 10% Sub-Saharan African genes. Even Southern Brazil, that received a large group of European immigration, 49% of the Caucasian population would have over 10% Sub-Saharan African genes. According to this study, in all United States 11% of Caucasians would have over 10% African genes. Some researchers have found that the average European American type has approximately 10% to 12% non-White genetic material.

Another genetic research, however, suggested that the white Brazilian population is not genetically homogenous, as its genomic ancestry varies in different regions. Samples of white males from Rio Grande do Sul has showed a huge difference between whites of different localities of Brazil. In a sample from the town of Veranópolis, heavily settled by people of Italian descent, the results from the maternal and paternal sides stated almost complete European ancestry. On the other hand, a sample from another region of Rio Grande do Sul has showed significant fractions of Native American (36%) and African (16%) mtDNA haplogroups. The scholars reported that the Brazilian populations are remarkably heterogeneous, as some samples of white Brazilians indicated a complete European ancestry, while others indicated high degree of both Amerindian and African admixture, mainly on the maternal side.

Another study carried out in one thousand individuals from Porto Alegre city, Southern Brazil, and 760 from Natal city, Northeastern Brazil, found huge differences between the Whites of these two parts of Brazil. The Whites of Porto Alegre had only 8% of African alleles. On the other hand, the Whites of Natal had 58% White, 25% Black, and 17% Indian admixture. This study found that both persons identified as White or Mixed in Natal have similar admixture, while persons identified as White in Porto Alegre have an overwhelming majority of European ancestry. Again, this study also suggested the differences of admixture found in White Brazilians of different regions.

One more research carried out in whites of Northeastern Brazilian origin living in São Paulo found 70% European, 18% African and 12% Amerindian admixture.

See also

• Immigration to Brazil
• Carcamano
• White Latin Americans
• White Argentine
• White Cuban
• White Mexican

Footnotes

1. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística
2. The Phylogeography of Brazilian Y-Chromosome Lineages
3. ^ IBGE teen
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/History_of_Immigration_to_the_United_States#Population_in_1790
5. Morro Digital- telecentro no Morro da Conceição - 1654 - Expulsão dos Holandeses
6. A Colônia Suíça de Nova Friburgo
7. Colônia São Leopoldo
8. Anita Novinsky, Raízes ocultas do Brasil, O Globo Newspaper, 09.24.2006
9. [http://www.trentu.ca/admin/publications/psr/sample/1012.pdf Ensaio sobre a imigração portuguesa e os padrões de miscigenação no Brasil (séculos XIX e XX) - 2002 - Portugueses]
10. A Colônia Suíça de Nova Friburgo
11. imigracao II
12. Imigração no Brasil
13. Câmara Ítalo-Brasileira de Comércio e Indústria
14. Especiais - Agência Brasil
15. Minimanual Compacto de Geografia do Brasil, Editora Rideel. 2003
16. http://www.mae.es/es/MenuPpal/Paises/ArbolPaises/Brasil/Nota+pais/
17. Câmara Ítalo-Brasileira de Comércio e Indústria
18. Embaixada do Líbano no Brasil
19. PNAD
20. Sistema IBGE de Recuperação Automática - SIDRA
21. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-5491(196104)34%3A2%3C60%3AICISB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-G
22. ^ Sistema IBGE de Recuperação Automática - SIDRA
23. Source: Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE
24. Os Genes de Cabral
25. DNAPrint Genomics Website
26. The polymorphism of the serotonin-2A receptor T102C is associated with age
27. Blood polymorphisms and racial admixture in two Brazilian populations
28. Color and genomic ancestry in Brazilians

v t e Ancestry and ethnicity in Brazil
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Related topics	Demographics of Brazil Colonization Slave trade Immigration from Europe Emigration Racism

• Accuracy disputes from August 2008
• Ethnic groups in Brazil