The Role of Colonization, Slavery and Immigration on Brazilian Culture

During this month-long adventure, it’s become clear that Brazil is more than just one place, concept or stereotype. There are many iconic symbols of Brazil—Carnival, the Amazon, samba, soccer and warmth. Yet, after spending a month in the country, it is clear that there is much more to Brazil beyond these symbols. Similar to many other nations, it means different things to different people, depending on their socio-economic status, race, region, or location. My perception of Brazil and its people has dramatically evolved during the short time I have been here. The abundance of cultural activities, museum visits, lectures and daily experiences have contributed to this transformation and have allowed my understanding of Brazil to rapidly develop in a short period of time. Due to the role of Brazil’s history and the resultant “cultural mixing”, it’s become evident as one of globe’s most varied and diverse culture.¹ Within our experiences and during our the visit to the coffee plantation in the city of Jundiaí— Fazenda Nossa Senhora da Conceicao—we learned about the combined roles that slavery, Portugal’s colonization and immigration have played in Brazil’s history and the Brazilian identity.

Portugal’s Colonization

Portuguese colonization began along Brazil’s shores in 1500.⁴ During this time, there was believed to be over 5 million people belonging to nearly 100 different ethnicities (Melnior). Wen Portugal first arrived, they had to make alliances with various tribes, who were at conflict with other natives, and adapt to their culture and language. While Portugal built their empire on slavery, instead of enslaving the “lazy” and rapidly dying off natives, the Portuguese imported African slaves for manual labor. By the 17^th century, every social aspect of life was built on the slave system, which uniquely allowed slaves to buy their freedom and buy other slaves. Brazilians had the belief that mixing races could make you “whiter.” Gilberto Freyer believed that the main characteristics of Brazilians emerged from racial mixing, a concept he called “racial democracy,” (Casa-Grande e Senzala). ⁵ Prior to Brazil’s independence in 1822, Brazil was perceived as a place of many different cultures that could not be united as one country. This history has had a tremendous impact on the modern day Brazilian identity.

Similarly, Portugal’s colonization has left a tremendous impact on the culture – including language, customs, architecture, and music. The most obvious influence is the Portuguese language that every Brazilian citizen speaks, although the dialects range between the regions. In addition to using African drums, contemporary samba also includes the Portuguese guitar sounds. This music is key to Brazilian Carnival, a festival that was also brought over when the Portuguese colonized the nation.⁶ The celebration occurs immediately before Lent, a religious tradition that was also instilled in the nation with Catholicism.⁶ These traditions are deeply ingrained in modern Brazilian culture.

Brazil sought independence from Portugal to keep the slavery system intact. During the 19^th century, other countries had already abolished slavery and Haiti had a slave revolt, which impacted the global coffee industry and opened up the market for Brazil.⁴ By this time, half of the population were slaves, the remaining consisted of a small privileged white population and poor mulattos, freed blacks and Indians.⁴ On the Jundiaí coffee plantation, which opened in 1810, we had an intimate look into the Portuguese family who ran the coffee plantation and into the life of the slaves during that time. Most of the buildings on the farm have symbolic Portuguese architecture that was commonly used by wealthy families. Following the end of slavery, many slaves were jobless and homeless and moved to bairros africanos (African neighborhoods) to settle. Overtime, other poor citizens moved to these “illegal habitations,” leading to the contemporary favelas. The role of history in modern-day Brazil is undeniable and many of their most precious cultural icons stem from the “mixing of cultures.”¹

Slavery

Some of Brazil’s most famous dances and music are originated from the bringing of African slaves to the nation during the 16^th to 19^th centuries. The Brazilian samba – the official music of Carnival – is believed to have stemmed from both a West African Bantu word meaning “to invoke the spirits of ancestors” and the word ‘semba,’ meaning “pelvic movements,” (The Telegraph).² Scholars agree that Samba has globally become “synonymous” with Brazilian music and the Brazilian identity, since the 1930’s (Crook, p 9).³ Beyond the cliché of Samba occurring primarily on the streets of Rio Carnival, there is cultural heritage within the mesmerizing rhythmic movements of Samba that Brazilians all over the nation relate to. Prior to visiting Brazil, I had no idea of its origins as a “ritualistic love dance” between the slaves.³ In addition to Samba, Africans used other ritualistic dances like batuque and capoeira to provide comfort during their life as a slave. Today, these religious traditions have become apart of Brazilian culture and traditions.

Slavery’s impact on Brazilian culture became truly apparent through our studies and during our visit the coffee plantation in the city of Jundiaí. Our tour guide described the life of the slaves and the many cultural features they brought with them, including capoeira and samba. Capoeria’s Afro-Brazilian roots as a dance of war are undeniable when observing the elements of dance, instruments, and artifacts left collected by the plantation owners. A group of old women dancing with plantation staff warmly grabbed us to practice our Samba steps with them, greatly outdoing us in their ability to move their bodies. On the other hand, we also solemnly listened as the tour guide presented old objects belonging to the slaves and tools used to shackle and torture slaves into obedience. Yet, it is difficult to forget the role Portugal played in the bringing of the slaves to this plantation.

Immigration

During the 18^th and 19^th centuries, many Europeans immigrated to Brazil hoping to find wealth and prosperity. The largest immigrant groups were those of Italy and Germany. In addition, Brazil was facing a work force crisis by the end of the 19^th century, due to the end of slavery, and began to find unique ways to attract Italian immigrants to coffee plantations. These immigrants were promised housing and land, but arrived to find they were receiving very low wage. On the coffee plantation in the city of Jundiaí, the plantation owners had constructed an Italian-inspired church to keep the unhappy immigrants satisfied and on the land, afraid that they would try to find work elsewhere. According to the plantation’s website, the Italian immigrants implemented its culture of vineyards, creating a new cycle in the history of the farm. Additionally, the Brazilian government promised German immigrants land where they could resettle their families and colonize the region. While this mostly turned out to be a scam, some immigrants settled in rural areas and formed their own houses and colonies.

In addition to the cultural impacts of Portugal and African slaves, some aspects of the Brazilian culture were brought along with Italian, German and European immigrants. These immigrants primarily settled in Southern and Southeastern Brazil and organized communities in the various states. The demography and culture of Southern Brazil was dramatically impacted, as nearly 80 percent of the population is considered to be white.¹ While the Southeastern region has a more equal racial demographics, the region is still the richest of the country and much more “whiter” than the North. The food found in the Southern regions includes various German and Italian options, with some entire towns full of European-descent, such as Pemerode.  Additionally, the architecture appears quite European, which explains why rather than compare Brazil to the United States, I often find myself comparing it to my European travels.

The Brazilian Identity

All identities are based on the relationship between one’s self and one’s people.¹ The Brazilian identity only began in the 20^th century, and is quite unique in comparison to that of European countries or the United States. The European domination, centuries of slavery, and immigration led to the melting pot of nationalities that we see today. Differing from the United States where individuals identify with both their heritage and America, commonly seen as African American, Asian American, etc., Brazilians identify by both their race and nationality. In this mixed nation, social status can change how one’s race is perceived. This is displayed in futebol, where race doesn’t matter, as long as the player is talented. Rather than using a “multiracial” category, the country use skin color categories, with many Brazilians self-identifying as “pardos” when having visibly mixed racial origins. In addition to a national identity, Brazilians clearly have strong regional identities. In truth, an American cannot begin to understand the complexities of the nation or identity after spending a short month in Brazil, but we can use the information available to us to attempt to paint the true picture.

1.     Thomas Melnior

2.     http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/10967758/From-slave-songs-to-samba-the-vibrant-rhythms-of-Brazilian-dance-come-to-Britain.html

3.     Brazilian Music: Northeastern Traditions and the Heartbeat of a ..., Volume 1 r Larry Crook

4. http://www.theworldeconomy.org/impact/The_Portuguese_in_Brazil.html

 5. Casa-Grande e Senzala, Gilberto Freyer

6. https://www.worldskills.org/media/news/brazilian-carnival/

Regional Variations: A United Country?

As a result of the centuries of slavery and Portugese colonization, modern-day Brazil is a melting pot of nationalities. Despite the common language, the Brazilian regions are full of states with diverse ethnicities, customs and communities. Historically, Brazilians have been very open about this diversity, often voicing their perspective of those from other regions. In class, we discussed the lyrics of “Aquarela Brasileira” by Silas de Oliveira, a samba de enredo, which identifies stereotypes and characteristics of the various regions. The song describes the “architecture, art and beauty” of Brasilia, the “sambas and drumming” of Rio de Janeiro, the Amazon and beautiful rainforests of the north. The song ends with Rio, as the author feels it’s the most representative of Brazilian society, and excludes Southern Brazil, for the opposite reasons. Despite the deep pride seen within these lyrics, it’s clear how much each territory differs from one another.

While we were unable to visit many states or regions during this dialogue, we managed to visit two different states – the State of São Paulo and the State of Paraná. All of our cultural activities, lectures, and experiences have allowed us to construct archetypes and stereotypes of various areas of Brazil. For example, the perspectives of Paulistanos have contributed to my understanding that the North has a high population of poor and unemployed. Traveling to São Paulo and Curitiba has provided me with the opportunity to compare two different regions – the Southeast and the South– with the characteristics that were described in class, as well as explore why many Brazilians don’t feel the South is representative of the country.

During our stay in the Southeastern region, we primarily stayed in São Paulo and its outskirts, but we also travelled to Santos, Embu das Artes and other towns on the countryside. As the richest region of the country, it was clear that São Paulo had more money for extravagant architecture, shopping centers, and cultural places in comparison to states up in the north. Many individuals migrate from the North to the South to the more industrialized region in hopes of finding work, contributing to the highest person to square kilometer ratio in Brazil – 86.3 people per km². Due to the favorable climate, the state of São Paulo was fortunate enough to have prosperous sugarcane plantations and ethanol plants, allowing the state to have a highly renewable energy mix. Furthermore, the role history has played impacted the demographics and race groups in the region. The southern region’s racial breakdown is about 44% black and multiracial and 55% white. The presence of dark skinned individuals is quite apparent, although a woman once mistook Brianna, our teacher’s aid who happens to be African American, for an employee after we informed her numerous times she was not.

While over 14% of the nation’s population lives in Brazil, the southern states make up the smallest region of the country. Additionally, the state is highly urbanized, in comparison to the north, and known for its marvelous city planning and high standard of living. Curitiba’s focus on sustainability is also a lot more noticeable, in comparison to Sao Paulo. Curitiba was the first place in Brazil committed to promoting environmental consciousness and sustainability, through programs like Green Exchange and an integrated transportation system. During our visit to the Universidade Livre do Meio Ambiente —an institute focused on sustainability and reforestation—the pride felt by Eduardo Baptista, our tour guide, for these successful programs was clear. He demonstrated the signs of a prosperous reforestation project, pointing out rare species and signs that the forest was in its fourth phase of succession. Furthermore, the city’s extremely high number of green areas, a record breaking 54 square meters per person, contributes to Curitiba’s status as the ecological capital. Our visit to Jardim Botânico De Curitiba was extraordinary, displaying the city planners’ commitment to creating green spaces and increasing the citizens’ standard of living. 

In addition to boarding Argentina and Uruguay, a large number of European immigrants settled in the South, immensely influencing the demography and culture. In comparison to other parts of the country, the South has the whitest population – with only 21% of black or multiracial citizens. This was very noticeable and we rapidly noticed how often individuals stared at Brianna, when walking the streets of Curitiba. Though the citizens don’t seem hostile in their stares, it is quite clear how unusual her presence is. Similarly, I have seen very few dark skinned Brazilians in this city. During the 18^th and 19^th century, the largest groups of settlers were Italian and German, which explains the numerous German and Italian restaurants throughout the historical city center of Curitiba, of which appear to be very popular. Thus, these differences from the southeastern region and the high population of Europeans and Latinos has contributed to the idea that the south is not representative of Brazil and shouldn’t be considered a part of it.

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