the lost colony of the confederacy

eugene harter

the result of the civil war was, of course, the abolition of the economic system based on slave labor but also the weakening of the economy due to destruction of crops, infrastructure, housing, etc. faced with this dire economic situation, hopelessness for future economic improvement, and harassment by (and forced subordination to) the political system controlled by northern interests, many southerners (mostly white, some black) decided to emigrate in the following 10 years or so. while some went to mexico, a larger group (perhaps 20,000) set sail for brasil (literally; some of the ships that took them from new orleans or mobile to the port of rio de janeiro lacked powered engines).

many groups went as part of colonization societies. often these were led by religious ministers. typically a scouting party would find and buy land in brazil before returning to the US to arrange transport to the colony for the recruits.

though slavery was still legal in brazil, few of the immigrants purchased slaves and this is discredited as a motivation for relocation to brazil by the author. the presence of cheap labor, however, was attractive. slavery was abolished peacefully a few years later through a system that compensated former slave owners for the monetary investment their slaves had represented.

the confederates contributed technical knowledge to brazilian agriculture as well as introduced the watermelon to that country.

over time, the separate and isolated enclaves of the confederates largely dissolved as its members moved to urban areas and generally merged into brazilian population.