The German Element in Brazil Part 1

The German Element in Brazil.

by Benjamin Franklin Schappelle.

PREFACE.

The primary purpose of this work is to give an idea of the dialect which has been developed by the German-speaking element in Brazil.

As comparatively little is known by the English-speaking public concerning the history, location and relative importance of the German element in Brazil (judging from extant English publications referring to the subject), the main part of the work has been preceded by a chapter dealing with these particular phases. This first chapter is also intended to prepare the reader to form a reasonable estimate of the comparative importance and extent of the dialect under discussion in the main part of the work.

In connection with this study the author is particularly indebted to the well-known authority on German American cultural relations and conditions, Professor Marion Dexter Learned, of the University of Pennsylvania. It was at his suggestion and under his constant help and advice that the plan was carried out.

While on a trip of investigation in Brazil the writer was furnished important information and material by Friedrich Sommer, _Direktor_ of the "Banco Allemo Transatlantico" of So Paulo; Henrique Bamberg of So Paulo; Otto Specht, _Chefe da Secco de Publicidade e Bibliotheca_ of the "Secretaria da Agricultura" of So Paulo; Johann Potucek, Austro-Hungarian Consul in Curityba; J.B. Hafkemeyer, S.J., of the "Collegio Anchieta," Porto Alegre; G.A. Buchler of the "Neue Schule,"

Blumenau; Cleto Espey, O.F.M., of the "Collegio St. Antonio," Blumenau; E. Bloch, _Engenheiro Chefe da Estrada de Ferro Santa Catharina,_ Itajahy; Nikolaus Dechent, _Direktor_ of the "Deutsche Schule,"

Joinville; Petrus Sinzig, O.F.M., of the "Convento dos Franciscanos,"

Petropolis; Edmondo Hees, Editor of the "Nachrichten," Petropolis; Pastor Fr. L. Hoepffner of the "Deutsch-Evangelische Gemeinde," Rio de Janeiro; W. Munzenthaler, _Kaiserlicher General-Konsul,_ Rio de Janeiro; and Heinrich Lotz, _Kgl. Bezirksgeologe a.D._, Berlin.

Special thanks are also due to Professor D.B. Shumway, of the University of Pennsylvania, for valuable suggestions and a.s.sistance in the final arrangement of the ma.n.u.script.

The above-mentioned persons are in no wise responsible for any errors which may appear in the text.

=CHAPTER I.=

THE COLONIES. HISTORY AND LOCATION.

THE FIRST SETTLERS.

The first reference to German settlers in Brazil we have from the pen of Hans Stade of Homberg in Hessen. Stade made two trips to Brazil; one in 1547 and one in 1549. In the latter instance he was shipwrecked but succeeded in landing safely near the present port of Santos in the state of So Paulo. As he was a skilled artillerist the Portuguese made him commander of the fort Bertioga, the ruins of which are an interesting landmark to this day. Later Stade spent several most trying years as the captive of a cannibalistic tribe.

After his return to Germany, Stade published an account of his experiences. The first edition ent.i.tled "_Wahrhafftige Historia unnd beschreibung einer landschafft der Wilden, Nacketen, Grimmigen, Menschfresser Leuthen in der Newen Welt America gelegen, ..._" appeared at Marburg in 1557.[1] In this work Stade refers to two of his fellow-countrymen located in Brazil; the one Heliodorus Eoban of Hessen, who had charge of a sugar-refinery on the island of So Vicente (near Santos); the other Peter Rosel, who was located in Rio de Janeiro as the representative for a business firm of Antdorff.[2]

Next we come to Manuel Beckmann, the son of a German who had located in Lisbon. He is known in history as Manoel Bequimo and was the leader in the Maranho revolution of 1684. This uprising, altho it came to grief, may be regarded as the first of a long series of protests against the home government resulting in the declaration of the independence of Brazil on the field at Ypiranga, September 2d, 1822. Beckmann died a martyr's death at Rio on November 2, 1685. His younger brother, Thomas Beckmann, who had also taken part in the revolution, was acquitted.[3]

In the 18th-century there was another important German figure in Brazilian history; that of Lieutenant-General Johann Heinrich von Bohm.

It was von Bohm who, at the head of Portuguese troops, recaptured the city of Rio Grande in Rio Grande do Sul from the Spaniards in 1777.[4]

Von Bohm was a.s.sisted by two other German officers, i.e., the Count of Lippe and Marschal Funk. These three characters were in a sense the forerunners of the German battalions brought into Brazil by the First Empire in the early part of the following century.

The first colonization of importance by Germans in Brazil did not take place until the early part of the 19th century. Beginning with that century there was a steady stream of non-Portuguese settlers into the country, and of these the Germans formed an important part.

COLONIZATION IN INDIVIDUAL STATES.

_Introductory Remarks._

The following is a resume of the German colonies[5] in Brazil and a brief introduction to their history.

For the sake of convenience, the colonies have been divided:

First; according to the states in which they are located.

Second; according to the date of founding.

Third; according to the kind of colony administratively at the time of founding. As to this they fall under three categories:

a) Private colonies, i.e., founded by a private individual or corporation.

b) Provincial colonies, i.e., founded by a particular state or former province.

c) State colonies, i.e., founded by the central government, whether during the time of the Empire[6] or since the formation of the Republic.

The word _German_ as applied to colonists refers only to natives of Germany who became naturalized citizens of Brazil and to Brazilians of German extraction.

Colonies located within the confines of other German colonies (_e.g.,_ Hansa, So Bento _etc._) are not listed.

_Direct immigration_ signifies immigration from Europe.

_Indirect immigration_ signifies immigration from a South American country bordering on Brazil; immigration from another Brazilian state; or from another colony within the same state.

Numerical statistics concerning individual colonies have been avoided except in a few cases where they are of sufficient comparative importance to be noted in a work of this scope.

All the colonies coming in consideration (excepting some of those founded since 1890) have been "emanc.i.p.ated," _i.e.,_ they no longer receive special aid from, the government and their special colonial directorates have been abolished.

The states of Brazil which are important so far as German colonization is concerned are Bahia, Minas Geraes, Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro (Federal District), So Paulo, Parana, Santa Catharina and Rio Grande do Sul.[7] This is the geographical order from north to south and the one according to which they will be taken up.

BAHIA.

In this state is located the first German colony founded in Brazil. It is =Leopoldina=, started as a private undertaking by Busch, Reycke and Freireiss in 1818.[8]

=Frankenthal=, another private colony, was founded in 1822 by Peter Weyll and Saueracker.[9]

Of all the states mentioned, Bahia is the least important so far as German colonization is concerned. This is largely due to the fact that its climate is too tropical to favor such colonization oft an extended scale.

MINAS GERAES.

The private colony =Theophilo Ottoni=,[10] in the north-eastern part of the state was founded by a German stock-company in 1851.

Recent state colonies where Germans form a considerable part of the population are =Nova Baden, Francisco Salles, Itajuba, Joo Pinheiro, Constanca, Vargem Grande,= and =Rodrigo Sylva=.[11]

Germans form a considerable part of the population of the capital of the state (Bello Horizonte) and of the important city of Juiz da Fora.