Immigration, Ethnicity, and National Identity in Brazil, 1808 to the Present

by Jeffrey Lesser

• ISBN13: 9780521193627
• ISBN10: 0521193621
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-01-21
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Immigration, Ethnicity, and National Identity in Brazil, 1808 to the Present examines the immigration to Brazil of millions of Europeans, Asians, and Middle Easterners beginning in the nineteenth century. Jeffrey Lesser analyzes how these newcomers and their descendents adapted to their new country and how national identity was formed as they became Brazilians along with their children and grandchildren. Lesser argues that immigration cannot be divorced from broader patterns of Brazilian race relations, as most immigrants settled in the decades surrounding the final abolition of slavery in 1888 and their experiences were deeply conditioned by ideas of race and ethnicity formed long before their arrival. This broad exploration of the relationships between immigration, ethnicity, and nation allows for analysis of one of the most vexing areas of Brazilian study: identity.

Table of Contents

Creating Brazilians

From Central Europe and Asia: immigration schemes, 1822-1870

Mass migrations, 1880-1920

The creation of Euro-Brazilian identities

How Arabs became Jews, 1880-1940

Asianizing Brazil: new immigrants and new identities, 1900-1955

Epilogue: the song remains the same

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.