A Brazilian girl of German descent plays an accordion during a paradeIn the first years of independe

A Brazilian girl of German descent plays an accordion during a paradeIn the first years of independence from Portugal, the government of Brazil sought to settle the heavily underpopulated southern region of Brazil with Europeans; the main reason for this was fear of invasion from Argentina or Uruguay. The first Europeans, outside of the Portuguese, to immigrate to these lands were the Germans starting from 1824. Germans were offered large tracts of farmland in the south of the country, where they could settle with their families and live off of agricultural work. Many families settled unoccupied lands at once forming towns, these towns came to be known as colonias or colonies. Alongside the Portuguese, the Germans made-up the majority of immigrants to Brazil until 1876, when a massive boom in European and Levantine immigration occurred. In 1876, Italians and Spaniards replaced Germans as the largest immigrant groups; Italians and Spaniards were highly desired by the government as they were both: white, culturally Latin, and Roman Catholic. The Spanish immigrants mostly migrated to settle and work in the coffee plantations of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro; replacing the enslaved Africans who would shortly be emancipated. The Italians on the other hand, were divided into two groups: those who migrated to São Paulo alongside the Spaniards, and those who settled in the southern states alongside the Germans; starting their own colonias or populating cities already formed by German/other European-descendants. Despite the lower immigration rate of Germans, the German-Brazilian community had the largest birthrate in all of Brazil during that time, and for this reason they were able to maintain a large demographic and predominance over other Europeans, particularly in the state of Santa Catarina. Unlike many of the Italian immigrants, the German-Brazilians were also largely isolated from the rest of Brazilian society. This helped maintain their native German dialects, and for many non-Catholic Germans; their Protestant religion. Immigration of Germans continued into the 20th century, and both World Wars once again brought large influxes of immigrants from Germany, both ethnic German and Jewish. Smaller waves of immigrants continued to emigrate from Germany, until 1969.These days German-Brazilians make up one of the largest ancestral groups in all of Brazil, and the country is home to the second largest German diaspora in the world. Most inhabit the southern states of the country, but are also a significant population in the southeastern states of São Paulo and Espírito Santo. In modern times, German-Brazilians have fully integrated into Brazilian society, the majority are now Catholic, and most speak Portuguese as their first language, however in many rural areas of the south and southeast they still continue to speak dialects of German. The most commonly spoken dialect of German is called Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, a uniquely Brazilian dialect based on Hunsrückisch German, but infused with: Portuguese, Italian, and even Guarani influence. German Brazilians have largely shaped the culture, architecture, and cuisine of southern Brazil. They are most renowned for their Oktoberfest festivities in the city of Blumenau, the second largest Oktoberfest event in the world. -- source link

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