Confederate colonies were founded by refugees from theConfederate States of America who were displaced or who fled their homes during or immediately after theAmerican Civil War of 1861 to 1865. They migrated to various countries, but especially toBrazil (whereslavery remained legal) and (to a lesser extent) toMexico and toBritish Honduras (present-dayBelize).
Many Southerners had lost their land during the war and some were unwilling to live under theFederal government. They did not expect an improvement in the South's economic position. Most of the emigrants were from thestates ofAlabama,Texas,Louisiana,Mississippi,Georgia,South Carolina, andMissouri.[citation needed] It is unknown how many American southerners emigrated toLatin America. As noted in unpublished research, Betty Antunes de Oliveira found in port records ofRio de Janeiro that some 20,000 Americans entered Brazil from 1865 to 1885. Other researchers have estimated the number at 10,000.[1] An unknown number returned to the United States after the end ofReconstruction, but many of the remaining immigrants who stayed adoptedBrazilian citizenship.
In Mexico, EmperorMaximilian had encouraged and subsidized foreign colonization with land grants and appropriation of land. After the French withdrew their support of Maximilian and he was defeated in 1867, these colonies ceased to exist. The land titles were not recognized by the victorious Mexican republicans, who had spent years fighting an imperial government that was imposed upon them.[citation needed]
