  | |
.jpg) Croatian descendants inSão Paulo. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 45,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| MainlySoutheastern Brazil | |
| Languages | |
| Portuguese,Croatian | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (predominantlyCatholic), andothers | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherBrazilians,Croats |
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| Croats |
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Croatian Brazilians (Croato-brasileiro, Croata brasileiro) areBrazilians of full, partial, or predominantlyCroat descent, orCroat-born people residing inBrazil.
It is estimated that 45,000 ethnic Croats live in Brazil.[2] The training and work qualifications of Croat emigrants in the inter-war period remained more or less unchanged from what it had been in the earlier period; most emigrants were unskilled farmers and the number of craftsmen who emigrated increased by only a small amount.
However, in the countries of South America which became very important emigration targets in the post-World War I period agricultural workers or other laborers were still in demand, and in those destinations the bulk of emigrants took up employment inagriculture (Argentina and Brazil) or in themines (Chile andBolivia).[3]
From as far back as the 1830s the first wave of massemigrations to the countries of theNew World occurred, which mainly saw theCroatian population fit into the context ofEuropean migration flows of the time. There were many reasons why Croatians emigrated to foreign countries: economic underdevelopment, political reasons, and for reasons of adventure and exploration. But for the majority of people who left their homes at the time the main reason was the economic situation. The most striking example of this was the so-called "Wine Clause," stipulated in an 1891 trade agreement between theAustro-Hungarian Empire andItaly, which was particularly unfavorable toDalmatianviticulture. The Wine Clause allowed the import of cheap Italian wines under very favorable conditions. The Dalmatian wine industry was heavily affected by this resolution by theViennese authorities, which reduced its market inCroatia itself. The agreement lasted decades and was not revised for some time.[citation needed]
Political conditions as the main motive of emigration was the result ofWorld War I and became much more significant immediately afterWorld War II and the collapse of theIndependent State of Croatia, when hundreds of thousands emigrated for fear of retaliation by theYugoslav authorities. The emigrants were mostly men from rural areas, young and without professional qualifications. In general, it is safe to say that they performed the hardest and the most dangerous physical labor in the countries they moved to. So-called chain emigration results in compact groups of emigrants, often related by family connections, place of emigration, region, etc. Thus, many emigrants fromDubrovnik have large communities inCalifornia, emigrants from theisland of Hvar inArgentina, emigrants fromKorčula inBrazil,[4] emigrants from theLika region in theAmerican Midwest, emigrants fromMakarska inNew Zealand and Dalmatians inChile andAustralia.The most recent research conducted can’t conclusively reveal how many Croatians have left their country and how many currently live abroad.
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