Portugal e Brazil: emigração e colonisação

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

27964

Title

Portugal e Brazil: emigração e colonisação

Language

pt

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

D. A. Gomes Pércheiro's 1878 treatise exposes the economic and social realities driving Portuguese emigration to Brazil. Through rigorous analysis of wages, living costs, and health risks, the author dismantles the myth of Brazil as a 'land of promise.' Blending economic data with historical critique and dramatic narrative, this work serves as a patriotic warning against the dangers of emigration and the corruption of colonial ambitions.

Summary up to 500 words

Published in 1878, *Portugal e Brazil: emigração e colonização* by D. A. Gomes Pércheiro serves as a scathing critique of the Portuguese emigration phenomenon to Brazil. Pércheiro argues that the primary driver of this migration is not poverty in Portugal, but rather ambition and the false allure of wealth in Brazil. He presents a detailed economic comparison demonstrating that a worker in Portugal earns significantly more in real value than an emigrant in Brazil. In Brazil, workers face high costs of living, debt from passage fees, and the debilitating effects of the tropical climate and yellow fever. Pércheiro contends that the Brazilian economy relies on slave labor, rendering free white laborers economically unviable and prone to exploitation. The text extends beyond economics to address the moral and political dimensions of the era. Pércheiro critiques the 'false doctrines' propagated by proponents of emigration and the silence of the religious establishment, specifically the clergy in Braga, who allegedly failed to warn the populace. He highlights the role of the Transatlantic Company and legal frameworks that facilitated the recruitment of workers, often under deceptive contracts. The narrative becomes particularly urgent when discussing the violent hostility faced by Portuguese nationals in Brazil, particularly in the state of Pará. Pércheiro details the 'odio' (hatred) against Portuguese immigrants, citing instances of robbery, assault, and murder that went unpunished or were even celebrated by local courts and the press, such as the newspaper 'A Tribuna.' The work incorporates a dramatic element through the discussion of Pércheiro's own play, 'Os Aventureiros' (The Adventurers), which dramatizes the horrors of the recruitment process and the cruelty of the system. The author uses this drama to illustrate the 'sinister legend' of colonial recruitment. Furthermore, the book serves as a defense of Pércheiro's own integrity; he recounts breaking off his engagement to a wealthy Brazilian heiress and fleeing to Portugal to write this truth after being pressured by her family to remain silent. The text concludes with a call to action, urging the Portuguese government to educate the rural poor and dissuade them from emigration, framing the preservation of the homeland as a moral imperative against the 'inferno' of envy and violence that awaits the emigrant abroad.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• History
• Travel