Figure 1.--This photograph was taken in 1913 in São Paulo State, Brazil's wealthiest state. It is quite suggestive of the way of life at the time in rural Brazil. The 1888 abolishment of slavery had ended the worst abuses, but the freed slaves made only limited economic progress.

Brazii's economic development as an independent development during the 19th and early 20th century was largely agricultural. It is not altogether clear why this did not occur, but probably relates to the fact that economic and politcal power was in the hands of the large land owners. It also relates to the Portuguese and Spanish Catholic tradition of supressing free thought and innovation. This was the pattern throughout Latin America. There was no serious effort to industrialize as was occurring in Europe and North America at the time. Economic development was not shared throughout the country. This meant both regionally and socially. Development and growth were concentrated in the southeast based in large part based largely on coffee and other agricultural commodities. The southeast became the most developed and richest part of the country. The Amazon Basin experienced a rubber boom, but this failed after the British smuggle out rubber seeds and buuilt plantations in Southeast Asia. Brazil's arid northeast continued to stagnate, with its population living essentially at the subsistence level. Brazil was one of the countries which attracted European immigration. Most of the immigrants came from southern Europe (Italy, Portugal, and Spain). There were also some Germans. The freed slaves made little economic progress. Racial attitudes were not a polarized as in America, but still the freed slaves did not progress economically.

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Created: 10:05 PM 2/9/2009
Last updated: 10:05 PM 2/9/2009