Princípios da colonização europeia no Sul do Brasil

Abstract

This article refers solely to the colonization of the three southern States of Brazil by small rural proprietors of European origin.

            Paraná is formed, from East to West, by a narrow tract of coast and three high plains with slope towards the East and lightly inclined towards the West. The first high plain, crystalline, ts 800 to 900 meters high; the second, of Paleozoic sediments, falls from 1,100 to 700 meters; and the third, of mesozoic dissemination, between 1,100 and 300 meters high in Paraná, falls to 100 meters in Rio Grande do Sul.

            The first high plain in Santa Catarina was destroyed by the erosion of rivers flowing into the Atlantic and the second is very reduced In Rio Grande do Sul only the third high plain exists.

            The littoral of Paraná and of the North of Santa Catarina has a tropical climate. The remaining coast of the latter State as well as the lower part of the valley up to 400-500 meters enjoy a milder climate, are coveted by broad-leaved trees and their soil is fertile although stony. The situation of the littoral and of the slope of Serra do Rio Grande do Sul up to 300 meters is similar Due to this, these valleys wet e chosen by the colonists.

            The high plain, with the exception of one third or one quarter, which is covered by natural grasslands, is almost entirely lined with pinewoods These woods wet e the domain of the natives until, after the declaration of the Independence, the Brazilian Government decided to have them colonized by European and founded São Leopoldo (1824) and Rio Negro (1829) on each of the extreme points of the wood, and São Pedro de Alcantara (1829) to the West of Santa Catalina

            In Rio Grande do Sul when the civil war of 1835-45 was over, the State government founded the colonies of Santa Cruz and Santo Angelo so as to facilitate the acess to the grasslands of the high plain. The woods between Santa Cruz and São Leopoldo were then rapidly colonized by Germans, through private initiative Between 1870 and 1890 the imperial government had the entire Eastern zone of the high plain colonized by North-Italians. The Western zone was colonized beginning 1890; firstly, all along the railroad and afterwards following the high valley of the Uruguay River The State government organized in those areas ethnically heterogeneous colonies, whereas the private individuals especially the Germans, maintained the principle of ethical homogeneity. Nowadays, there are no longer important pioneer zones in Rio Grande do Sul.

            In Santa Catarina the colonization by private companies was much more important than that effected by the Government Between 1859 and 1928 the valley of the Itajaí was entirely occupied. forming an extended area with settlements where the German colonist prevailed. The fields of the second high plain had already been occupied by large cattle farms Colonization o f the West started at the valley of Rio do Peixe with colonists of Rio Grande do Sul who, beginning 1915, settled wherever the constructions of the railroad from São Paulo stopped Today, German and Italian colonists are still making the pioneer front advance from the Uruguay valley up to the North

            The colonization of Paraná was started at a later date Between 1870 and 1890 a system of small settlements was created around Curitiba in order to supply the market of that city The same thing was done in relation to Ponta Grossa, Castro and Lapa. During the first twenty years of this century several colonies were founded in the woods of the Western part of the second high plain, of which a few prospered, whereas others resulted in a failure. The North of the third high plain was colonized by Cia de Terras Norte do Paraná with colonists of various origins, Portuguese-Brazilians prevailing. It is perhaps the greatest colonization plan of South America The principal commercial products of that region are coffee and cotton. The South-East of Paraná is being occupied by colonists from Rio Grande do Sul.

            To give an idea of the importance of the colonization o f the three States, the author gives on page, a chart showing the number of German, Italian and Slavonic colonists and compares it with the areas and total population of each State.

            As regards the agricultural systems employed by the colonists, the author divides them in to three stages: 1) - System of primitive land 1otation - Under this system the colonist cultivates the ground exactly in the same manner as the native: he hews down, burns and plants; his agriculture is a means of subsistence; he only sells pigs or fat; he lives first in a hut of palm leaves and later on in a wooden cottage; his social and cultural level is extremely low 2) System of improved land rotation Aside ft om the typical agricultural native products o f the first stage, the colonist also plants wheat, rye and potatoes; he may or may not use the plough; he tills the ground, burning or merely mowing the thickets; he does not apply dung because he has not much cattle; his house has the national characteristics of his native country 3) - Crops rotation combined with cattle breeding Under these circumstances, the colonist adopts the practice of intensive agriculture of European or American type; he raises cattle in stables; he uses the dung in his plantations; he cultivates a great variety of plants for the alimentation of his family, for selling, and to be used as forage for his cattle; he uses the plough; he has a high living standard, which can be compared with that of the average farmer in the United States.

            The author is of the opinion that only 5% o f the colonists have reached the third stage; 50% live in the second, on inexhaustible ground, and 45% ate in the first stage of in the phase of decay or stagnation of the second stage As to their economic situation, 25% should be well off, 50% moderately prosperous and 25% in poor conditions. The author attributes the causes of this situation to the following factors: 1 - the European colonists were poor and had little experience in agriculture; 2 - the government endeavored to populate uninhabited areas and did not care whether there were cities in the vicinity; 3 - assuming that the colonists would adopt extensive agricultural systems, they should have been granted bigger areas of land. For those who adopt the system of alternate ground tillage, the author favors the granting of areas of between 55 and 65 hectares of fertile land and of 80 to 105 hectares of poor land

            The social level of the population o f the woods o f the South of Brazil is of a varying type. While the colonists who settled in the cities - about 40% of the immigrants - accompanied the progress of the world, the rural population generally lives on a very low level.

            In the second part of this article the author studies the conditions of three prosperous settlements situated in the State of Paraná, which ate: Catambeí, colonized by Dutch, Terra Nova, by Germans, and Boqueirão-Curitiba, by "mennonites" from Russia In these three colonies the intense agriculture e system of crops rotation combined with cattle breeding has been adopted.

            The author then recalls that the problem of cultivation of the steppes in the South o f Brazil is comparable with that of the American Middle-West. In the latter, the principal question was the grubbing up of coriaceous turf; in the formed, it is necessary to apply dung and artificial fertilizers. Therefore, only those colonists who own some means and ate able to adopt intensive agricultural processes should settle in the fields of Southern Brazil. This is the solution proposed by the author, intended to improve the situation of our agriculture and colonization.         

            In order to facilitate the adaptation and progress of the European colonists in the South of Brazil, the author makes three recommendations: 1) Each settlement should represent an ethical unity; 2) Each community should be uniform ethnically as well as from a religious standpoint; 3) the foreign settlements should always have really good teachers.