CONFEDERATE EXILES TO BRAZIL

SHARI HOPPERSTAD

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B.A. Montana State College, 1958

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Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

Master of Arts

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MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY

1963

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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                                       CHAPTER                                                                           PAGE

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                                       I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................1.

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                                       II. PREPARATIONS FOR A CHANGE.................................... 11

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                                       III. LIFE IN THE COLONIES.................................................... 54

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                                       BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................ 92

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                                       Primary Sources.................................................................... 92

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                                       Secondary Sources............................................................... 92

               

                                       Periodicals............................................................................... 92

 

                                       Books 93

 

 

II

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0, give me a ship wlth sail and with -wheel,

And let me be off to happy Brazil !

Home of the sunbeam--great kingdom of heat,

With -woods evergreen and snakes forty feet !

Land of the diamond-bright nation of pearls !

Wlth monkeys a-plenty, and Portuguese girls !

0, give me a ship -with sail and with -wheel,

And let me be off to happy Brazil !

I yearn to feel her "Perpetual spring,"

And shake by the hand Dom Pedro, her king.

Kneel at his feet—call him, "My Royal Boss!!"

And receive in return, "Welcome, Old Hoss !"

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Anonymous*

*Basso, Hamilton, A Quota of Sea-weed, (Garden

City, Doubleday), p. 120,

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Ill

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CHAPTER I

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INTRODUCTION

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The Confederate States of America were ^ union of enthusiastic supporters of a way of life, held together by the strong fibre of morale and conviction to ideals. Only when the most adamant exponents of the Confederate Utopia became disillusioned with their ideal or the hopes of ever acquiring it, did the South really begin to lose the Civil War. When these tenuous qualities began to wane, the cause of this struggling new country (or unruly section of an older state) suffered the inevitable fate of self-destruction. Military defeats, and the cynical attitude of Southerners who had never been convinced that g^cession was the answer to sectional quarrels, played important parts in the disintegration of the Confederacy.

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Seeds of inner-conflict were sewn very early in the  Civil Ware Many Confederate citizens felt that the war was the only way to secure the ideal of "life and civilization as people knew it; it was fundamental with them; it was what made slaveholders and non-slaveholders stand together; it caused soldiers to fight with bravery and devotion which became so much a part of their very souls as 

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to make this ideal more dear to them than life itself. . . .From the ranks of both the easily disillusioned and the Idealists emerged the conviction that, with the failure of their hopes, emigration was a most promising move for the future.

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As the realization of military defeat came to President Jefferson Davis, he was quoted by his wife as saying, "it may be that. ... I can force my way across the Mississippi and if nothing can be done there which it will be proper to do, then I can go to Mexico and have the world from which to choose a location,"2 Davis had been attempting a negotiated peace by legal means. But the Confederate Constitution did not provide for its own dissolution; and President Lincoln early refused to deal with Davis as a head of state. Davis was set adrift from his role as a leader and as such epitomized the sentiment of non-belonging and general disorder of the citizenry of the Southern states. The Southern people were confused and disturbed, as well as humiliated by the measures enacted upon them by renewed federal control. One Virginia woman wrote that she felt that she had "no country, no government, no

 

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future.  Economically, socially and politically, the South was no longer the entity that its people had striven so hard to retain. Although the original intent of the Reconstruction policy was not malicious, the results were variously expressed as a "blackout of honest government" and a "breach of faith.Conditions in the South were unbearable for a great portion of the population. "There was desire to get out from under a government controlled by Brownlows, niggers and Yankees," and strong feeling that "such government could not protect life, liberty and property, much less conserve honor, chivalry and purity; that inestimable trinity without which life is not worth living and without which no community can be termed Christian.

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Throughout the South, groups of people and individuals investigated the possibilities of flight from the horrors of confiscated property, mass destruction, military Reconstruction, and "a labor system deranged and insecure.   Agents were sent to Venezuela, Honduras,

 

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and Mexico as well as to Brazil. These agents operated individually in some cases; in others, they traveled in groups. Sometimes they acted as representatives of societies in the South, organized for the purpose of emigration; other times they -were entrepreneurs acting in their own behalf. Eventually, Mexico and Honduras provided homes for a small number of South-erners, but Brazil offered the most enticing possibilities for relocation.

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Brazil was a large, but sparsely populated country with a climate in some regions similar to that of the South. Dom Pedro II, Brazil's progressive emperor, was anxious to exploit the vast potential of his land by attracting mass immigration. Since early in the l850's, liberal elements in that country had encouraged the establishment of a stronger representative government, the opening of the Amazon to trade and commerce, the gradual emancipation of slaves and a reconstruction of the labor system on a sound national basis, as stimuli for immigration. In 1853, slave trade had been abolished in Brazil, but the institution was still very much a part of the Brazilian economy in l865. An immigration law of September, i860, expressed the government's approval of the establishment of free colonies which could rule them-selves. Settlers from the South, with their genteel background and experience with an agricultural slave economy,

 

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were particularly attractive to the Brazilians. Later, in the mid=l860's, the International Society of Immigration was organized in Rio de Janeiro to stimulate public sentiment and government action to aid the foreigners.7 The society also proposed to protect immigrants from fraud to insure their rights and privileges and in addition, to provide a hotel where weary travelers could rest before moving on to new homes in the colonies.

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Dom Pedro sent agents to the South to promote emigration. They reminded the timid that Brazil's constitution was modeled after the Common Law of England and they made promises of vast amounts of aid to any group willing to work in the establishment of colonies. Agents who traveled in Brazil returned to the South confirming the stories of productive lands and of governmental encouragement. Further proof of Brazil's friendly attitude toward the South and its citizens had been the granting of a belligerent status to the Confederacy during the ware Dom Pedro had also extended privileges to Confederate cruisers in Brazilian ports, which aided the Southern naval efforts in raiding United States vessels in

 

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the South Atlantic. Diplomatic protests from Washington officials had not altered Brazilian policy. The United States then had taken positive action by sending a warship to a port in the state of Maranha. and forcibly removed a Confederate cruiser. Brazil had demanded apologies and reparation but neither were fully granted. Considerable animosity existed between the two nations for some time, and contributed to Brazilian sympathy for the Southern cause.

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To many in the South Brazil appeared to be the answer to their hopes and dreams. Reverend Ballard S, Dunn^ an agent and later the founder of a colony near Itapemerim, in Para, wrote of the attractions of such a new home; "Here we could relate the story of our disaster to our children and teach them that a government to be just and equitable, must be permanent and stable; and not the creature of caprice, to be changed by every popular gust of passion."

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The prospects for emigration were not all favorable. There were the problems of cultural differences, religion controlled by the state, dissimilar heritages, the language barriero Despite the encouragement of colonies which were to be self-governed, the settler would be forced to

 

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have commercial contact with the populace of Brazil and eventually and inevitably there would be the question of Brazilian citizenship. In addition, communications in Brazil were of the most rudimentary sort and it would take time to make any new community accessible. Persons who were not morally and politically compatible with Southern views were not welcome in most emigrant groups. By thus limiting themselves, these people (most of whom had never been subjected to physical work or hardship) created a labor shortage for their settlements. The decision to leave cherished homes to begin new lives in Brazil was based on Idealistic conclusions; the problem of providing an adequate labor supply was not realistically con-sidered.

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Much of the news media devoted a good deal of space to pointing out the disadvantages of a move to Brazil. Some newspapers refused altogether to run advertisements for the agents who were trying to attract additional emigrants; others omitted mention of the prospect of an exodus, Robert E. Lee and other leaders in the South regarded the emigres as deserters. They felt that the South needed faithful citizens during the trying period of Reconstruction^ that their devotion to country was needed more than it had been during the war. They could not discover a "single advantage possessed by these countries, which we of the South have not in a greater degree." Expatriation,

 

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they exclaimed, could provide "no royal road to competence and ease, for the poverty that cannot dig."!'^ General Lee expressed this feeling succinctly; "The thought of abandoning the country, and all that must be lost in it, is abhorrent to my feelings, and I prefer to struggle for its restoration, and share its fate, rather than to give up all as lost."H John H. Reagan said it would take "time and patience and wisdom and justice" to build a new South and all the people were needed for the task.^^ Some farm leaders saw no advantage in moving to "Brazil and other outlandish and half-civilized regions."13 Even the Brazilian Minister in New York warned his government of problems involved in the emigration plans. He felt that the political situation in the United States was not severe enough to warrant mass movement, thus he thought interest in the project would soon decline. He was also worried about the caliber of Southerners who contemplated leaving their homeland,

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Estimates as to the actual number of Southern citizens -who emigrated to Brazil vary considerably. Brazilian newspapers announced that 100,000 families were planning to move to Brazil.   Apparently their Information was acquired from those agents whom the empire had sent to North America, On September 3? 1865? five months after Lee's surrender at Appomattox, the New York Herald reported more than fifty thousand persons were preparing for the trip to Brazil. Twentieth century historians find it difficult to approximate the number of immigrants with any precision. Hamilton Basso guessed that "all told no more than five thousand men, women and children from the Southern states found their way to Brazil.''^^ Vera Kelsey's estimate was three thousand. E. Merton Coulter suggested that between eight and ten thousand persons expatriated themselves and emigrated to Brazil. The most conclusive statement was made by Lawrence Hlll.

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Although all available figures on the number of Southerners who left the United States to establish homes in Brazil during the four or five years subsequent to the close of the war represent hardly more than wild guesses, it 

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is certain that the exodus never attained proportions fixed in the imagination of many people.

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CHAPTER II

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PREPARATIONS FOR A CHANGE

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Those Southerners who found the post-'war atmosphere of their homes disappointing, sought a release from their anxieties in a variety of ways. There were those (no doubt they represented the majority) who felt their place -was in the midst of their miseries, doing their utmost to rectify conditions. Yet, there were others who were unable to face the trials of rebuilding by some new architectural design, who thought that the rebuilding which would take place could only tear away the life and customs which had been so dear. They regarded themselves as unchangeable portions of an irreparable past. It was among the latter, more reluctant citizens of the southern United States, that pleas of immigrant-hungry countries of Central and South America were heard, and to whom the books of travelers, adventurers and naturalists, such as the Reverend James C. Fletcher and Daniel Parrish Kidder and Matthew F. Maury, appealed.

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Maury, a Virginian and past officer of the United States Navy, was a renowned oceanographer. His descriptions of his various adventures and studies encouraged and

 

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enthralled his readers. After the Civil War his travels took him to Mexico and to Brazil, He wrote detailed informational accounts concerning the area near the Amazon River. He contended that with sufficient preparation and knowledge, this area could be inhabited very profitably by agricultural people. Maury's work was not intended to promulgate a mass migration from his native land. However, his writings were widely read in the South and referred to as a guide for potential emigrants,1 Kidder and Fletcher, in 1866, revised and re-edited a book, Brazil and the Brazilians, which they had written in the l850'S. This book along with another of Kidder's, Sketches of Residence and Travels in Brazil, was specifically aimed at the men and women who wished to make new homes in Brazil. Kidder and Fletcher were Influential Southerners whose words were read with trust and admiration.

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More than the mere reading and learning of new lands was needed before actual colonization could be undertaken. Groups of interested individuals pooled their resources (meager though they were, in most cases) to form societies for the promotion of colonization. The most famous

 

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of these societies assumed the cumbersome name, the Southern Colonization Society of Edgefield Courthouse, South Carolina. Meeting first on August 21, l865. the group resolved to send two or more agents to explore the southern and western areas of the United States and "especially the great Empire of Brazil," to ascertain what inducements might be offered to the emigrant peoples of Edgefield Courthouse. If the prospecting agents should return with favorable reports from Brazil, they planned to delegate to them the responsibility of making arrangements for the procurement of lands and the establishment of settlements. The society postponed the election of officers and the selection of a formal title for their organization to the second meeting in lieu of selecting the men who were to act as agents. Dr. Hugh A. Shaw, a physician, and Major Robert Meriwether, were chosen for the mission; Dr. Shaw, B. C, Bryan, William M. Williams, Major Issac Boles and T. B. Reese were appointed a committee to procure funds to aid the agents in their travels and to equip society subscribers who might eventually follow, on a more permanent basis. At the September meeting of the society, officers were finally chosen. Major Joseph Abney was elected president, and Colonel D. L. Shaw became the vice president, with Colonel A. P. Butler as secretary, Major John E. Bacon, corresponding secretary, and Thomas B. Reese,

 

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treasurer. If any of the officers or committeemen ever made the journey to Brazil, no record can be found of their trip. However, at the time of the organization of the Southern Colonization Society of Edgefield Courthouse, they felt strongly the need to depart from the hardships of the post-war South. This feeling is illustrated by a letter written by Major Abney to relatives in Kentucky and later published in the Edgefield Advertiser of October 11, I865.

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One cannot close his eyes upon passing events and, situated as we are, entirely ignore the lessons of experience and the solemn admonitions of history. The future is enveloped in clouds and darkness, and we are less than men if we make no efforts for the preservation of our families and to avert the manifold dangers that lie in our way.  .....Our substance has already been consumed by the war, our people overwhelmed with debt and sorrow, and disappointment,, ... A deeper degree of destitution and want is inevitable as the negro will not work and must eat, hunger and starvation and madness and crime will run riot through our borders and there is no earthly power than can interpose to save us and our children from the last extremities to which man can be reduced. We are even now, prostrate, strangled, submerged in

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"A gulf profound as the Serbonlan bog Betwixt Damiata and Mt, Cassius old; Where armies whole, have sunk,

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I utter these sentiments with pain and sorrow, for I have long ceased to be angry and there is no service I would withhold from my government, that might contribute to redeem and save our people. Laboring

 

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under these sound convictions and being assured that vast numbers of our friends who are destitute of good farming lands, and now also destitute of labor, and yet are embarrassed with debt, must be brought to beggery, unless they exchange their accustomed habitations for a more genial clime and more fruitful soil, it is our purpose to form a Southern Colonization Society.

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The agents, Major Meriwether and Dr. Shaw, left Augusta, Georgia on October l8, l865, and proceeded to New York City. From there they sailed on the thirtieth of the same month. On the twenty-sixth of November they reached Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, There they met Dr. James McF. Gaston, a former surgeon of the Confederate Army and a fellow South Carolinian, who was also interested in the possibilities of establishing a colony in Brazil. The three men were introduced to Paulo Susa, the Minister of Agriculture for Brazil, who helped to arrange an itinerary for a tour throughout the portions of the country which the Emperor, Dom Pedro II, wished to be settled.

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In their reports, the agents stated that their first stops were in Pernambuco Province, where cotton grew well cut the climate was not suitable, and in Bahia Province, where sugar, tobacco, and fruits as well as cotton were raised, but the climate was still too hot. Real exploration for a possible colony site began in the province of

 

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Sao Paulo,: to the south of Rio de Janeiro, Although the Meriwether-Shai^j report mentioned the visits to Permanbuco and Bahia after the meeting with Gaston, it is possible that these areas were actually visited on the original trip from New York City to Rio de Janeiro,, To have traveled from Rio back to the first two provinces would have necessitated a lengthy trip north and east, probably by boat, back-tracking over a thousand miles along that portion of the South American coast which extends toward Afrlca.

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Since the climate of Sao Paulo seemed adequate, they chose the city of Santos as a starting pointo Accompanied by lesser governmental officials and Susa, the agents embarked on the Sao Paulo and Santos Railroad for the Interior. They reported that the port of Santos had a good harbor but the railroads were incomplete, being only 80 to 90 miles long. At Sao Paulo, capital city of the province, the group was provided with pack-mules and "primitive cartsc" On December I8, they left for Itapetaningna, intending to use a pass over the mountains. Their vehicular accommodations being inadequate for such a task, it was decided that Dr. Gaston would go over the mountain on foot while the remainder of the party explored other areas. Heading toward Bolucstu and Lencoes, some 150 miles from Sao Paulo, they crossed the campo and there saw much cotton on privately owned lands» On the campo was a volcanic

 

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mountain range and the men decided that this yas the richest land they had yet seen. Very little of this area had been surveyed, however. Besides cotton, they found corn in abundance and some timber. Meriwether and Shaw remarked that cultivation amounted to little, "With a stick sharpened at the end, sometimes with a hoe, a hole is made in the ground, the seed (from 5 to 6 grains) put into the hole and covered with the foot, and this is all the cultivation the crops receive."

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The party was impressed by the sight of peaches and grapes and frost free land. The people appeared to be healthy and the land was endowed with pure water, water which might prove amenable to power usage. The stock, both hogs and cattle, was superior. And the loam depth was from thirteen to twenty inches. The purchase price of partially improved land varied from one to two dollars an acre. Yet the land suffered the major disadvantage of poor communi-cations. It was 125 miles to the nearest railroad, then another 80 to 100 miles to Santos. Across the mountains, it was 80 to 100 miles to steam navigation. The agents were informed that good roads would be opened by the government, immediately, should families choose to settle in this area,, Excellent land and crop potential extended 100 miles down into the valley of the Tiete River,

 

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which ran parallel to the Big Sierra Mountains, according to reports given to the party. However, much of this land was in private hands. The price, when land was available, was fifty to seventy-five cents an acre. The loam depth there was from eight inches to five feet. Indians lived forty-five miles down the valley and this area was "liable to chills which turn malignant," but the soil was of first quality, terra roccha, and the woods of bamboo were abundant It was this section which was recommended to the Southern Colonization Society of Edgefield Courthouse for settlement.

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The agents saw other fine lands, some of which cost from twenty-five to one hundred dollars per acre. One fazienda, owned by a Dr. Gavias, where the party of agents was very well treated, extended over the campos into timberland and contained cattle as well as productive crops. The holdings were perhaps as large as 200,000 acres. A map of Dr. Gavias® lands was made available for those Southerners who might be interested in the possibilities of settling adjacent areas. Other very favorable farms were viewed in the District of Campens, but the inspectors felt this region was too low for coffee, a crop which prospective settlers from the Society hoped to raise for profit.

 

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In Campens, they found two settlers from North America, one from Alabama and one from Louisiana, already cultivating their lands.

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Dr. Gaston, after crossing the mountains, moved toward Iquape and Cannanea and there saw large sections of land producing coffee, sugar cane, rice, and tobaccoo There he found several families from Texas and Alabama who had recently journeyed to Brazil. Dr. Gaston noted that the Iquape River was navigable for steamboats as far as Xirerica (about 100 miles from the area which the main party of agents chose as a settlement site), being uninterrupted by falls or dangerous rapids,

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In the final report directed to the Southern Colonization Society of Edgefield Courthouse, Meriwether and Shaw included some general information which would be of importance to all who might move to Brazil. They stated that the law required that the purchaser of land pay six percent of the total cost as a tax to the government» But this was the only tax that a farmer ever need pay on the land. There was some possibility that this obligation might be removed for immigrants. It was noted that the majority of the Brazilians appeared to be in good health, although some instances of goiter and leprosy were seen. Temperatures on the table lands ranged from 56° to 86° in the summer and from 4O° to 45° in the winter, with an occasional frost. Included in a list of prices were such

 

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things as the cost of domestic horses (|20 to $^0), unbroken horses (|15 to $30), pack mules ($25 to $30), corn per bushel (.50 to .75)» side of leather ($3 to $5)? sugar per pound (,06 to .80), rum per gallon (.26 to .30), and fruits (bananas, oranges, limes, lemons and pineapples at 1/2 to 2 cents each). In the large towns, prices were slightly higher.

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If a large group of families were to decide to come to Brazil, the report advised them to stock provisions. For Smaller groups, the Brazilians seemed very willing to share what they had. Tools, wagons, furniture and machinery would be admitted to the country duty free. And, as such items were unavailable in the interior, it was suggested that each party include these things among its possessions before leaving the United States.

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Readers of the report were informed that the seasons occurred in Brazil just opposite to those in North America, that Sao Paulo possessed no ravenous beasts, that the insects were not too destructive, and that Brazil was not plagued by rust, much frost, earthquakes or erupting volcanoes. The soil, climate, ores, sports, power, rivers and water were all found to be very satisfactory.

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The inspectors noted that the constitution of Brazil was modeled after the Common Law of Great Britain but that no primogeniture or hereditary nobility existed

 

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Brazil was gifted with a wise Emperor who held "no prejudices." An able society for the promotion of emigration from other lands existed, with the objects of care and aid to foreigners, protection from fraud and want, vindication of rights and privileges, A hotel for newcomers was operated at government expense and surveying was being planned throughout the unsettled areas of the country„ A state church existed and only the Roman Catholic Church was permitted to exhibit an exterior cross or steeple^ However, all other religious groups were allowed to hold services.

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The cost of transportation was listed as two hundred dollars (or one hundred dollars, second class) from New York to Rio de Janiero, children from age twelve to fourteen traveled at half price, those under twelve at one third and the breast-fed received free passage.

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The objections which agents Meriwether and Shaw saw in settlement included the strangeness of the common language of Brazil, the mixture of classes, the want of educational and transportation facilities, and the scarcity of labor.

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We deem it our duty to state that the price of negroes has decreased one-half during our stay in the empire» It is said that the outside sentiment is the cause. At any rate all classes agree that the day is not distant when emancipation must come. We have heard of some gangs of negroes, including men, women and children, being offered by the year

 

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for fifty dollars each though the usual price is from sixty to a hundred and twenty. For plantation hands, the hirer pays all expenses.

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Despite the degree of organization and enthusiasm, the Southern Colonization Society of Edgefield Courthouse failed to establish a settlement in Brazil, Certain members of the society, however, later immigrated to the Empire, either with other groups or independently. In 18685 Major Abney was still arguing in defense of emigration, from his home in North America, contending that Southerners were forced to endure "unless they flee it, such abuses of that power as inevitably results from the vice and stupidity of the negro, directed by the most malignant enemies that ever tyrannized over any people,"

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Another agent, who became widely known in the South, was W. W. W, Wood. In June of 1865? Wood became the agent and inspector of emigration for four Mississippi counties, although he was a resident of New Orleans, where he had practiced law, been an editor and a fluent public speaker. By the time Wood sailed on the Montana, in August, he no longer represented only the six hundred despondent planters who had started him on his southern tour, but had been

 

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entrusted with the business of nineteen other agents, who represented a total of eleven thousand families„ Wood was accompanied by Dr. James H. Warner and Dr. J. P. Wesson of Tennessee, Robert L.. Brown, an Alabama planter, and W., C. Kernan of Florida. This party arrived at Rio de Janeiro in October and was accorded a gala reception. Traveling without passports, the gentlemen proceeded to Santos by government steamer, journeyed on to Sao Paulo by rail, and into the northwest by horse and mule. After several days, a section near the Tiete, lying on both sides of the Jahu River, attracted the attention of Mr. Wood. The area embraced nearly eight million acres, with abundant building timber, healthful climate, soil adapted to cotton growing and a good site for a town. This chosen place was not distant from Araquara, a partially developed town of the interior. A site for settlement having been chosen. Wood boarded the steamship South America which carried him north, reaching New York City on January 25, 1866. While in Brazil, Wood had also seen Dr. Gaston. Upon returning to the United States, Wood assumed the role and title of "Commissioner of American Emigration to Brazil." He wrote a pamphlet entitled. Ho I For Brazil, which was widely read. Then, perhaps because of his age (over sixty), he settled in Adams County, Mississippi, never to lead colonists to their El Dorado or publicize the subject again.

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Dr., Gaston, upon his return to the United States, attempted to convince as many Southerners as he could that emigration was an answer to their problems„ He also wrote a book so that (In his own words) It might "enable those concerned to determine upon the propriety of transferring their residence to that favored land," Brazil. In describing conditions and possibilities in Brazil, he noted that young men might do well to choose brides before leaving their homes, as he had not been impressed by the pulchritude of the local Brazilian ladies.

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The most famous of all the agents or promoters was a preacher and ex-Confederate Army officer. The Reverend Ballard S. Dunn. Shortly after Appomattox, the former pastor of St. Phillips Church in New Orleans, boarded the schooner Valiant and sailed for Rio de Janeiro. Dunn, popularly known as the "Fighting Parson," secured an audience with Emperor Dom Pedro II shortly after his arrival in the Brazilian capital. He assured the ruler that by offering sufficient land grants and other inducements, up to 500,000 "superior" people could be secured for immigration. The pastor convinced the emperor that agents such as himself, Merriwether, Shaw, Gaston and others could make such a dream become a reality. 

 

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After four months of searching in the interior, Dunn chose a section of land for his settlement. He called the site "Lizzieland," after a favorite daughter. Having chosen the tract he returned to Rio de Janeiro in order to perfect his title and complete other arrangements. Dunn then returned to the United States and began a campaign to attract settlers for "Lizzieland." The possessor of a magnetic personality and a convincing writing ability, Dunn began his promotion by writing a small book which he called Brazil, The Home for Southerners. In it he assured his readers that in Brazil they would find a home "where war worn soldier, the bereaved parent, the oppressed patriot, the homeless and despoiled, can find a refuge from the trials which beset them and a home not haunted by the eternal remembrance of harrowing scenes of sorrow and death. Included in the work was the description of Dunn's "Lizzieland" which extended 40  miles by 20 miles, 6l4,000 acres, and was located one hundred miles south of the city of Sao Paulo. Lying on the Juqula River, a tributary of the Ribeira River, for 20 miles on one shore and 4 miles on the other, the tract possessed enough buildings to act as base for 200 people while other buildings were being erected. The river was navigable for steamboats with

 

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a four foot draught.

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Dunn emphasized the fact that through the constitutional monarchy, the right of private property had been strongly upheld, and that foreigners had the right to buy and own any property. The parson also stated, no doubt with the idea of pleasing his readers, that the Brazilians despised "that treacherous race," the Spaniards, and he upheld the Portuguese and their fine literature. The most informative and least elaborate section of Dunn's little volume was the literal translation of the terms of his land grant:

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Rio de Janeiro, June 30, I866

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Directory of Public Lands By order of His Excellency, the Minister of Agriculture, I have to declare to Reverand Ballard S. Dunn, the following;

 

l. The price of the land selected, is one real per square brace, (footing up forty-one and three-quarter cents per acre,) inclusive of the expenses of measuring and marking.

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2. The quantity of land that each emigrant can take, will be regulated by him, and the said Rev-erand Ballard S, Dunn, who will be held responsible for the respective payments to the government,

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3 The lands being selected, the said Reverand Ballard S. Dunn will receive a provisional title, clearly Indicating the respective limits; this title will be exchanged for another definite one of property,

 

 

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so soon as the value of the lands occupied is paid into the treasury.

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4. All Implements of agriculture, manufactures, machines, and utensils which the emigrants bring with them for their own use, will be exempt from Import duties.

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5. The government will immediately make provisional housing, for the reception of the emigrants,

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6. As to transport, the government will pay the freightage of one vessel, for every two vessels freighted by Reverand allard S. Dunn, and bringing emigrants; or will advance the cost of the passage of such emi-grants, after their arrival in Brazil, the said gentleman (Dunn) becoming responsible for the reim-bursement of the money within the term of three to four years. This responsibility will be made effective by mortgage of the lands that he may purchase in the Empire.

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7. The emigrants will be able to disembark at Iquape, without passing through Rio de Janeiro, if the government receives a communication, through the intermediary of the Brazilian consul, or vice consul of their coming, in a mode to afford time to transmit for that purpose, seeing that said port has no customs house.

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God have you in care

(Signed) Bernardo Augusto

Nacente Azambuja

Reverend Ballard S. Dunn 

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The Reverend Dunn made it clear that those who were fleeing taxes or dodging the draft were not welcome in "Lizzieland." He had ordered sections of 640 acres surveyed

 

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but stated that more could be purchased by Individuals, providing that speculation was not the motive. At the time of writing, a road was being constructed which extended twelve miles into the interior; and there were hopes a boat might be constructed by the government by the time the first settlers arrived^ Writing the book in October of I866, Dunn asked that all interested parties write him before March 15? 1867. He warned prospective settlers to hold their tempers and be patient with the working of the Brazilian people. He advised them that passports, costing three dollars, were necessary, and that upon leaving the United States citizens must publicly advertise their travel plans three days in advance, or leave some person responsible for their debts. In reference to the Brazilian state, Dunn explained that the emperor was wise, respected and well educated; and that he was readily accessible to all. Although the religion of the state was Roman Catholic, Dunn noted that the government paid Protestant clergymen for the benefit of German colonists. Brazil welcomed all immigrants and naturalization could be completed after a two-year residence period, naturalized citizens being accorded all rights except those of holding the positions of Deputies or Ministers of State. Residents of Brazil enjoyed rights of Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, freedom of association

 

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and petition and equality before the law. The various classes exchanged pleasantries with one another.

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Dunn also included in his book the reports of Robert Meriwether and Dr. Shaw, Dr„ Gaston and another team of inspectors, William Bowen and Frank McMullen, as well as several letters from United States citizens happily making their homes in the Empire. Dunn directed his book to Southerners who believed in, "that law of honor, and Christian rectitude, which obviates the necessity for enforcing any other law."

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At about the time of the Dunn and Merlwether-Shaw expeditions, the team of agents, William Bowen and Colonel Frank McMullen, set forth to acquire land for a settlement. Both men were Texas plantation owners who professed a desire to alleviate the distress of their friends and families by removing them from the foul conditions of Reconstruction, to seek happiness for their loved onescl^ A fear of labor shortage and the knowledge that Brazil still supported a slave economy, if only to a limited extent, were more likely motives. Early in I866, having been accorded the same privileges given the other

 

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agents, Bowen and McMullen secured the title to a site adjacent to Dunn's "Lizzieland" on the upper Juqula and its main tributary, the Sao Lourenco River. The settlement location was considerably smaller than the neighboring one, but it was intended for only relatives and close friends» However, when the inspectors returned to their Texas homes, they solicited colonists. In their report and in their advertisements for colonists, the team made it clear that only those persons who could qualify morally and politically, i.e. Southerners holding pro-slavery sentiments, would be considered. In advocating emigration, Bowen and McMullen proclaimed of their home-to-be in Brazil, "We have a monarchy (Thank God !) in name, and a TRUE republic in practice.

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Frank McMullen, on January 15, 186?, wrote what he called a "circular" addressed "To my friends in Texas, and to all good Southerners who think of going to Brazil." It was published in several Southern newspapers and, no doubt, guided many in their preparation for departure. McMullen declared that the purpose of his tiny brochure was to serve prospective emigrants to Brazil, by bringing them into contact with parties who could make the necessary transportation arrangements and to warn such persons against a J. M. Oriol, of New Orleans, an outfitter a A quotation 

 

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from Colonel McMullen Illustrates some rather violent feelings about Mr. Orlol. "Besides being irresponsible, insolvent, and entirely devoid of principle (Oriol) is Incapable of fulfilling his contract." McMullen explained that he had contacted LeBaron, Drury and Son of Galveston, who agreed to fit all vessels at any time, alleviating any need to use the services of Oriol. Having expnrienced considerable delay in getting under way for the new colony, as a result of Orlol's negligence, McMullen also was forced to pay much more than expected for his vessel. He had purchased a brig, the Derby, in November of 1866, from J. M. Oriole Agreeing to pay seventy-five hundred dollars in United States currency, he was assured that there were no claims against the ship. However when McMullen reached New Orleans on the sixth of December at which time the Derby was to be ready to sail, she was not only unprepared for the journey, but in the hands of the sheriff. In all, Colonel McMullen was forced to recover the boat four times from legal claimants. In spite of his discouraging experiences, the Texan was not heavy-hearted. He felt sure that his followers would not find their delay to be attributable to his negligence, and he was willing to "submit to these little inconveniences, looking forward to the great good."

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McMullen suffered the disappolntment of boarding a

 

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yet unsatisfactory vessel, for the Derby never reached Brazil.  MoMullen did take pains to warn future travelers of such dangers. From Montgomery, Alabama, a prominent citizen and ex-warrior, Colonel Charles Grandison Gunter, journeyed to Brazil, He had been an organizer of the Montgomery True Blues of the Confederate Army and was known as the securer of rights of property to married women in their own names in Alabama.  In early I866, he was granted a site for a colony along the Rio Doce River The tract embraced some eighty square miles and included the fresh water body, Lake Juparanao. Located about three hundred miles north of Rio de Janeiro, in Espirito Santos province, the region was noted for its beauty. Gunter's grant extended eastward from the lake for several miles on level land, and westward small arms of the lake reached toward a low range of mountains. The view of distant towering peaks complemented the scene. The Brazilian government agreed to survey the entire area for twenty-two cents an acre.

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The most spectacular and notorious of the independent agents was Major Lunsford Warren Hastings variously described as a "renegade Ohio Yankee who had joined the Confederate Army" and a filibusterer and gentleman of fortune, His experience was wide, including service as an official in an emigrant train to Oregon in 1842, membership in the California Constitutional Convention in 1849, and dabbllngs in filibustering schemes in Mexico in the 1850"s.  After the Civil War his interests turned to colonization in Brazil, On March 26, I865 Hastings and a party of thirty-five emigrants set out from Mobile on the steamship Margaret, This group included Tennessee and Alabama planters who were "disgusted with free niggers, the U. S. Government, the defeat and everything connected with the country.  Smallpox appeared on board the Margaret just a few days out of port and forced a return to Mobile. Quarantine and eleven deaths ended this venture, A short time later, Hastings and a Montgomery engineer named Simpson embarked once again. They arrived in Para on May 16, I866, and traveled west to Manaos, capital city of Amazonas province. Hastings chose a site at the mouth of the Tapajos River, where it joins the Amazon,

 

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five hundred miles from Para. By May 29, he was back in Para, where, in his absence, an emigrant aid association had been formed by some of the leading Brazilian citizens for the purpose of aiding Hastings and any others who might choose this area for settlement. This group provided Hastings -with twenty-two letters of introduction with which he left Para on June 280 When he reached Rio de Janeiro. Hastings was received and treated royally by the immigration agents and the Minister of Agriculture, After forty days, papers were prepared allowing him to return to Para and negotiate with the president of the province for sixty leagues of land in any location Hastings cared to select. In September, he was ready, along with four other North Americans, to return to the already chosen slte. The tract embraced over 600,000 acres and was just two degrees south of the equator» Hastings had received the special patronage of the emperor and in return was obligated to bring at least one hundred immigrants a He assumed the responsibility for payments on the basis of one-half real per square braca, or twenty-two cents per acre, payments to be made in three annual installments beginning three years after establishment of a colony. Hastings planned that one section would be allocated to each family and three hundred and twenty acres to each single man. Leaving his traveling companions to begin work in the colony (hopefully

 

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with the aid of neighboring Indians)^ the Major departed for the United States. Sailing on the Guiding Star, he reached Mobile on December 15, l866. having traveled over nineteen thousand miles.c After this sojourn in South America, Hastings wrote the inevitable book. He called it Emigrants Guide To Brazil. It outdid all others in awe-inspiring descriptions.

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Who can picture, who can paint nature as here exhibited? V/ith wonder, admiration and reverential awe, one may contemplate the vastness with which he finds himself here surrounded, the profusion of nature's bounties, and sublimity of scenery, to describe them as they are, is beyond the scope of human capacity. Here we behold the great Amazon o o o animal and vegetable life; a world of eternal verdure and perennial spring, of whose grandeur and splendor it is Impossible to speak in fitting terms„ Nature, who ever pours her bounties forth with a full and unwithholding hand, seems to have chosen this majestic solitude for display of all that her lavish powers could do, to dignify and adorn her relgn.

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In the summer of 1856, one Colonel M. S. Swain of Louisiana, (acting as an agent for no one) selected some land on the Assunguy River, an estuary flowing into the Paranagua Bayo With Colonel Swain were Horace Lane, also from Louisiana, Dr. John Ho Blue, Judge John Guillet and his brothers, all from Missourl. Although this party was totally independent, letters which Dr. Blue wrote to

 

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friends in the United States influenced several others to settle on the Assunguy.

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Confederate citizens interested in finding homes outside the United States were encouraged by actions from Brazil. As Dom Pedro II, his cabinet and most of the citizenry of Brazil were anxious to put the underdeveloped portions of their country into production, and it appeared that the United States was in the embarrassing position of providing some satisfaction for their desires, it was advisable to add a little impetus to the movement. Until permanent agents could be placed in strategic United States cities, temporary procedures were put to use. As early as August of 1865. notices appeared in newspapers in New York and in New Orleans stating, "The Imperial Government looks with sympathy and interest on American Emigration to Brazil and is resolved to give the most favorable welcome." Planning "state colonies," which would be managed by a representative of the Empire, the government listed some conditions of settlement and announced the opening of an office in New York under the direction of Quintine de Souza Bocoyuvao Until his arrival in 1866, the Brazilian legation in New York agreed to answer all questions and make any necessary arrangements for

 

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emigration. The Brazilian Minister in the United States v;as not enthused over the prospect of such encouragement to emigrants. He warned his home government that many problems were involved in such a project„ He felt that the political situation in the United States did not warrant mass movement and thought that interest in emigration would soon die. Also, he was convinced that Southerners who would consider leaving their homeland were not of a caliber to prosper in Brazil. He did, however, urge sympathetic reception of all who should choose to move to Brazil The minister sought the assistance of vice consuls in the Southern states in checking on the reliability of any agents who might appear, and in the distribution of information. Daily, he reported requests for information from all areas and advised the Brazilian government to facilitate the trip only for those who were able to pay their own way. However, when Bocayuva arrived in the autumn, he announced a generous offer of passage and land to the first one thousand persons who presented themselves as emigrant possibilities, providing they reported within one week., Four hundred of those who presented themselves before Bocayuva were German or Irish immigrants, who had very recently arrived in the United States. The rush of prospective immigrants caused the fee for registration to insure sailing to be increased from five to fifty dollars.

 

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Those individuals who left for Brazil under Bocayuva's plan proved to be poor investments. It was estimated that the Brazilian government spent seventy thousand dollars on this venture only to be troubled by many unfortunate situations after the arrival of the immigrants in the South American land„ When the New York Herald alleged that the Brazilian government was not fulfilling agreements to the emigrants, agent Bocayuva made a considerable fuss and drew attention to his dealings. Bad publicity resulted, which Bocayuva tried to offset by writing to Dr., Gaston, who was in South Carolina preparing to return to Brazil, Dr„ Gaston was assured that any further boatloads of emigrants sponsored by the Brazilian government would include only Southern people of similar backgrounds. At that time, the New York office authorized the firm of Elliott and McKenner to act as agents for the Empire in New Orleans. The Brazilian government then sent General de Gorcouris to New Orleans to act as a special agent. Under Gorcouris' instruction the steamship Marmion was chartered in 1867, on which passage was provided for sixty-two dollars (ten dollars of which was paid in greenbacks) Non-contracting passengers were taken for one hundred and forty dollars in gold, first class, and seventy-five dollars, second class.

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The reality of a possible large migration was not readily apparent to the majority of the citizens of the United States or Brazil until at least l866. Suddenly a great deal of publicity, both favorable and derogatory, was presented before these peoples,. The books which were written by agents such as the Reverend Ballard S. Dunn, Dr. Go McF. Gaston, and Major Hastings, were read in all parts of the United States and, to some degree, in Brazil. Most of these books were recognizably similar. They explained the social and political background of Brazil, described the land in flowery terms, listed opportunities and inducements with enthusiasm, and usually included the details of a particular chosen area. Newspapers printed advertisements concerning the advantages of creating new homes in Brazil, and then editorialized on the proposed migration. Understandably, the larger percentage of United States newspaper editors opposed emigration and some went so far as to refuse the advertisements.

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Brazilian journals hopefully predicted that one hundred thousand North American families would seek homes in Brazil.

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Some United States writers rationalized the motivations of those who wished to leave the South, saying that a natural link had always existed between the Confederacy and Brazil through mutual coffee and slave trades, or that those who considered migration were sincerely convinced that anarchy was the inevitable result of Reconstruction. John Codman felt that Americans would contribute to Brazil, "this slowest of countries," and it was alleged that Brazilians encouraged emigration from the United States because of personal aversions to work In Brazil, nonetheless, some reluctance was displayed by persons who, though they hoped to gain as a result of American enterprise and energy, were fearful of unpleasant results,

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In Rio de Janeiro the International Society of Immigration was organized in I866. This group was particularly interested in attracting Southerners with backgrounds of wealth, "culture," and a slave economy^ The government, as a result of the arguments of this organization^ allocated five hundred contos annually for the support of immigration. Two naturalized citizens of Brazil (of North American birth) were sent to New York as agents, at the expense of the Brazilian government.  With inroads having been made (promises of aid from the

 

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government, acquisition of land tracts and dissemination of propaganda) the next task was to populate settlements, to actually transplant numbers of North American citizens to the Empire of Brazil.

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The Reverend Ballard S.. Dunn and the vanguard of the colonists for his "Lizzieland" left New Orleans aboard the Talisman of the Dom Pedro II Line, on January 30, l867. On the seventeenth of April of the same year, the Marmion, also chartered by the Reverend Dunn under the direction of a Brazilian representative, sailed from New Orleans carrying approximately four hundred emigrants. Most of the Marmion passengers were of formerly wealthy families„ They were charged an average of two hundred and sixteen dollars per person, were obliged to furnish their own heat and food and in the case of the steerage occupants, sleeping and sanitary conditions were very poor. After the voyages, which were of nearly a month's duration, the immigrants lodged at the government's expense in the Emigrant's Hotel in Rio de Janeiro,. This establishment was managed by Colonel Broome, a fellow Southerner, and the travelers were well received and cared for. In many cases, Dom Pedro II, the emperor, visited the hotel and helped to satisfy the needs and desires of the newcomers^ After a period of rest, the guests left the hotel for their final destinations. Only one hundred and fifty persons from the

 

 

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Marmlon traveled on to "Llzzleland," the others choosing to follow other leaders to their tracts or to settle in the cities^ where professional people were readily acceptable Those who proceeded to Dunn's settlement took a ship to Iguape, then moved up the Ribeira to the Juquia by fishbasket (a specially treated fibre conveyance), and finally traveled up the Juquia in thirty foot canoes.

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The progress in "Lizzieland" was very slow and in the summer of 1867 Reverend Dunn felt obliged to go to the United States to encourage more families to come to Brazil. During his absence of three months^ Illness struck his settlement, famine presented., itself as a likely prospect and unrest reached a peak. Most of the settlers left "Lizzleland" and found homes in Rio de Janeiro, Santa Barbara, Sao Paulo and other places, Dunn was accused of being a swindler and of deserting his people in time of need, but it was his contention that all of his actions were for the good of the "Lizzleland" settlers, to whom he had hoped to offer a haven of refuge.

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