Posted on 04/27/2015 3:51:01 PM PDT by drewh
It had all the trappings of a down-home country fair somewhere well below the Mason-Dixon line: Lynyrd Skynyrd medleys, mile-long lines for fried chicken, barbecue and draft beer, and a plethora of Confederate flags emblazoning everything from belt buckles to motorcycle vests to trucker caps.
But Sunday's party marking the 150th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War took about 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) south of the South, in a rural Brazilian town colonized by families fleeing Reconstruction.
Thousands turn out every year, including many who trace their ancestry back to the dozens of families who, enticed by the Brazilian government's offers of land grants, settled here from 1865 to around 1875. They're joined by country music enthusiasts, history buffs and locals with a hankering for buttermilk biscuits or a fondness for 'The Dukes of Hazzard.'
The history of the Confederate migrants is one of the lesser-known stories of the Civil War, said Casey Clabough, author of the 2012 historical novel 'Confederados.' It's not even known for sure how many people made the arduous journey, Clabough said, with some historical accounts suggesting as few as 3,000, while others say there were as many as 10,000, predominantly from deep south states like Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia.
Most were lured by newspaper ads placed in the wake of the war by the government of Brazil's then-emperor, Dom Pedro II, promising land grants to those who would help colonize the South American country's vast and little-explored interior. 'They were seen as desirable, educated colonists,' said Clabough.
Legend has it that Dom Pedro himself was on hand at Rio's port to greet the first batch of Confederados, mostly enlisted men and small family farmers who were then dispatched to rural areas of the surrounding states.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I hope they are leading good and happy lives.
the pics from the fiesta are incredible...Brazil sure knows how to party! (for any occasion)
Explains the high rate of STDs there.
I’m gonna look! usually too lazy lol but this is interesting. and a little bit of levity with all the other stories going on.
and it looks like they intermarried down there to produce some striking offspring! the pictures are great!!
they look so proud and distinguished.
I wonder of they are still fighting it on Internet boards in Brazil.
Oh, God, don’t tell Sharpton and Jackson about this . . .
I SAW THAT ONE lol. hubba hubba
Love the pictures, thanks!
Interesting. Brazil has interesting areas, like the very German areas.
Still, after the Civil War my Grandma’s family left Mississippi and went to Texas, not Brazil.
I think my forebears made a better decision.
But, in 50 years will that still be the case?
Their descendant speak Portuguese - Brasil-Estados Unidos.
I have considered relocating my family to South America; Brazil or Argentina.
I’m halfway making plans. I doubt seriously if the USA can be saved.
Do they all talk like Fogh of Leghorn?
Just an FYI, Associated Press photos cannot be posted. That’s just the way it is.
Foghorn Leghorn
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