Santa Catharina, Brazil
By F. W. Spies
Colonization and Agriculture
THE efforts to colonize the province of Santa Catharina really date from the declaration of Brazil’s independence from Portugal in 1822, and almost from the beginning an effort was made to induce German colonists to come to this province. The inducements offered by the government generally included free passage from Europe to Brazil, the few simple tools (ax, hoe, and brush-hook) needed to go to work, and in some instances also provisions until the colonist could raise something to sustain himself and family. Yet with all this, the colonists generally had a hard time, as most of those testify with whom I have conversed concerning their early experiences in Brazil. Even to this day, many who come here, no sooner take in the situation than they11decide that Brazil is not the promised land they had expected; and if they have sufficient means to do so, they return by the first steamer to the place whence they came. Those who lack the means to return are forced to accept the situation, and with many tears they go to work to establish a home in Brazil. Some seem to adapt themselves to the situation from the beginning, and express themselves as fully contented, but these are only a small percent of the whole. But when we stop to consider the situation, it is little wonder that these people feel disappointed. Wonderful reports are circulated in Europe concerning the advantages and opportunities offered in Brazil. The land is represented as being both very cheap and productive, and still other inducements are held out. All this tends to dazzle the people living in the overcrowded cities of Europe, as also the peasants who sigh under the heavy burdens imposed upon them by the European estate holders, and with a desire of securing their freedom, and thus bettering their condition, they come to Brazil. But when the emigrant sets his foot on Brazilian soil, and is shown his future possession, lo, it is covered with dense forest, giant trees; and as in most cases he is a man who lived in a city, even in Germany, and has never taken a lesson in the science of felling these monsters, no wonder that he shrinks from the thought of making a home in such wilds. But he is chained by circumstances; there remains for him but one thing to do, that is, go to work, and this he does, though as a rule against his will. The government having furnished him an ax, a brush-hook, and a hoe, his agricultural implements are supplied, and he proceeds to clear a piece of land. This is hard work, especially to one unaccustomed to such labor. Next he will build himself a small shanty or hut, usually covered with a roof of leaves. He will also be likely to experience much difficulty in getting the needed food for his family the first year; for after he has cut down a roca (a patch of ground to plant), the timber must lie a long time, sometimes even half a year, before he can burn it; and when it is finally burned, only the small trees and the limbs of the larger ones are consumed by the fire, and his future corn field is covered with large, charred tree trunks lying across one another, and making it almost impossible to move around among them. But this is the soil on which he must raise his crops, and so he climbs around among the tree trunks as best he can, planting his corn, which is the chief product raised in this province, as it serves as the staff of life for both man and beast. The tuber family is well represented, there being five or six varieties, as the sweet potato, aipim, mandioca, Irish potato, arrowroot, etc. Bananas and oranges are found in great abundance. The mamão, pineapples, watermelons, figs, and some small fruits also do well. The chief articles of export are sugar, cachasse (a rum made from the sugar-cane. This rum is very cheap, and as a consequence there exists much drunkenness), tobacco, and farina, a preparation made from the mandioca root. From the stock of agricultural implements already named, and from the condition of the planter’s land, the reader will observe that the planter in Santa Catharina, especially in the beginning, must do his work all by hand, a task which is very laborious. Then, too, as a rule the land is very hilly, which makes it impossible for many to employ horse and plow even at a later time when the land is sufficiently cleared so that they could otherwise be used. Hence most of the planters prepare their ground for planting with a hoe, and the crops, when gathered, are carried home in sacks on the back, frequently as far as one fourth of a mile, up and down steep hills. These conditions make it necessary for the women, and even the children, as soon as they are able to do so, to assist the head of the family in his arduous duties in gaining a support for himself, his wife and children. Thus the life of the Brazilian planter is a hard one from first to last. He has no luxuries, and nearly always he lacks even the ordinary comforts of life. Could our brethren in the United States see in all its details the life of the colonist as it is here, they would wonder how these people can get along, yet we find many of them ready to accept the truth for these last days, and especially is it a comfort to them to realize that the Lord will soon come to take them to a better home. Many more laborers are needed here, to finish the work only begun.