Spaniards
by Boris Fausto

The Spaniards who emigrated to Brazil were prompted by upheavals in Spain. They were lured by the prospect of employment which, for good or for worse, was on offer. Many croppers and smallholders left Galicia; others, mostly peasant labourers, hailed from Andaluzia.
In the early years, from the 1880s onwards, Spanish immigrants were mainly sent to work on the coffee plantations in the State of São Paulo. Compared with other immigrants, they tended to bring the entire family, including numerous children.

They soon became the third largest immigrant group in Brazil, outstripped by only the Portuguese and Italians. Between 1880 and 1972 they accounted for approximately 14% of all the immigrant groups arriving in Brazil. They were more concentrated in São Paulo than any other group. The 1920 census, for instance, showed that 78% of Spanish nationals had settled in that State.

Although the vast majority of the Spanish immigrants initially established themselves in rural areas, where they set up on small or medium-sized farms, they also made their presence felt in urban areas.

At the outset, the Spaniards were mostly scrap-metal merchants or else employed in restaurants. They then gradually diversified their activities.

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