Population, ethnic groups and the coffee industry: São Carlos, Brazil, 1907

Abstract

The formation of the population of the city of São Carlos, in the south-central region of the Brazilian State of São Paulo, began in the first half of the 19th century with the first plantations operated by slave labor. In 1884, with the arrival of the railroad, the municipality became solidly and permanently integrated into the overall economy of the state. São Carlos thus kept up with the state’s transition from an economy based on slave labor to one where free immigrant settlers of European origin, especially Italian, became the rule. Less than two decades after the abolition of slavery in Brazil, the racial composition of the population had changed significantly due to the great influx of immigrants and, probably, in addition, to the departure from the municipality of many former black slaves. This rapid change can be seen in the data from the federal census carried out in 1907, which compiled the diversified information referring to 38,642 individuals who then inhabited São Carlos. This present analysis discusses the demographic characteristics and social inclusion of different ethnic groups in the city’s population during that period. Its importance also results from the absence of demographic data from the period in question, related to the recognized shortcomings of the censuses of 1890 and 1900 and the long period of 34 years between the demographic measurement in what was then the Province of São Paulo, in 1886, and the national census of 1920. The 1920 Census is much more reliable, but nevertheless negligent in terms of the color of individuals.