The Portuguese immigrant in the First Republic of Rio de Janeiro: anti-Lusitanism in the world of work

Abstract

This article aims to reveal the factors of antagonism in the relationship between Portuguese and Brazilians in the urban context of Rio, between the years 1890 and 1930. Stimulated by pro-immigration laws, cultural and language proximity, the “land of promise”, as Brazil was known in the republican period, it promised newly arrived Europeans the opportunity to accumulate money and build assets. However, immigrants competed for space in the job market with Brazilians and, mainly, with former freedmen from the slavery system. Racial theories, working conditions in large cities and nationalist ideals strengthened hostilities in the new republic, reviving social conflicts from the times of colonization.