Caribbean Brazilian
Encyclopedia
Caribbean Brazilian is a Brazilian person of full, partial, or predominantly Caribbean
ancestry, or a Caribbean-born person residing in Brazil. Many Caribbean Brazilians are of Barbadian descent.
in the Brazilian Amazon, between 1880 and 1912, the construction of a railroad linking the Madeira River
in Brazil to the Mamore River in Bolivia
was undertaken to solve the problem of rubber transportation in that region. The railway would help to get the Bolivian rubber out of the jungle, past the rapids on the Madeira and then reach the navigable part of the river in Porto Velho
, in the state of Rondônia. For the construction of the Madeira-Mamoré railroad, many African-Caribbean workers, especially from Barbados
, were taken to that part of the Brazilian Amazon. The enterprise was first a British project but later was controlled by the American Percival Farquhar who had a Brazilian business empire.
This adventure in the Amazon brought about the death of about six thousand workers, caused by attacks from Indigenous Amerindian tribes, malaria and many other diseases.
The term Barbadian, in fact, was used as a globalizing identification attributed to the foreign Blacks who went to the Amazon from several parts of the Caribbean, mainly Barbados
, but also from Saint Lucia
, Grenada
, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
, Trinidad and Tobago
and even the Guyanas
. They migrated, or rather were taken, to the Brazilian state of Rondônia
which was a wilderness in the beginning of the twentieth century.
It was a migration motivated by work, by the search for a new life, causing the rupture of family roots and culture as well as producing a feeling of displacement and lack of emotional ties. Their job was to cut the railway through the mainly terrain of Rio Abuna. Under the order of the English engineer, Collier, the Caribbeans worked hard for the American enterprise.
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
ancestry, or a Caribbean-born person residing in Brazil. Many Caribbean Brazilians are of Barbadian descent.
Migration history
During the rubber boomRubber boom
The rubber boom was an important part of the economic and social history of Brazil and Amazonian regions of neighboring countries, being related with the extraction and commercialization of rubber...
in the Brazilian Amazon, between 1880 and 1912, the construction of a railroad linking the Madeira River
Madeira River
The Madeira River is a major waterway in South America, approximately 3,250 km miles long The Madeira is the biggest tributary of the Amazon...
in Brazil to the Mamore River in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
was undertaken to solve the problem of rubber transportation in that region. The railway would help to get the Bolivian rubber out of the jungle, past the rapids on the Madeira and then reach the navigable part of the river in Porto Velho
Porto Velho
Porto Velho is the capital of the Brazilian state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin. The population is estimated to be 426,558 people...
, in the state of Rondônia. For the construction of the Madeira-Mamoré railroad, many African-Caribbean workers, especially from Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, were taken to that part of the Brazilian Amazon. The enterprise was first a British project but later was controlled by the American Percival Farquhar who had a Brazilian business empire.
This adventure in the Amazon brought about the death of about six thousand workers, caused by attacks from Indigenous Amerindian tribes, malaria and many other diseases.
The term Barbadian, in fact, was used as a globalizing identification attributed to the foreign Blacks who went to the Amazon from several parts of the Caribbean, mainly Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, but also from Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...
, Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
and even the Guyanas
Guyanas
Guyana is a country in South America.Guyana, Guayana, or Guiana may also refer to:*Guayana Esequiba, the territory of Guyana claimed by Venezuela*Guayana Region, an administrative region of Venezuela...
. They migrated, or rather were taken, to the Brazilian state of Rondônia
Rondônia
Rondônia is a state in Brazil, located in the north-western part of the country. To the west is a short border with the state of Acre, to the north is the state of Amazonas, in the east is Mato Grosso, and in the south is Bolivia. Its capital is Porto Velho. The state was named after Candido Rondon...
which was a wilderness in the beginning of the twentieth century.
It was a migration motivated by work, by the search for a new life, causing the rupture of family roots and culture as well as producing a feeling of displacement and lack of emotional ties. Their job was to cut the railway through the mainly terrain of Rio Abuna. Under the order of the English engineer, Collier, the Caribbeans worked hard for the American enterprise.