Confederados The Confederados ( ) are an ethnic sub - group in Brazil descended from some 10 , 000 Confederate Americans who immigrated chiefly to the area of the city of São Paulo , Brazil after the American Civil War . Although many returned to the United States , some remained and descendants of Confederados can be found in many different cities throughout Brazil . Original Confederados . In 1865 at the end of the American Civil War a substantial number of American Southerners left the South ; many moved to other parts of the United States , such as the American West , but a few left the country entirely . The most popular country of Southern emigration was Brazil . Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil wanted to encourage the cultivation of cotton . After the American Civil War Dom Pedro offered the potential immigrants subsidies on transport to Brazil , cheap land , and tax breaks . Confederate President Jefferson Davis and General Robert E . Lee advised Southerners against emigration , but many ignored their advice and set out to establish a new life away from the destruction of war and Northern rule under Reconstruction . Many Southerners who took the Emperor ' s offer had lost their land during the war , were unwilling to live under a conquering army , or simply did not expect an improvement in the South ' s economic position . In addition , Brazil still had slavery ( and did not abolish it until 1888 ) . Although a number of historians state that the existence of slavery was an appeal , Alcides Gussi , an independent researcher of State University of Campinas , found that only four families owned a total of 66 slaves from 1868 to 1875 . Most of the immigrants were from the states of Alabama , Texas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Georgia , and South Carolina . No one has determined how many Americans immigrated to Brazil in the years following the end of the American Civil War . As noted in unpublished research , Betty Antunes de Oliveira found in port records of Rio de Janeiro that some 20 , 000 Americans entered Brazil from 1865 to 1885 . Other researchers have estimated the number at 10 , 000 . An unknown number returned to the United States when conditions in the southern US improved . Most immigrants adopted Brazilian citizenship . The immigrants settled in various places , ranging from the urban areas of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to the northern Amazon region , especially Santarém , and Paraná in the south . Most of the Confederados settled near São Paulo about two hours north in the area around present - day Santa Bárbara d ' Oeste and Americana , Brazil . The latter name was derived from " Vila dos Americanos " , as the natives called it . The first Confederado recorded was Colonel William H . Norris of Alabama . The colony at Santa Bárbara D ' Oeste is sometimes called the " Norris Colony " . Dom Pedro ' s program was judged a success for both the immigrants and the Brazilian government . The settlers quickly gained a reputation for honesty and hard work . The settlers brought modern agricultural techniques for cotton , as well as new food - crops , such as watermelon and pecan s , that spread among native Brazilian farmers . Some dishes of the American South were also adopted in general Brazilian culture , such as chess pie , vinegar pie , and southern fried chicken . The early Confederados continued many elements of American culture , for instance , establishing the first Baptist churches in Brazil . In a change from the South , the Confederados also educated slaves and black freedmen in their new schools . A few newly freed slaves in the United States emigrated alongside their confederate counterparts and in some cases with their previous owners . One such former slave , Steve Watson , became the administrator of the sawmill of his former owner , Judge Dyer of Texas . Upon returning to the USA ( due to homesickness and financial failure ) Dyer deeded his remaining property , the sawmill and 12 acres , to Watson . In the area of the Juquia valley there are many Brazilian families with the surname Vassão , the Portuguese pronunciation of Watson . The American Civil War fought in Brazil . The USS " Wachusett " was typical of the vessels used by the Union Navy for offshore blockading and intercepting Confederate commerce raiders . Commissioned in March 1862 , " Wachusett " initially served with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron before being transferred to the special " Flying Squadron " . This organisation was tasked with tracking down and sinking Confederate raiders . In February 1864 , the ship was ordered to go to Bahia , Brazil , with orders to protect American commerce in the area . That October , " Wachusett " encountered the raider CSS " Florida " in Bahia harbor . Though technically in neutral waters , " Wachusett " ' s captain , Commander Napoleon Collins , ordered an attack . Catching " Florida " by surprise , men from " Wachusett " quickly captured the ship . After a brief refit , " Wachusett " received orders to sail for the Far East to aid in the hunt for CSS " Shenandoah " . It was en route when news was received that the war had ended . Descendants of the immigrants . The first generation of " Confederados " remained an insular community . As is typical , by the third generation , most of the families had intermarried with native Brazilians or immigrants of other origins . Descendants of the " Confederados " increasingly spoke the Portuguese language and identified themselves as Brazilians . As the area around Santa Bárbara d ' Oeste and Americana turned to the production of sugar cane and society became more mobile , the " Confederados " moved to cities for urban jobs . Today , only a few descendant families still live on land owned by their ancestors . The descendants of the " Confederados " are mostly scattered throughout Brazil . They maintain the headquarters of their descendant organization at the Campo center in Santa Bárbara D ' Oeste , where there is a cemetery , chapel and memorial . The descendants foster a connection with their history through the " Associação Descendência Americana " ( American Descendants Association ) , a descendant organization dedicated to preserving their unique mixed culture . The " Confederados " also have an annual festival , called the " Festa Confederada " , dedicated to fund the Campo center . The festival is marked by Confederate flags , Confederate uniforms and hoop skirt s , food of the American South with a Brazilian flair , and dances and music popular in the American South during the antebellum period . The descendants maintain affection for the Confederate flag even though they identify as completely Brazilian . Many " Confederado " descendants have traveled to the United States at the invitation of the Sons of Confederate Veterans , an American descendants ' organization , to visit Civil War battlefields , attend re - enactments , or see where their ancestors lived . The Confederate flag in Brazil has not acquired the same political symbolism as it has in the United States . Many descendants of the " Confederados " are of mixed race and reflect the varied ethnic groups of Brazilian society in their physical appearance . In the wake of then - Governor Jimmy Carter ' s visit to the region in 1972 , Americana incorporated the Confederate flag into the municipal coat of arms ( though the largely Italian - descended population removed it some years later , reasoning that descendants of " Confederado " now comprise but a tenth of the municipal population ) . While in Brazil , Carter also visited the city of Santa Bárbara d ' Oeste and the grave at the Campo of a great - uncle of his wife Rosalyn . Her relative was one of the original Confederados . Carter remarked that the Confederados sounded and seemed just like Southerners . Campo Cemetery with its chapel and memorial , in Santa Bárbara d ' Oeste , is a site of memory , as most of the original Confederados from the region were buried there . Because they were Protestant rather than Catholic , they were prohibited from the local cemeteries and had to establish their own . The Confederado descendants ' community has also contributed to an Immigration Museum at Santa Bárbara d ' Oeste to present the history of immigration to Brazil . Further reading . Because of their small numbers , the Confederados have been mostly forgotten as a group . In recent years , some limited studies have been conducted on the influence the Confederado immigration had on Brazil and Latin America as a whole . Studies include :