was larger, for example in Ijui (15%) and Erechim (25%), indicating they were newer destinations of immigrants in the state.The Census of 1940 revealed that virtually all the population of German descent was native-born.ImmigrationWhen German-speaking immigrants first arrived in Brazil starting at the beginning of the 19th century, they did not identify themselves so much as a unified German-Brazilian group.However, as time went on this common regional identity did emerge for many different geo-socio-political reasons. Germans immigrated mainly from what is now Germany, but also from other countries where German communities were established.From 1824 to 1969, around 250,000 Germans emigrated to Brazil, being the fourth largest immigrant community to settle in the country, after the Portuguese, Italians and Spaniards. About 30% of them arrived between World War I and World War II.German immigration to Brazil, decennial periods from 1824 to 1969Source: Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE)1824471848721872791880891890991900091910191920291930391940491950591960698,17619,52314,32518,90117,08413,84825,90275,80127,4976,80716,6435,659First German settlement in BrazilNova Petropolis, settled by Germans in 1858The first German immigrants to settle in Brazil were 165 families who settled in Ilheus, Bahia, in 1818. One year later, 200 families settled Sao Jorge, in the same state.Some Germans were brought to work in the Brazilian army after Independence from Portugal in 1822.However, the cradle of the German settlement in Brazil was Sao Leopoldo, in 1824. At that time Southern Brazil had a very low population density.Most of its inhabitants were concentrated on the coast and a few in the Pampas. The interior was covered by forests and sparsely populated by different groups of natives Amerindians.The absence of an unified population in the interior was regarded as a problem by Brazilian government, because Southern Brazil could easily be invaded by neighboring countries.Since Brazil was recently independent from Portugal, it was not possible to bring Portuguese immigrants. Germany was suffering the effects of the wars against Napoleon, overpopulation and poverty in the countryside.Many Germans were willing to immigrate to Brazil. Furthermore, Brazil's Empress, Maria Leopoldina, was Austrian and encouraged the arrival of German immigrants.First communitiesMajor Schaeffer, a German who was living in Brazil, was sent to Germany in order to bring immigrants. He brought immigrants and soldiers from Rhineland-Palatinate.To attract the immigrants, the Brazilian government had promised large tracts of land where they could settle with their families and colonize the region.In fact, these lands were in the middle of big forests and the first Germans had been abandoned by the Brazilian government. From 1824 to 1829, the Major brought 5,000 Germans to Brazil.[11]German immigrants in Brazil settled mostly in rural areas, called colonies (colonias in Portuguese). These colonies were created by the Brazilian government, and the lands were distributed among the immigrants. They had to construct their own houses and cultivate the land.The first years were not easy. Many Germans died of tropical disease, while others left the colonies to find better living conditions.The German colony of Sao Leopoldo was a disaster. Nevertheless, in the following years, a further 4,830 Germans arrived at Sao Leopoldo, and then the colony started to develop, with the immigrants establishing the town of Novo Hamburgo (New Hamburg).From