Complementary and exclusionary: dialogues on German immigration and slavery (Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo)

Abstract

Most 19th century German immigrants to Rio Grande do Sul (RS) settled in agricultural colonies, whereas most Germans in São Paulo (SP) worked on plantations or public works. In both contexts, prosperous Germans purchased enslaved people, and German workers and farmers regularly encountered captive black people. Restrictions on slavery in the colonies of RS were easily circumvented. In SP, Germans and the enslaved could work on the same infrastructure projects, but did so in separate gangs. In SP, immigrants worked on the same plantations with enslaved workers, but the immigrants had work contracts, lived in separate colonies and were penalized with fines rather than corporal punishment. However, many of these immigrants compared their situation to slavery because they suffered authoritarian rules and could not quit their jobs without paying their debts. The settlers in RS complained about the entrepreneurs who founded private colonies, but rarely compared themselves to slaves.