Dados is one of the most widely-read social sciences journals in Latin America. Created in 1966, it publishes innovative works, originating from academic research, by Brazilian and foreign authors. Edited by IESP-UERJ, it aims to reconcile scientific rigor and academic excellence with an emphasis on public debate based on the analysis of substantive issues of society and politics.
Dados vol. 24 n. 2 Rio de Janeiro 1981
Abstract
Sociological and historical studies on the participation .of the Italian immigrants in the industrial development of Brazil almost always accept the notion that the typical immigrant was invariably poor, came to work as a wage earner in coffee plantations, got rich and climbed upwards socially through hard work, and then became a big entrepreneur. This general notion, however, is only true in exceptional cases. In Brazil, the Italian immigrant followed one of three possible routes: first, as a sharecropper in coffee plantations, not as a wage earner; second, as a small landowner in agricultural nuclei in Southern Brazil, in São Paulo, and in Espírito Santo; and, third, as an artisan or capitalist entrepreneur in the more developed cities. In the case of São Paulo, the establishment of the first industries from 1873 onwards -s due to Brazilian entrepreneurs, from landed families, not to Italian immigrants. But it is true that industry remained the least attractive undertaking for native capitalists. Hence, the entry of immigrant artisans or industrialists. It is significant that the 1890's was at the same time the epoch of heavy foreign immigration into São Paulo and of increased participation of Italians in industry and banking. But either the immigrant arrived already as a capitalist, or as a worker to live in the slums of the city's poor neighborhoods. Under the common identity of being Italian, therefore, there existed strong tensions between entrepreneurs and wage earners.
Empresários e Trabalhadores de Origem Italiana no Desenvolvimento Industrial Brasileiro entre 1880 e 1914: o Caso de São Paulo
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