Brazil, a port of Hope. Emigration from Porto to Brazil between the end of the First World War and the Capitalist Crisis of 1929

Diogo Ferreira

Being one of the main population centers in the country and consensually presented as one of the most affected by emigration, Porto received a considerable influx of individuals coming especially from the North and Centre of the country, who, from there, left to other countries. The survey and processing of information from the Passport Registration Books and Passport Processes produced by the Civil Government of Porto intends to reveal the migratory numbers of the individuals that legally left the Porto district for Brazil in the years 1918 to 1931, as well as demonstrating the way in which this district was part of the national emigration phenomenon. When outlining the generic profile of the emigrant, at a time when the end of the First World War had reopened the doors to a strong emigration flow, almost immediately mitigated by an economic crisis whose effects were reflected on a global scale, slight differences are detected in relation to the emigration of the 19th century, with particular emphasis on the increase in the presence of women and married people and the decrease in the number of minors.

In addition to a statistical analysis of this migratory flow, this research articulates the study of the Portuguese and Brazilian legal systems, the speeches of the main political leaders in both countries and the press of the time, more specifically two of the most important newspapers in the North region of Portugal, allowing us to understand the characteristics of emigration/immigration in the respective societies.