Mad Flight? The Quebec Emigration to the Coffee Plantations of Brazil

This book tells the story of the 286 adults and 195 children who left Montreal for São Paulo in September 1896, with passage paid by the São Paulo state government, as part of an attempt to reduce its dependence on Italian immigration. With a thorough investigation of the Montreal press, demographic sources, and diplomatic correspondence as well as some letters from the migrants themselves, John Zucchi presents a great deal of information on who went, how they were recruited, opposition to their departure, their difficult experiences in São Paulo, efforts to repatriate them, and what happened to some of them after their return. The appendixes provide a list of all passengers as well as information on 301 people who had signed up for the trip but failed to embark, apparently dissuaded by a campaign against migration to Brazil in the Montreal press, which was orchestrated by federal government officials.The author seems to agree with government officials and the press of the time that Canadian migration to Brazilian coffee plantations was destined to fail because Canadians—many of whom were not actually Canadians but British or French nationals who had previously migrated to Canada—were utterly unsuited to subtropical agriculture and living conditions. Although Zucchi cites some English-language histories of São Paulo, he leaves out most of the Portuguese-language literature on coffee plantations and other immigrant groups. The absence of broader knowledge of immigration to São Paulo leads Zucchi to exaggerate the unique nature of the Canadian immigrant experience and to misunderstand the appeal of migration to São Paulo at that time.To be sure, migration agencies in both Europe and Canada exaggerated the benefits of working on São Paulo coffee plantations, but some benefits were real enough. The mild, subtropical climate of the São Paulo plateau was one attraction, especially in comparison with Canada. Even more important was the amazing fertility of the São Paulo soil, which combined with mild weather to permit year-round agriculture, with different crops having staggered planting and harvest seasons. Certainly, providing access to land for planting their own crops, principally maize and beans, was one of the main ways in which coffee planters attracted immigrant workers. In combination with the small animals they could raise, access to land meant that immigrants had abundant food, a fact often stressed in their letters.The difficulties that Zucchi emphasizes, such as the tyranny of planters, price gouging at plantation stores, and health problems, were certainly real, but if he were more aware of the history of other immigrants in São Paulo, Zucchi would have realized that the Canadians' experience was not exceptional. Foreign consuls received constant complaints of planter abuses, and conflict between immigrants and planters was common. About half of European migrants to São Paulo returned to their homelands or went to other countries, especially Argentina, and many others moved to Paulista cities or southern Brazil at the end of their annual contracts.Zucchi also pays little attention to specific circumstances that made 1896 a particularly bad year to arrive in São Paulo. He does mention that coffee prices fell dramatically that year as a result of overproduction but does not trace the resulting decline in real wages and demand for workers, which affected all coffee workers, not just Canadians. This latter group also arrived in the middle of one of the worst yellow fever epidemics in São Paulo's history. Zucchi mentions that several of them died of yellow fever but seems to treat the disease as a constant risk rather than the grave but temporary emergency that it was. All immigrants who had grown up in areas free of yellow fever were vulnerable.What does seem to distinguish the Canadians from other immigrants were the efforts of British consular officials, who represented Canada, to help them return, so that the Canadians had much greater opportunities for repatriation than other immigrants at this difficult time. Zucchi presents evidence suggesting that the majority of these migrants were able to return to either Canada or Europe within one or two years of their arrival in Brazil.Overall, this book provides more information about the attitudes of British and Canadian political and media elites than about the experience of Canadian migrants. Canadian officials were already worried about population loss to the United States and wanted to impede the development of a new migration stream to Brazil. If they admitted that this migration was more than simply madness brought on by false promises to the ignorant, Canadian and British officials would have had to confront the fact that life in Canada was difficult for many. Helping the migrants return with their stories of Brazilian misery was an excellent way to deter others from emigration and to emphasize the good fortune of Canadians

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