Brazil's diverse peoples : a reference sourcebook

This comprehensive volume explores the fascinating diversity of Brazilits historical development, current issues and interactions, and possibilities for the future.

Brazil. A vast land colonized by a distant empire. An emerging country dependent for centuries on slavery.

Site of internal turmoil between and among settlers and natives, yet a magnet for immigrants from around the globe.

A place where racism endures, and yet where genuine multiethnic tolerance grows.

Sound familiar? The largest and one of the most stable Latin American countries, and the only one settled by the Portuguese, Brazil offers an intriguing, often contradictory study in ethnic diversity.

Written by one of Brazil's leading social scientists, this authoritative introductory volume explores the roots and development of Brazil's rich ethnic melange.From colonization through four centuries of African slavery, and from the great 19th century waves of immigrants of Northern Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim, to Brazil today.

Brazil is a nation of entrenched racism and enduring class biases, and yet more culturally assimilated than almost any other multiethnic society.

Readers will learn about the land beyond Rio and explore the fascinating ethnic complexities that are Brazil.