The 1872 Brazilian census was the first census carried out in Brazilian territory, during the imperial period.[1] All residents in private and collective households (called "fogos") who were in it on the reference date of the census, which was 1 August 1872, were censused. The population was distributed according to color, sex, free or slave status, marital status, nationality, occupation and religion.[2]
During the imperial period, the Brazilian government felt the need to obtain statistical data to better understand the country. Because of this, in 1871, by Decree No. 4,676, in compliance with Law No. 1,829, the General Directorate of Statistics (Diretoria Geral de Estatística, DGE) was created to organize national statistical activities and carry out, in the following year, the first census made in Brazil.[2] With the establishment of the Republic, the new government reorganized the DGE and expanded its activities, implementing the civil registry of births, marriages and deaths. From 1890 onwards, carried out by the then General Directorate of Statistics, censuses took place every ten years, with the exception of 1910 and 1930, in which the political situation in Brazil prevented them from being carried out. The DGE was dissolved in 1931, and only in 1936 would an equivalent body be created, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).[3]
Population profile
The Neutral Municipality and the provinces of the Empire of Brazil in 1872
The final results revealed that Brazil had 9,930,478 inhabitants, 5,123,869 men and 4,806,609 women. Men represented 51.6% and women 48.4% of the total population. Regarding the number of inhabitants, the results did not include 181,583 inhabitants, estimated for 32 parishes, in which the census was not carried out on the given date.[2]
According to the census, 38.3% were pardo, 38.1% white and 19.7% black. The indigenous population, named in the census as "caboclos", made up 3.9% of the total. After the 1872 census indigenous people remained for 101 years without appearing as a separate category in the population surveys, only returning in 1991. In the case of the indigenous, some due to the tone of skin, may have been classified as pardo, in addition, the vast majority of native peoples did not answer the census; several villages were not counted because it was difficult to reach them. Countless indigenous peoples lived in isolated tribes, preserving their primitive lifestyle.[4]
Foreigners made up 3.8% of Brazil's population.[6] Of the total number of immigrants, 36% were slaves. “Africans”, slaves, free or freed, were the majority of foreigners (46%); followed by Portuguese (33%), Germans (10.5%), Italians (2.1%) and French (1.8%). Despite being included in the census simply as "Africans", most of them came from different ethnic groups from at least eight major regions of the African continent, such as Senegambia, the Gulf of Benin, West Central Africa and the Gulf of Biafra, and others.[7]
Among the free population, 23.4% of men and 13.4% of women were considered literate. Of the population aged between 6 and 15, 17% of men and 11% of women attended schools. Population data by age group showed that 24.6% of the population were children under 10 years of age; 21.1% were adolescents and young people between 11 and 20 years old; 32.9% were adults between 21 and 40 years old; 8.4% were between 41 and 50 years old; 12.8% were between 51 and 70 years old; and, finally, only 3.4% were over 71 years of age.[citation needed]
99.7% of the population was classified as Catholic (9.900.888 people) and 0.29% (29.590) as non-Catholic.[2] 80% of the "non-Catholics" were German immigrants. However, there were, at that time, about 383 thousand amerindians, who followed their own religious conceptions. Furthermore, all slaves were classified as Catholics, but many of them maintained the original Africann religions that, after the abolition of slavery, would give rise to Afro-Brazilian religions.[citation needed]
The census presents, in addition to the population count, specific information about people with disabilities, access to school and professions exercised, among others. At the time, farming was the profession with the most people, followed by domestic services. Of the liberal professions, artists were the most numerous, even among the slave population.[8] Among women, the predominant professions were domestic service, farmers and seamstresses. From the total population (men and women), about 42% had no profession (55% among free people, 24% among slaves). The DGE itself recognizes that the contingent without a specific profession was “huge”, especially in the provinces of Rio Grande do Norte, Minas Gerais and Pernambuco.[7]
The Census recorded almost 10 million inhabitants distributed in 20 provinces and the Neutral Municipality. Brazil was divided into 641 municipalities, which, in turn, were subdivided into 1,473 parishes, the smallest information units. The collection was carried out in the parishes.[9]
In this Census, the current Northeast region still appeared as the largest in the country. Of the eight most populous provinces in Brazil, half were in the northeast, they were also among the most densely populated, since Pernambuco had a smaller area than São Paulo but with a larger population; and Paraíba, with almost the same population as Rio Grande do Sul, had a much smaller area as well. Residents of the present-day northeast and southeast regions combined made up 87.2% of the country's population.[citation needed]
In Imperial Brazil, contemporaries understood the country as being geographically divided into only two major regions: the north (the provinces located from Amazonas to Bahia) and the south (from Espírito Santo to Rio Grande do Sul).[10] Thus, the northern population, that is, those who lived from Bahia to Amazonas, was 4,971,407 (50.06%) and those who lived in the other provinces, that is, the south, were 4,683,469 (47.16%); therefore, the population of the two regions was roughly equivalent, with a slight advantage to the north.[10]
The Neutral Municipality, located between the southern provinces, had 274,972 inhabitants, about 2.77% of the country's population. Minas Gerais, with 2,039,735 inhabitants, was the most populous province and with the largest number of parishes (370), the better distribution of population in parishes (including urban and rural areas) in Minas Gerais was a remnant of the population emigration that resulted from the gold cycle, which had its heyday in the previous century and led to the move of Brazil's capital from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro in 1763 (the two largest cities in the 1872 census).[citation needed]
In 1872, the weight of the rural population was enormous when compared to the urban population. The population of provincial capitals and the Neutral Municipality represented 10.41% of the total population, that is, 1,083,039 people. To complete the picture, 48% of the urban population was concentrated in the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Recife.[citation needed]
The municipalities of Brazil are administrative divisions of the Brazilian states. Brazil currently has 5,570 municipalities, which, given the 2019 population estimate of 210,147,125, makes an average municipality population of 37,728 inhabitants. The average state in Brazil has 214 municipalities. Roraima is the least subdivided state, with 15 municipalities, while Minas Gerais is the most, with 853. Northern states are divided into small numbers of large municipalities, and therefore they cover large areas incorporating several separated cities or towns that do not necessarily conform to one single conurbation. Southern and eastern states on the other hand, are divided into many small municipalities, and therefore large urban areas usually extend over several municipalities which form one single conurbation.
Minas Gerais is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 census. Located in the Southeast Region of the country, it is limited to south and southwest with São Paulo; Mato Grosso do Sul to the west; Goiás and the Federal District to the northwest; Bahia to the north and northeast; Espírito Santo to the east; and Rio de Janeiro to the southeast. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte, is a major urban and finance center in Brazil, being the sixth most populous municipality in the country while its metropolitan area ranks as the third largest in Brazil with just over 5.8 million inhabitants, after those of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Minas Gerais' territory is subdivided into 853 municipalities, the largest number among Brazilian states.
In Brazil, Pardo is an ethnic and skin color category used by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in the Brazilian censuses. The term "pardo" is a complex one, more commonly used to refer to Brazilians of mixed ethnic ancestries.
Afro-Brazilians are Brazilians who have predominantly sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians or pardos, may also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Depending on the circumstances, the ones whose African features are more evident are always or frequently seen by others as "Africans" – consequently identifying themselves as such, while the ones for whom this evidence is lesser may not be seen as such as regularly.
Catanduva is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 122,497 in an area of 290.59 km2. Is the second largest city in the Northern part of the state, after São José do Rio Preto. The city has a diversified economy, and the cultivation and processing of sugarcane is relevant.
Salinas is a municipality in the northeast of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.
Três Pontas is a municipality located in southern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It's a city with about all streets of urban zone paved and services of water and sewage to all people. The municipality has about 57 thousand inhabitants and a population density of 78,12hab/km2. The road MG-167 is the only paved road that passes through the city, but the Rodovia Fernão Dias (BR-381), is less than 50 km from the city centre passing through Varginha.
Lavras is a municipality in southern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Located at an altitude of 919 m, it has a population of 104,761 inhabitants (2022). The area of the municipality is 564.495 km2. The average annual temperature is 19.6°C and the average annual rainfall is 1,511 millimetres.
Unaí is a municipality in the Northern Region of Minas Gerais, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, in the Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located 590 km from the capital of Minas Gerais and 164 km from the federal capital. Unaí is the main municipality of its micro-region of the same name and, together with Paracatu, the most important city of the said mesoregion of Minas Gerais. Due to its geopolitical location, because it is geographically and politically linked to Brasilia and politically to Belo Horizonte, the municipality has a strong economic dynamism for a municipality that still carries the typically mineiro custom.
White Brazilians refers to Brazilian citizens who are considered or self-identify as "white", typically because of European or Levantine Asian ancestry.
The Xakriabá are an indigenous people of Brazil. One of the Gê peoples who spoke the Xakriabá dialect of the Akwe language, they used to live in the Tocantins River area. As of 2010, 9,196 Xakriabá people lived in the state of Minas Gerais.
Brazilians are the citizens of Brazil. A Brazilian can also be a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or legal guardian as well as a person who acquired Brazilian citizenship. Brazil is a multiethnic society, which means that it is home to people of many ethnic origins, and there is no correlation between one's stock and their Brazilian identity.
Arantina is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2020 is estimated to be 2,787 people living in a total area of 89.382 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Sul and Sudoeste de Minas and to the microregion of Andrelândia.
Brazilian society is made up of a confluence of people of Indigenous, Portuguese, and African descent. Other major significant groups include Italians, Spaniards, Germans, Lebanese, and Japanese.
Rio Pardo de Minas is a municipality in the northeast of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Its population in 2020 was 31,045 inhabitants in a total area of 3,117 square kilometres (1,203 sq mi).
Brazil had an official resident population of 203 million in 2022, according to IBGE. Brazil is the seventh most populous country in the world and the second most populous in the Americas and Western Hemisphere.
Ipaba is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil.It is located in the Vale do Rio Doce and belongs to the metropolitan collar of the Steel Valley. Its estimated population in 2018 was 18,438 inhabitants.
Italian Brazilians are Brazilians of full or partial Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Brazil during the Italian diaspora, or more recent Italian-born people who've settled in Brazil. Italian Brazilians are the largest number of people with full or partial Italian ancestry outside Italy, with São Paulo being the most populous city with Italian ancestry in the world. Nowadays, it is possible to find millions of descendants of Italians, from the southeastern state of Minas Gerais to the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, with the majority living in São Paulo state. Small southern Brazilian towns, such as Nova Veneza, have as much as 95% of their population of Italian descent.
The Italian immigration in Minas Gerais was the migratory movement of Italians to the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais that occurred between the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. It was one of the states that received the most Italian immigrants in Brazil, only behind São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul.
Melo, Edvaldo Cabral de (1984). O norte agrário e o Império (in Portuguese). Brasília: Nova Fronteira.
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