White Paraguayans

Last updated
Paraguayans of European descent
Total population
c.1,750,000 [1] [2]
20%–30% of the Paraguayan population
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Asuncion.svg Asunción
Ciudad del Este
Encarnación
San Bernardino
Altos
Languages
Paraguayan Spanish
German (Plautdietsch, Standard German)
Italian
Guaraní
Religion
Roman Catholicism, Anabaptism, Evangelicalism, Judaism, irreligion
Related ethnic groups
Spaniards, Italians, Germans, White Argentines, White Brazilians

White Paraguayans or European Paraguayans are Paraguayan people whose ancestry lies within the continent of Europe, most notably Spain, Italy and Germany, and to a lesser extent, Ukraine and Poland.

Contents

Paraguayan people of European ancestry mostly descend from people who arrived over the centuries from Spain and Italy. The Paraguayan population is the result of a heterogeneous mixture: mestizos, Creoles, Spanish immigrants, Italians, Germans, indigenous people of Guarani descent and indigenous people from the Pampas, etc. After the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870), in which the original Paraguayan population was practically exterminated, the country was repopulated with the help of immigrants, mainly from European and neighboring countries. [3]

European Paraguayans are an important ethnic group representing 20% to 30% of the Paraguayan population. The vast majority of the remainder of the population is mestizo (having mixed European and indigenous ancestry, most of them of Guarani descent). [4]

History

Ana Brun, prestigious and well known actress who was born in Asuncion. MJK 08650 Ana Brun (Las Herederas) (cropped).jpg
Ana Brun, prestigious and well known actress who was born in Asunción.

In the first phase, the Paraguayan population originated with the mass union of indigenous women - mainly those of Guaraní ethnicity - and the Spanish colonizers, who arrived in the 16th century: The Paraguayan people, originated in the crossbreeding of Guaraní and Spanish cultures, was governed for three hundred years under the dominion and colonial dependence of the Kingdom of Spain, with the Spaniards retaining all the rights and privileges that in most cases implied the exploitation of mestizos and natives. [5]

Luis Angel Gonzalez Macchi, former president and lawyer of Italian descent. Gonzalez Macchi 2003.jpg
Luis Ángel González Macchi, former president and lawyer of Italian descent.

In a second phase, at the end of the War of the Triple Alliance - a dispute that took place between 1864 and 1870, having as protagonists the allies (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay) against Paraguay - it is estimated that around 50% or more of the original Paraguayan population lost their lives. After this war, and during the course of the 20th century, European immigration (Germans, Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians, Belgians, etc.), added to the high birth rate of the population, contributed to the increase of the Paraguayan population, although in a more modest way compared to its neighboring countries. Recently, in the 1970s, with the construction of the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant, there was another "wave" of immigration, especially from Brazil (mostly of German descent), but also from Asia (Koreans, Taiwanese, Japanese), and from the Arab world (Syrian-Lebanese) to the country. Paraguay also had some Ukrainian immigration, although the Ukrainians who settled in Paraguay did so much later compared to those who decided to settle in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, whose settlements date back to the end of the 19th century. [6] Polish immigrants arrived in Paraguay before and after World War II.

Santiago Pena, current president of Paraguay. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden visits the USA and UNGA. (53206033761) (cropped).jpg
Santiago Peña, current president of Paraguay.

The Itapúa region on the border with Argentina received many Poles, Russians and Ukrainians. Many Poles came from Argentina and others came from Brazil. [7]

Paraguay has a history of other settlement, especially in the 20th century: Germans (the majority are Mennonites) with long-time Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner (President, 1954-1989) himself of German ancestry; Italians (around 40% of the total Paraguayan population is of full or partial Italian descent); [8] Japanese with Okinawans; Koreans; Chinese; Arabs; Poles; Southern Europeans; Jews; Brazilians; and Argentines are among those who have settled in Paraguay.

Numbers

Census data

The General Directorate of Statistics, Surveys and Censuses (DGEEC), the institution in charge of censuses in Paraguay, does not include the concepts of race in its surveys and only registers those people who belong to one of the officially recognized indigenous peoples. According to the 2012 Census, Indigenous people totaled 112,848 people, corresponding to 1.68% of the country's total population.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. It has a population of around 6.1 million, nearly 2.3 million of whom live in the capital and largest city of Asunción, and its surrounding metro area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Paraguay</span>

Demographic features of the population of Paraguay include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

<i>Mestizo</i> Spanish term to indicate mixed ancestry

Mestizo is a person of mixed European and non-European ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though their ancestors were Indigenous American. The term was used as an ethno-racial exonym for mixed-race castas that evolved during the Spanish Empire. It was a formal label for individuals in official documents, such as censuses, parish registers, Inquisition trials, and others. Priests and royal officials might have classified persons as mestizos, but individuals also used the term in self-identification. With the Bourbon reforms and the independence of the Americas, the caste system disappeared and terms like "mestizo" fell in popularity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Cone</span> Southern subregion of South America

The Southern Cone is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of South America, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. In terms of social, economic and political geography, the Southern Cone comprises Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, and sometimes includes Brazil's four southernmost states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hispanic America</span> Predominantly Spanish-speaking countries of North and South America

The region known as Hispanic America and historically as Spanish America or Castilian America is all the Spanish-speaking countries of the American continent. In all of these countries, Spanish is the main language - sometimes sharing official status with one or more indigenous languages or English, and Latin Catholicism is the predominant religion.

Latin Americans are the citizens of Latin American countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups of Argentina</span>

Argentina has a racially and ethnically diverse population. The territory of what today is Argentina was first inhabited by numerous indigenous peoples. The first white settlers came during the period of Spanish colonization, beginning in the 16th century. The Spaniards imported African slaves, who would go on to become the first Afro-Argentines. Following independence from Spain in the 19th century and well into the 20th century, numerous migration waves took place, with Argentina being the second most popular destination for migrants in the early 20th century, after the United States. Most of these migrants came from Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paraguayans</span> People identified with the country of Paraguay

Paraguayans are the citizens of Paraguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Argentina</span>

Spanish is the language that is predominantly understood and spoken as a first or second language by nearly all of the population of Argentina. According to the latest estimations, the population is currently greater than 45 million.

White Latin Americans or European Latin Americans are Latin Americans of total or predominantly European ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chileans</span> Ethnic group native to Chile; people identified with the country of Chile

Chileans are an ethnic group and nation native to the country of Chile and its neighboring insular territories. Most Chileans share a common culture, history, ancestry and language. The overwhelming majority of Chileans are the product of varying degrees of admixture between European ethnic groups with peoples indigenous to Chile's modern territory. Chile is a multilingual and multicultural society, but an overwhelming majority of Chileans have Spanish as their first language and either are Christians or have a Christian cultural background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of South America</span>

As of 2017, South America has an estimated population of 418.76 million people.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentines</span> People of the country of Argentina or who identify as culturally Argentine

Argentines are the citizens of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Argentine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uruguayans</span> Citizens or residents of Uruguay

Uruguayans are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizenship and their allegiance to Uruguay. Colloquially, primarily among other Spanish-speaking Latin American nations, Uruguayans are also referred to as "orientals [as in Easterners]".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish diaspora</span> Emigrants from Spain and their descendants

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of the Southern Cone</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentines of European descent</span> Ethnic group

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Paraguay</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolivians</span> People identified with the country of Bolivia

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References

  1. Francisco Lizcano Fernández (2005). "Composición Étnica de las Tres Áreas Culturales del Continente Americano al Comienzo del Siglo XXI" [Ethnic Composition of the Three Cultural Areas of the American Continent at the Beginning of the 21st Century]. Convergencia. Revista de Ciencias Sociales (in Spanish). 12 (38): 185–232.
  2. Pastore, Carlos (1972). La lucha por la tierra en el Paraguay: Proceso histórico y legislativo. Antequera. p. 526.
  3. "Brasileños, Argentinos, Coreanos y Taiwaneses, encabezan ranking de inmigrantes en Paraguay". Hoy Paraguay (hoy.com.py) (in Spanish). 2021-12-07. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  4. http://www.dgeec.gov.py/Censos/Imagenes/Cuestionario%20Censal.pdf?PHPSESSID=296abb7abfa015f8241d208aeaed71f4 [ dead link ]
  5. ABC Digital - Etnias del Paraguay
  6. Serge Cipko and John C. Lehr. (2006). Ukrainian Settlement in Paraguay. Prairie Perspectives, Winnipeg: University of Winnipeg, pp. 31-46
  7. "La Hora de Polonia - Godzina Polska: Los polacos en el Paraguay". 24 July 2013.
  8. "Italianos en el Paraguay elegirán representantes" (in Spanish). 1 December 2014. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2018.