Ottomans: Unwanted Immigrants in Brazil at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century

Abstract

This article addresses the Ottoman migration to Brazil from current Lebanon and Syria. The article explores reasons for the migration, the Ottoman State's attitude towards this migration and the measures taken to control it It also analyses the socio-economic and political relations between the Ottoman State and Brazil, and the socio-economic situation of the Lebanese and Syrians who migrated to Brazil as well as the attitude of the Brazilian government In addition, the article highlights the attitude of the Brazilian government to Lebanese and Syrian migrants. The article is mostly based on Ottoman archives accessed through the State Archives Department of the Turkish Presidency. These documents give a distinctive character to the article compared with other studies in this field, namely that it is one of very few focusing on migration from Lebanon and Syria to Brazil in the Ottoman period that uses archival resources of the country of emigration.