Portuguese in San Leandro, The

By: J.A. Freitas Library and Meg Rogers

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Synopsis: The Gold Rush drew the Portuguese from the Azores, sweeping them across the Atlantic Ocean and around South America's Cape Horn to the California shore. When gold failed to pan out, many Portuguese moved to the hamlet of San Leandro on the San Francisco Bay where land was reasonable and the ground fertile. Gradually the post-Gold Rush settlers joined with former Portuguese shore whalers to farm the fields of San Leandro. San Leandro became a principal landing place for newly arrived Portuguese immigrants putting down roots on small farms. A steady stream of relatives from the Azores and Hawaii poured into San Leandro's fertile foothills, and by 1911 the Portuguese comprised over two-thirds of the city's population. The early days were rough--Portuguese immigrants banded together in fraternal societies to overcome a lack of resources and to help one another navigate a strange world whose language they did not speak. Today the Portuguese Immigrant monument in Root Park's plaza commemorates the journey of Portuguese settlers who left everything behind to start a new life in the new world.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:: 9781439636367
Related ISBNs:: 9780738558332
Publisher:: Arcadia Publishing
Date of Addition:: 06/11/16
Copyrighted By:: Meg Rogers with the support of the J. A. Freitas Library
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: History, Nonfiction, Art and Architecture, Biographies and Memoirs, Social Studies
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.