Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CONFEDERATES IN SÃO PAULO STATE
In the face of economic devastation following their 1865 defeat in the US Civil War, thousands
of former
Confederates
from the American South resolved to “reconstruct” themselves in
often distant parts of the world, forcing a wave of emigration without precedent in the history
of the United States. Brazil rapidly established itself as one of the main destinations, offering
cheap land, a climate suited to familiar crops, political and economic stability, religious
freedom and - more sinisterly - the possibility of continued
slave ownership
. Just how many
Confederates came is unclear; suggested numbers vary between 2000 and 20,000, and they
settled all over Brazil, though it was in São Paulo that they had the greatest impact. While
Iguape, on the state's southern stretch of coast, had a large Confederate population, the most
concentrated area of settlement was the Santa Bárbara colony, in the area around present-day
Santa Bárbara d'Oeste
.
The region's climate and soil were ideally suited to the growing of
cotton
and the
Confederates' expertise soon made Santa Bárbara d'Oeste one of Brazil's biggest producers of
the crop. As demand for Brazilian cotton gradually declined, many of the immigrants switched
to
sugar cane
, which remains the area's staple crop, though others, unable to adapt, moved
into São Paulo city or returned to the United States. Today as many as 100,000 people claim
descent from these Confederate exiles.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
CAMPINAS
By bus
The rodoviária is 800m west of the centre, with a
municipal bus station right next door, so you can either
take a city bus into town or walk (15min) along Av Lix
da Cunha to the old train station, turn left onto Av
Andrade Neves and then right down Av Dr Campos Sales
or Av Benjamin Constante. Buses from the rodoviária
serve São Paulo's Tietê terminal (every 20min; 1hr
15min) as well as many other state and interstate
destinations, but buses for Holambra (6 daily; 1hr) leave
from a stop behind the rodoviária, on Rua Dr Ricardo at
Rua Dr Mascarenhas.
8
ACCOMMODATION
Hotel Parati
Rua Bernadino de Campos
T
19 3232
0395,
W
hotelparaticampinas.net.
Halfway between the
rodoviária and the centre, this is a homely budget option,
simple and clean,
and d
one out (unobtrusively) in
tangerine and white.
R$100
Royal Palm Tower
Rua Boaventura do Amaral 1274
(at Praça Carlos Gomes)
T
19 2117 5900,
W
royalpalm
.com.br.
A very comfortable business hotel in a tall
mustard-and-white tower overlooking a green square,
with well-appointed rooms and a whirlpool spa. The
actual r
ate cha
nges daily, and the o
cial rack rate rarely
applies.
R$748
Sonotel
Av Francisco Gilcério 1444
T
19 3234 7688,
W
monrealehotels.com.
An efficient hotel where
the rooms are all carpeted and those on the top floors
give views
over t
The town. The price drops by half at
weekends.
R$238
EATING
City Bar Lanches
Av Julio de Mesquita 450 (at Rua
General Osório)
T
19 3252 5296.
A terrace bar and
lanchonete
on Largo da City Banda, specializing in
Portuguese dishes, and particularly
bacalhau
(salt cod).
They claim to do the the coldest beer in Campinas
and the best
bolinhos de bacalhau
(saltfish croquettes;
R$4 each) in the world - a slight exaggeration maybe,
but the beer and
bolinhos
certainly go very well
together, and they also do a fine saltfish pie for R$55.
Mon-Sat 6am-2am.
Eden
Rua Barão de Jaguara 1216
T
19 3231 2513.
On
the ground floor of what was once a very grand hotel, this
is now a good self-service restaurant (R$46.90/kg
weekdays, R$51.90/kg weekends), with à la carte options
too.
Buffet
Mon-Fri 11am-3pm & 6-10pm, Sat
11am-3.30pm & 6-11pm, Sun 11am-4pm; à la carte
Mon-Sat 11am-11pm.
Modo Mio
Rua Sacramento (on Praça Bento Quirino)
48
T
19 3233 2542,
W
modomio.com.br.
By day a good
little restaurant where you can lunch on salmon steak
(R$22.50) or filet mignon (R$27.50), but after 4pm it
becomes a lively terrace bar where you can check the
comings and goings in the city's main square.
Mon-Sat
11.30am-midnight.
