Immigration in South America
Most of those who first migrated to South America were Europeans, along with slaves from Africa. With them, they brought their religion, language (Spanish) and culture. Then in 1870, approximately 50 years after gaining independence, Latin American countries adopted a very open immigration policy, causing a dramatic increase of immigrants to South America and raising the population by over 200,000,000 over the course of 130 years.
Argentina
During the period between 1821 and 1932, Argentina had the second-highest number of immigrants enter the country (behind only the United States). During this time, the majority of those immigrants were from Italy and Spain. Other countries of origin include French, German, Britain, and Ireland. Many of these immigrants came from the poorer regions of the above countries but, over time, rose in rank and class due to the many opportunities that the Argentinean landscape offered. Once in the country, the immigrants from different countries each kept their own respective traditions while still integrating into the society. Many call Argentina a true "melting pot".
Brazil
Immigration in Brazil began to play a major role in the later half of the 1800s. At this time, Dom Pedro II, the ruling Brazilian monarch, wished to bring immigrants from Europe and Asia instead of the many slaves that had been imported for many years. As the agricultural industry grew, Europeans flocked to Brazil to make a living in this field. Starting in the 1900s, Japanese immigrants started to arrive in large numbers and establish themselves into the Brazilian society. As a result of the two world wars, many European and Asian immigrants flocked to Brazil. After this time, immigration was greatly reduced. In recent times, much of the immigrants making their ways to Brazil come from China and Korea, as well as a small number of those from Argentina and other Latin American countries. Just as in Argentina, Brazil became a "melting pot" of cultures. Unique to Brazil is its extraordinary tolerance toward inter-racial marriage.
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