Portuguese American

Infobox Ethnic group
group = Portuguese American
"Luso-americanos"



Brooke Burke • Jim Costa • James Franco • Ramana Vieira
Mary Astor • Benjamin Cardozo • William Levada • Emma Lazarus
poptime = Portuguese 1,442,077 Americans Roughly 0.5% of the US population [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-reg=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201:552;ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201PR:552;ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201T:552;ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201TPR:552&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-TABLE_NAMEX=&-ci_type=A&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en S0201. Selected Population Profile in the United States] U.S. Census Bureau]

flagicon|Portugal flagicon|USA Luso Americans

Lusitanics in the United States
-
popplace = East Providence, Rhode Island, Bristol, Rhode Island, Newark, New Jersey, New Bedford, Massachusetts, Fall River, Massachusetts, Hudson, Massachusetts, Taunton, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Palm Coast, Florida, Tulare, California
langs = American English·Portuguese Portuguese Creole
rels = Predominantly Roman Catholic·Protestant·Jewish minority
related = Portuguese·Italian·Spanish European American·White Brazilian

Portuguese Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates in the southwest European nation of Portugal, including the offshore island groups of the Azores and Madeira.

Colloquially, the term is also incorrectly applied to people whose ancestry stems from Portuguese-speaking countries. Such use of the term "Portuguese American" is employed as a synonym to Luso American. Accurately, a Portuguese American denotes any person born in the United States whose family came to the USA from Portugal. Americans and others who are not Europeans from Portugal but originate from countries that were former colonies of Portugal are codified as Lusitanic, or are simply referred to by their present-day nationalities: Cape Verdean, Brazilian, etc.

History

Portuguese people have had a long history in America, which may even be pre-Columbian, although there is lack of solid historical evidence. Navigators, like the Corte-Real family, may have visited the North American shores at the beginning of the 16th century. [cite web | url=http://www.dightonrock.com/|title=Associação Dr. Manuel Luciano da Silva"Acervo Documental | accessdate=December 17 | accessyear=2006] There is a monumental landmark, the Dighton Rock, in Massachusetts, that testifies their presence in the area. During the Colonial period, there was some limited Portuguese emigration to the present day United States, especially on the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

In the late 19th century, many Portuguese, mainly Azorean and Madeiran, immigrated to the United States, establishing in cities like East Providence, Rhode Island, Bristol, Rhode Island, Providence, Rhode Island, Peabody, Massachusetts, Somerville, Massachusetts, New Bedford, Massachusetts, Hudson, Massachusetts, Taunton, Massachusetts, Fall River, Massachusetts, East Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gloucester, Massachusetts, Newark, New Jersey, Jacksonville, Illinois, Modesto, California and Tulare, California. Many of them also moved to Hawaii during pre-U.S. times.

In the mid-late 20th century there was another surge of Portuguese immigration in America, mainly in the Northeast (New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts). There are various Portuguese Clubs, principally in the larger cities of these states. Many Portuguese Americans may include descendants of Portuguese settlers born in Africa (like Angola, Cape Verde, and Mozambique) and Asia (mostly Macau). There were around 1 million Portuguese Americans in the United States by the year 2000.

There is a much higher percentage of Portuguese in neighbouring Canada (though not a larger total number), also mostly from the islands, concentrated around large communities in Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec but now spread throughout the country all the way to Birtish Columbia including northern areas of the country. Most of this was sponsored immigration to fill the labour shortages from the 1950s to the 1970s and new immigrants generally had stronger community links developed than in the US. Some of their surnames have been changed like: Rodrigues to Rogers, Oliveira to Oliver, Silva to Silver, and Pereira to Perry.

A general contribution the Portuguese people have made to American music is the ukulele, which originated in Madeira and is now popular in Hawaii. cite web| title = Ukulele origins from Madeira Portugal| url= http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Portuguese-Americans.html|accessdate = 2007-02-12]

Portuguese-American studies has recently become an emerging academic field, with research centers such as the one at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. The UMass-Dartmouth curriculum offers numerous courses in Portuguese-American literature and culture, and the campus also serves as home to the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives. The UMD Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture publishes works of Portuguese-American literature and related academic research through its "Portuguese in the Americas" series.

Related Ancestry

*White Brazilian
*Portuguese Canadian
*Galician people
*Sephardi Jews

Ancestry Map

Census 2000

By the Numbers

Portuguese-Americans are the fourth largest ethnic group in the State of Hawaii, fifth largest group in Rhode Island and the eighth largest group in Massachusetts. cite web| title = Portuguese American Population Numbers| url=http://www.euroamericans.net/portuguese.htm| accessdate = 2007-02-12]

Top 3 Biggest Communities

Top 3 Biggest Portuguese-American communities in the country (2000 Census):

(1) Metro Boston area leads the way with 192,017 Portuguese-Americans; (3.3% of Metro population). cite web| title = Census 2000- Population of European-American and other ethnic groups in major American metropolitan areas| url= http://www.euroamericans.net/metropolitan.htm|accessdate = 2007-02-12]
(2) Greater New York/New Jersey area with 129,865; (0.6% of total Metro population). cite web| title = Census 2000- Population of European-American and other ethnic groups in major American metropolitan areas| url= http://www.euroamericans.net/metropolitan.htm|accessdate = 2007-02-12]
(3) San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area with 121,757; (1.7% of total Metro population). cite web| title = Census 2000- Population of European-American and other ethnic groups in major American metropolitan areas| url= http://www.euroamericans.net/metropolitan.htm|accessdate = 2007-02-12]

Numbers by state

The states with the largest Portuguese populations:

Portuguese

*California- 330,974
*Massachusetts- 279,722
*Rhode Island- 91,445
*New Jersey- 72,196
*Florida- 48,974

The states with the top percentages of Portuguese:
*Rhode Island 91,445 (8.7% of state population)
*Massachusetts 279,722 (4.4%)
*Hawaii 48,527 (4%)
*Connecticut (1.3%)
*New Hampshire (1.1%)
*California (1%)
*New Jersey (0.9%)
*Nevada (0.6%)
*Florida (0.3%)

Resources

* [http://www.euroamericans.net/ European American:Dedicated Website]

References

External links

* [http://www.ypacc.com/ Portuguese American Community Center] , Yonkers, New York
* [http://www.portuguesefoundation.org/ Portuguese-American Historical & Research Foundation] Franklin, North Carolina
* [http://www.shearith-israel.org/ Congregation Shearith Israel — the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue (New York, NY, USA)]
* [http://www.mikvehisrael.org/ Kahal Kadosh Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia, PA, USA)]
* [http://www.tourosynagogue.org Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island]
* [http://www.dightonrock.com/ The Dighton Rock]
* [http://www.portuguesefoundation.org/famous.htm Distinguished Americans & Canadians of Portuguese Descent]
* [http://www.HelloDolly.us Memoir about growing up in a large Portuguese American family in 1930s & 40s America - "Hello Dolly"]

Culture

* [http://www.portuguesefoundation.org/famous.htm Distinguished Americans & Canadians of Portuguese Descent] - Portuguese-American Historical & Research Foundation, Inc.
* [http://www.lusaweb.com/ Lusa Web] - The meeting place for Portuguese-Americans
* [http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Portuguese-Americans.html Portuguese Americans.] - Culture, History & People.
* [http://www.vivaportugal.com/ Viva Portugal] - Linking the Portuguese Communities in Canada, The US, and other countries outside of Portugal.

Education

* [http://www.copae.org/index.html Congress of Portuguese American Educators]
* [http://www.portstudies.umassd.edu/ UMass-Dartmouth Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture]
* [http://www.lib.umassd.edu/archives/paa/paa.html/ UMass-Dartmouth Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives]
* [http://newark.rutgers.edu/~plws/intro.htm Rutgers-Newark: Portuguese and Lusophone Studies]

News

* [http://www.ojornal.com/ O Jornal] - Serving Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
* [http://www.portugalpost.com/ Portugal News] - News from Portugal, in English and Portuguese.
* [http://www.portuguesetimes.com/ Portuguese Times]
* [http://www.EUAContacto.com/ EUA Contacto] - Portuguese Community Website in USA

Organizations

* [http://www.palcus.org/ PALCUS - Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States]
* [http://www.elizabethportugueselions.org/ Elizabeth Portuguese Lions Club]
* [http://www.portuguese-american.net/portugue/index.htm Portuguese-American Federation]
* [http://www.vivaportugal.com/nj/org/papa/ Portuguese-American Police Association]
* [http://www.portugueseclub.org/ Portuguese Club of Hartford]
* [http://www.portugueseculturalcenter.com/ Portuguese Cultural Center of Danbury, Connecticut]
* [http://www.pfict.org/ Portuguese Foundation of Connecticut]
* [http://www.portuguesecds.com/ Portuguese Music World : record company in Dartmouth, Massachusetts]

Radio

* [http://www.kigs.com/ KIGS] - Portuguese Radio based in California
* [http://www.radioponte.com/ Rádio Ponte] - WHTB 1400 AM, broadcasting from Fall River, Massachusetts
* [http://www.radiofamilia.com/ WFAR: Radio Familia] - Family oriented radio station in Connecticut broadcasting in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian.
* [http://www.wjfd.com/ WJFD-FM] - Portuguese radio station in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

ee also

*Portuguese-Brazilian
*Portuguese Canadians
*Portuguese Australian
*Luso American
*Lusitanic
*Portuguese Language
*Portuguese People
*List of Portuguese Americans