Brazilians in Nigeria, Amaros or Agudas consist of the descendants of freed
Afro-Brazilian slaves who left Brazil and settled in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. The term ''Brazilians in Nigeria'' can also otherwise refer to first generation expatriates from Brazil.
Starting from the 1830s, many
emancipated
Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchis ...
Africans who had been through
forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
and discrimination in Brazil began moving back to Lagos, bringing along with them some cultural and social sensibilities adapted from their sojourn in Brazil. These emancipated Africans were often called "Aguda" or "Amaro", and also included
returnees from Cuba. As of today there are less than 200 Brazilian citizens registered within the consulate in Nigeria.
History
![Negra da Bahia, 1885](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Negra_da_Bahia%2C_1885._Foto_de_Marc_Ferrez.jpg)
At the height of the
Transatlantic slave trade in
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
, many prisoners of war or those kidnapped for sale in slave markets were sold to Europeans and transported across the Atlantic. Estimates of the number of slaves from the
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...
to Brazil totaled about 300,000 in the nineteenth century. The captives disembarked in Bahia before moving further south to work on plantations, assist tradesmen or hawk goods for white Brazilians. As some gained
manumission
Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that t ...
, earned savings or got deported as a result of racism, waves of African migration back to the West African coast developed. By the middle of the nineteenth century, an Afro-Brazilian community had begun to emerge along the West African coast, developed by descendants of slaves who had twice crossed the Atlantic. These Africans brought back Afro-Brazilian sensibilities in food, agriculture, architecture and religion.
The first recorded repatriation of African people from Brazil to what is now Nigeria was a government-led deportation in 1835 in the aftermath of a Yoruba and Hausa rebellion in the city of Salvador known as the
Malê Revolt
Male, in biology, is the half of a sex system that produces sperm cells.
* Male plant, a plant that gives rise to male gametophytes
Male may also refer to:
Gender
* Male, the gender of men and boys
** Man, a male adult
** Boy, a young male person ...
. After the rebellion, the Brazilian government - fearful of further insurrection - allowed freed or manumitted Africans the option to return home or keep paying an exorbitant tax to the government. A few Africans who were free and had saved some money were able to return to Africa as a result of the tough conditions, taxation, racism and homesickness. In 1851, 60
Mina Africans put together $4,000 to charter a ship for Badagry.
After slavery was abolished in Cuba and Brazil in 1886 and 1888 respectively, further migration to Lagos continued. Many of the returnees chose to return to Nigeria for cultural, missionary and economic reasons. Many of them descended from the
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
. In
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
, they were given the watery terrains of Popo Aguda as their settlement. By the 1880s, they comprised about 9% of the population of Lagos. Towards the end of 1920, the migration stopped.
Though coastal Lagos was the preferred destination, most of the returnees were descendants of groups such as Ijeshas, Oyos, Ijebu and Egba based in the interior. The Agudas were aware of their home cities but preferred to set up shop in Lagos because it was conducive for trade, they were warmly received in Badagry and also because of on-going wars in the interior. A ship with Agudas docking in Badagry would be welcomed by crowds of children hailing them as they disembarked from the ship, whereas in the hinterlands strangers were viewed with suspicion. In some cases, the Oba of Lagos gave them land to build a house and provided men to assist them in their transition to local life. This notwithstanding,
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
was different from Bahia. The elder returnees were comfortable, but many of the children were foreign to Lagos. They held on to elements of Bahia culture such as Catholicism and formed a close knit community within
Lagos Island
Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a pop ...
. Because of the retention of Catholicism and Western dressing, indigenous Africans called them "black whites" or Agudas. Keen on acquiring wealth in Africa, some of the earliest Agudas were morally ambivalent on issues such as slavery and became slave traders themselves,such as the descendants of
Francisco Felix de Sousa
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
and Domingo Martinez.
Settlement
When Agudas arrived from Bahia and Pernambuco, they took up residence on the Eastern parts of Lagos on land provided by
Oba Ojulari. In 1852, this region was demarcated as the Brazilian quarters (what later came to be known as Popo Aguda). During this time, metropolitan Lagos followed the racial and cultural characteristics evident in the city. The
Saros lived in
Olowogbowo
Olowogbowo is an area in the west of Lagos Island in Lagos, also known as Apongbon. The area is in the central business district.
The community was founded after 1851, when freed Yoruba captives and their descendants who had been set ashore in Sie ...
, a tract of land on the Western corner of Lagos Island, Europeans lived and traded along the long stretch of the Marina and indigenous Lagosians lived on the Northwestern areas of the island. The westernmost corner of Brazilian quarters reached the easternmost parts of Olowogbowo at Tinubu Square, while the center of the Brazilian area was Campos Square - named after Cuban returnee Hilario Campos. Other major streets include Bamgbose and Tokunboh. Within the quarters diasporic sensibilities were evident, the community lacked signs of ethnic grouping, and fluidity was present in the religious practices of the residents.
Popo Aguda was also a commercial center of trade, serving as a distribution center for imported goods. Its
chief
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
, the ''Onipopo'', today presides over various ceremonies of remembrance that take place in the quarters. A sister community of Brazilians also exists in
Ago Egba
Ebute Metta is a neighbourhood of Lagos Mainland, Lagos, in Lagos State, Nigeria.
History
Ebute Metta is known for the production and sale of local food and cloths. It is a very old part of Lagos State, many of its houses were built during the ...
, the
Egba Egba may refer to:
*Egba people, a clan of the Yoruba people living in western Nigeria
* EGBA, the European Gaming and Betting Association
*Egba United Government, a late 19th century political entity of the Egba people that was located in what is ...
colony in Lagos, which is located on the mainland in Ebute Metta.
Culture
Returnees from Brazil and their present-day descendants were and are more commonly called "Agudas" (from , a non-standard Portuguese word for cotton properly rendered as ) or "Amaro". Most were Catholics, but some worshiped African
Orisha
Orishas (singular: orisha) are spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. T ...
s which they brought from Brazil. Some of the Agudas are also Muslims. Most of them still have
Portuguese names
A Portuguese name is typically composed of one or two personal names, and a number of family names (rarely one, often two or three, sometimes more). The first additional names are usually the mother's family surname(s) and the father's family surn ...
. Some common Portuguese family names in Nigeria include Pinheiro, Da Silveira, De Silva, De Souza, and Moreira. In the 1800s, the major distinguishing set of classification was by birth, Agudas taken captive from West Africa who emigrated back to Lagos were called Papae or Mamae and those who were born in Brazil and then returned were called Yaya or Yayo.
The
British annexation of Lagos in 1861 and the promotion of trade benefited the Brazilian community. Along with the Saros, they became a rising
bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
. They utilized a western style of dressing, owned race horses and organized waltzes, square dances and musical soirees where
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
was performed. However, with time many began to embrace their heritage and when the children of the returnees were grown, they came to embrace Lagos as their home. The annexation of Lagos that led to the rise of this wealthy class also came with the realisation that the colonists were not leaving soon and any hope of forming a political class was dim. The Brazilians began to cultivate relationships with the traditional authorities in Lagos, while some renewed relationships with Africans in the hinterland by supplying them with weapons. Agudas supplied weapons to the Ijeshas in the war against Ibadan. Beginning in the 1880s, many began to change their names to African ones while the Aurora relief Society was formed to research their culture. Agudas' cuisine in the early 1920s included food considered African in Bahia but considered different from those eaten by indigenes on the Island. They ate pirão de caranguejo during holidays and prepared , (porridge) and (coconut milk beans) as food staples. In agriculture, the returnees also popularized the use of
Cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...
as a food crop.
Agudas celebrated Easter with the coming out of Caretas or masked figures, burrinha at
Epiphany
Epiphany may refer to:
* Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight
Religion
* Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ
** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...
and Nosso Senhor do Bonfim (Our Lord of the Good End) associated with
Obatala was celebrated during yuletide.
Popo Aguda was a close-knit community and residents were known for their thriftiness and a strong work ethic.
Religion
A majority of the Agudas were Catholics, but the community had a significant number of Muslim families and those who still adhered to the traditional religion. Religious differences were not as important nor divisive as they were to indigenous Africans, and they were comfortable marrying from any of the three religions. Prior to the construction of a pro-cathedral, mass was performed in a bamboo building on Broad St, the plot of land where St Mary Convent was later built on. The first priest was Padre Anthonio, he was in charge of the Catholic church before the coming of French missionaries. The practice of baptism was important to the local community and it was also a way to enter the Aguda community.
A cathedral, the Holy Cross Pro-Cathedral was completed in 1881, financed by funds from the lay congregation. It was designed to be the most significant structure in
Lagos colony when completed. Originally built with one tower, a few years later another tower was added with the structure forming a cruciform structure with two towers. The Church was built by Agudas, but its construction was supervised by French missionaries. Among the builders were the quartet of Francisco Nobre (built one of the towers), Balthazar dos Reis, João da Costa and Lázaro Borges da Silva (master bricklayer) along with their apprentices. This group also built the old Central Mosque, called Jamiu Central Mosque.
Trade
Trade between Lagos and Brazil rose in the 1860s and in 1869, Brazil was the third largest exporter to Lagos, very much behind Britain but ahead of France. Returnees in Lagos dominated the trade with Brazil and sold cotton, traditional artifacts and kola-nuts to Africans in Bahia. However, this Transatlantic trade gradually declined and by the beginning of the Twentieth century it was virtually non existent. They had pioneered trade with Brazil in the mid nineteenth century but by the 1880s, ruinous competitors and an economic downturn had forced many to abandon the export trade. Agriculture soon became an avenue to supplement shortfalls in economic activity. Before the downturn, many traders had acquired wealth and became prominent families within the community in Lagos. Such patriarchs included Angelo Campos, Esan da Rocha and Joaquim Branco (originally settled in Dahomey) who were able to sponsor their children for further education in Bahia, Havana or Europe. In Bahia, Afro-Brazilians formed the bulk of skilled labor, Aguda returnees brought along trade skills mastered in Bahia and preferred to teach their children a trade or handicraft such as masonry, carpentry or tailoring. Some worked as clerks for the European trading companies. In 1897, of the 96 qualified Aguda artisans listed in a directory, 11 were bricklayers and builders, 6 were cabinet makers, 9 tailors, 21 carpenters, 17 clerks and 24 traders. The leading dressmaker in Victorian Lagos was Yaya Clemencia Guinaries.
The Brazilians who engaged in trading of goods also had the benefit of using their connection to their home cities to bypass traditional channels of trade by opening direct routes from Lagos to the interior and ignoring the traditional market cities and middlemen. Apart from trading in goods, investment in properties was also common among the wealthier families.
Architecture
![Salvador-CCBY10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Salvador-CCBY10.jpg)
Brazilian architecture in Nigeria is a legacy of the thousands of freed slaves who returned to Nigeria in the 19th century.
[IN NIGERIA, TOUCHES OF BRAZILIAN STYLE]
, ''The New York Times'', 26 March 1987. Trained as carpenters, cabinetmakers, masons and bricklayers in Brazil, the ex-slaves were notably technically skilled
artisan
An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...
s and were known for their exuberant and individualistic style on doorways, brightly painted facades and chunky concrete columns which are rooted in the baroque styles popular in Brazil in the 18th century.
In early 1800s Lagos, the dominant architectural style was mud houses and houses with stilt using thatched leaves as roofing; these houses were usually divided into compartments to hold the extended family. The residence of the Oba and chiefs were much bigger, they had large courtyards, pillars and arches, a mixture of European and indigenous styles. The European influence took root during the reign of Oba Akinsemoyin who invited Portuguese slavers to Lagos,and the slavers in return renovated
his palace using imported bricks from Portugal for the structure and roofing slates. In the 1830s, the migration of emancipated returnees began to change the architectural style. Influenced by the symmetrical plans of the Brazilian colonial house, they introduced a new architectural style to Lagos that was soon embraced by wealthy traders. The Brazilian style of architecture became dominant in Lagos Island by the end of the 19th century. The structures were one storey houses built for middle class residents and others were two or three storeys stuccoed buildings (sobrados) built for wealthier clients. The detached storey buildings conferred prestige on the owners. They were built with shuttered windows, had spaces between the top of the wall and the roof and with a compound. A ground floor usually opens to the street and was sometimes used as a storage, store or housing the domestic help. The houses were built for a nuclear family in contrast to the extended family structure of early Yoruba architecture.
This style was prominent in old Lagos during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries but as the city grew, many of the houses have been remodeled or demolished to make way for bigger houses.
Historical buildings
* Hephzhi bar house: This house was completed in 1924. It was the residence of P.H. Williams, a Lagos merchant whose parents traveled back to Africa from Trinidad when he was a young boy. The house is a three-storey building designed by
Herbert Macaulay. The front door opens to a large passage that will lead guests to the living room, two adjoining bedrooms were at the sides. A wooden staircase goes upstairs with the same pattern like the floor below but with smaller passages and rooms. The windows are large and are located at both sides of the structure and also at the back of the building.
![Parada de Contemplação](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Parada_de_Contempla%C3%A7%C3%A3o.jpg)
*
Holy Cross Cathedral
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
: This was the first Catholic Church and the first brick church built in Lagos. Construction started in 1878 and it was finally completed in 1880. The appearance of the structure is cruciform with aisle naves, transepts and two towers. Though the Brazilian workers preferred a baroque style, the French missionaries who supervised construction imposed a Gothic style that was used. After many years, the two towers were demolished and the Eastern end was enlarged.
*
Water House
The Water House is one of the few remaining residential buildings that showcases Brazilian architectural style in Nigeria. The building is located in Kakawa street, downtown Lagos, Lagos Island and built in the 19th century during the era of the La ...
: This house was built by Joao Esan da Rocha and then expanded by his son,
Candido
Candido is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Candido Amantini (1914–1992), Italian Roman Catholic priest
* Candido Camero known simply as "Candido" (1921-2020), Cuban percussionist
* Candido Jac ...
. It was called the Water House because Joao Esan dug a well at the backyard which was used to sell pipe water to Lagosians. He wanted the house built in a style similar to the house he lived in located in Bahia after he gained manumission The house is Brazilian baroque and was originally built for a nuclear family, but structural extensions completed in the 1960s can accommodate more family members.
Notable Brazilian Nigerians
*
DJ Caise
Derin Phillips, better known as DJ Caise (pronounced as "Case"), is a Nigerian disc jockey.
Life and music career
DJ Caise was born to the family of Mr & Mrs Phillips. His maternal grandfather, the late Chief Antonio Deinde Fernandez, was a Ni ...
*
DJ Xclusive
Rotimi Alakija (born 16 October 1980), better known as DJ Xclusive, is a Nigerian disc jockey, record producer and recording artist.
Early life
Rotimi Alakija was born in England to Nigerian parents. At an early age, he moved back to Nigeria ...
*
Adetokunbo Ademola
Omoba Sir Adetokunbo Adegboyega Ademola GCON KBE PC SAN (1 February 1906 – 29 January 1993) was a Nigerian jurist who was the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1958 to 1972. He was appointed as Chief Justice on 1 April 1958, replacing Sir Staff ...
*
Adeyemo Alakija
Oloye Sir Adeyemo Alakija, (25 May 1884 – 10 May 1952) was a Nigerian lawyer, politician and businessman. He served as a member of the Nigerian legislative council for nine years starting in 1933. In 1942, he became a member of the governor' ...
*
Aduke Alakija
Jaiyeola Aduke Alakija (March 1921 – March 2016) was a Nigerian welfare officer, lawyer and diplomat who was the country's ambassador to Sweden from 1984 to 1987. She was also a former president of the International Federation of Women Lawyers.
...
*
Kojo Annan
Kojo Adeyemo Annan (born 25 July 1973) is a Ghanaian-Nigerian businessman and son of the late former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Early life
Kojo Annan was born in Geneva, Switzerland, on 25 July 1973.
Kojo Annan and his sister Ama Annan ...
*
Elizabeth Abimbola Awoliyi
Chief Elizabeth Abimbola Awoliyi, (née Akerele, 1910–14 September 1971) was the first woman to practise as a physician in Nigeria. She was also the first West African woman to earn a license of Royal Surgeon in Dublin. In 1938, Elizabeth Aw ...
*
Mobolaji Bank Anthony
Oloye Sir Mobolaji Bank Anthony, KBE (11 June 1907 - 26 May 1991) was a Yoruba Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. He was a council President of the Lagos Stock Exchange and was a minority investor in Aero-Contractors before indigenous sha ...
*
Bankole Cardoso
Bankole Cardoso is a Nigerian entrepreneur and co-founder of Easy Taxi Nigeria.
Early life and education
Cardoso was born in Lagos to a banker, Afolabi Emmanuel Cardoso, and a medical doctor, Ameyo Adadevoh. His father belongs to the Amaro comm ...
*
Candido Da Rocha
Chief Candido Joao Da Rocha ( 1860 – March 11, 1959) was a Nigerian businessman, landowner and creditor who owned Water House on Kakawa Street, Lagos Island, Lagos, and was the proprietor of the now defunct Bonanza Hotel in Lagos. He held the ch ...
*
Moses Da Rocha
*
T.A. Doherty
Chief Theophilus Adebayo Doherty (24 February 1895 – 18 November 1974) was a Nigerian businessman and politician.
Biography
He was born the second son of J.H. Doherty of Lagos, an Amaro merchant. Doherty studied for a Commercial Certificate ...
*
Bernadine Evaristo
*
Abimbola Fernandez
*
Antonio Deinde Fernandez
*
J.M. Johnson
Chief Joseph Modupe Johnson CFR, (30 March 1912 – 15 June 1987), was a Nigerian politician and Federal Cabinet Minister.
Life
He was born in Lagos, and was educated at the William Wilberforce Academy.
After a brief stint in the Nigerian A ...
*
Jibril Martin
Alhaji Jibril Martin (20 November 1888 - 13 June 1959) was a Nigerian lawyer and educationist who was a member of the Nigerian Legislative Council. He was also chairman of the Hajj Pilgrims’ Board of Nigeria’s Western region, following the ind ...
*
Orlando Martins
*
Femi Pedro
Olufemi "Femi" Olusegun Pedro (born 29 January 1955) is a Nigerian politician who served as deputy governor of Lagos State from 2003 to 2007. Before his election alongside Bola Tinubu, he was a co-owner and the chief executive officer of Firs ...
*
Joke Silva
Joke Silva , MFR is a Nigerian actress, director, and businesswoman.
In 1998 she had a major role, starring opposite Colin Firth and Nia Long in the British-Canadian film ''The Secret Laughter of Women''. In 2006, she won "Best Actress in a Le ...
See also
*
Assimilados
*
Bourgeoisie of Nigeria
*
Emancipados
*
Tabom people
The Tabom People or Agudas are the Afro-Brazilian community in the South of Ghana who are mostly of Yoruba descent. The Tabom People are an Afro-Brazilian community of former slave returnees. When they arrived in Jamestown, Accra they could spe ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
{{African diaspora
Repatriated Africans
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
Brazilian
Brazil–Nigeria relations