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Portuguese Americans ( pt, português-americanos), also known as Luso-Americans (''luso-americanos''), are citizens and residents of the United States who are connected to the country of Portugal by birth, ancestry, or citizenship. Americans and others who are not native Europeans from Portugal but originate from countries that were former colonies of Portugal do not necessarily
self-identify Personal identity is the unique numerical identity of a person over time. Discussions regarding personal identity typically aim to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions under which a person at one time and a person at another time can ...
as "Portuguese-American", but rather as their post-colonial nationalities, although many refugees (referred to as '' retornados'') from former Portuguese colonies, as well as many
white Brazilians White Brazilians ( pt, brasileiros brancos ) refers to Brazilians, Brazilian citizens who are considered or self-identify as "white", typically because of Ethnic groups in Europe, European or Levant, Levantine descent. The main ancestry of curre ...
, are ethnically or ancestrally Portuguese. In 2017, an estimated 48,158 Portuguese nationals were living in the United States. Some Melungeon communities in rural
Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
have historically self-identified as Portuguese. Given their complex ancestry, individual Melungeons may descend from Portuguese people, but not all do.


History

Bilateral ties date from the earliest years of the United States. Following the American Revolutionary War, Portugal was the first neutral country to recognize the United States. Portuguese people have had a very long history in the United States, since 1634. The first documented Portuguese to live in colonial America was
Mathias de Sousa Mathias de Sousa was the first Black elected Representative in America. A free man, Sousa was of African and Portuguese descent. Life It is believed that Sousa's father was born in Portugal. Within colonial Maryland society, Sousa was defined as ...
, a Sephardic Jew. The oldest synagogue in the country, the
Touro Synagogue The Touro Synagogue or Congregation Jeshuat Israel ( he, קהל קדוש ישועת ישראל) is a synagogue built in 1763 in Newport, Rhode Island. It is the Oldest synagogues in the United States, oldest synagogue building still standing in t ...
, is named after one of these early Portuguese Jews,
Isaac Touro Isaac Touro (1738 – 8 December 1783) was a Dutch-born American rabbi. He was a Jewish leader in colonial America. Born in Amsterdam, in 1758 he left for Jamaica. In 1760, he arrived in Newport, Rhode Island to serve as hazzan and spiritual leader ...
. Some of the earliest European explorers to reach continental North America in the Age of Discovery were Portuguese explorers, such as João Fernandes Lavrador. Navigators, like the Miguel Corte-Real family, may have visited the North American shores at the beginning of the 16th century. There is a historic landmark, the Dighton Rock, in southeastern Massachusetts, that a small minority of scholars believe testifies their presence in the area. Portuguese explorer João Rodrigues Cabrilho explored the
California coast Coastal California, also known as the California Coastline and the Golden Coast, refers to the coastal regions of the U.S. state of California. The term is not primarily geographical as it also describes an area distinguished by cultural, economic ...
for the first time. During the Colonial period, there was a small Portuguese immigration to the present-day U.S., especially to the islands of
Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...
and
Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
. Peter Francisco, the giant soldier in the US
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
, is generally thought to have been born Portuguese, from the Azores. In the late 19th century, many Portuguese, mainly Azoreans and
Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
ns, emigrated to the eastern U.S., establishing communities in New England coastal cities, primarily but not limited to
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
, Bristol, Warwick and Pawtucket in Rhode Island, and Taunton, Brockton,
Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...
and
New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...
in Southeastern Massachusetts. Another part of Massachusetts that attracted many Portuguese immigrants was Northern Massachusetts, most notably Lowell and Lawrence. In addition, Many Portuguese immigrants also went to nearby Southern New Hampshire. Massachusetts was a key location for Portuguese immigrants due to the availability of low skill jobs. Many migrants came to the United States with little knowledge of the English Language, and textile jobs were frequently available in these areas. Portuguese migrants had to seek out low skill jobs because of education in Portugal and the lack of job availability in the nineteenth century. A small number of Portuguese immigrants settled in the city of Boston. These Portuguese immigrants mainly settled in East Boston and North End. In addition, Many Portuguese immigrants also went to Cambridge and
Somerville Somerville may refer to: *Somerville College, Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford Places *Somerville, Victoria, Australia * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia * Somerville, New Zealand, a subur ...
. A Portuguese community existed in the vicinity of the Carpenter Street Underpass in
Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...
, one of the earliest and largest Portuguese settlements in the Midwestern United States. By the early twentieth century, the project area represented the western extension of a neighborhood known as the "Badlands." The Badlands was included in the widespread destruction and violence of the Springfield Race Riot in August 1908, an event that led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The Carpenter Street archaeological site possesses local and national significance for its potential to contribute to an understanding of the lifestyles of multiple ethnic/racial groups in Springfield during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. On the West Coast in California there are Portuguese communities in San Francisco,
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, San Jose, Santa Cruz, as well as in dairy farming areas in the Central Valley, the Los Angeles Basin, and San Diego, in connection to Portuguese fishermen and settlers emigrating to California from the Azores. There are also connections with Portuguese communities in the Pacific Northwest in
Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...
, and Seattle, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada as well. Many of the Portuguese communities on the west coast were farming towns. Portuguese who moved to California often saved money to buy land to start farming. Portuguese farmers in California and along the west coast of the United States often hired other Portuguese migrants as farm hands. Aside from farming Portuguese migrants also were able to secure jobs as fishermen in port cities. Portuguese migration to Hawaii occurred often in the late nineteenth century due to the availability of labor contracts on the islands. Labor contracts paid for the migration of entire families. This was enticing for families looking to migrate without the means or the desire to migrate in stages. This led to families having to work off debt before they could move off of the island. Often times Portuguese migrants decided just to remain in Hawaii despite there being little opportunity for improving their lives.


Whaling

In the 1840s, whaling ships were the way to get to America, after a slow voyage of two to three years. In the early 1700s, Massachusetts dominated the whaling industry with
Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
, Cape Cod and
New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...
. By the early 19th century, New Bedford had become the center of whaling in America. When whalers were out at sea, they would frequently stop in the Azores to recruit crew members for help. At the end of their voyage, they docked in New England, where crew members often settled as immigrants. Today, one can visit the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts and encounter authentic Portuguese whaling history.


20th century

After World War II, there was another wave of Portuguese immigration to the country, mainly in the
northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
(New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maryland), and also in California. Many were fleeing the right-wing dictatorship of
Antonio Salazar Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 40 ...
. There are Portuguese clubs, principally in the larger cities of these states, which operate with the intention of promoting sociocultural preservation as venues for community events, athletics, etc. Many Portuguese Americans may include descendants of Portuguese settlers born in Africa (like Angola,
Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
, and Mozambique) and Asia (mostly Macanese people), as well Oceania ( Timor-Leste). There were around 1 million Portuguese Americans in the United States by 2000. As with other immigrants that arrived in America, several Portuguese surnames have been changed to align with more American sounding names, for example
Rodrigues Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodr ...
to
Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) *Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated community ...
, Oliveira to Oliver, Martins to
Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...
,
Pereira Pereira (Portuguese and Galician for "pear tree") may refer to: People * Pereira (surname) Places *Brazil **Pereira (Bahia) (est. 1534) in the present-day Barra neighborhood of Salvador in Bahia **Pereira Barreto, municipality in São Paulo **Pe ...
to Perry, Moraes or Morais to Morris,
Magalhães Magalhães (pronounced or ) is a Portuguese surname, sometimes rendered in English as ''Magellan''. It may refer to: General * Álvaro Magalhães (writer), Portuguese writer * Ana Maria Magalhães, Brazilian film actress and director *Antônio ...
to
McLean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Goidelic languages, Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish language, Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John (given name), John). The clan surname is an A ...
, Souto to Sutton, Moura to
Moore Moore may refer to: People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior officer in the British Army * Moore Powell (died c. 1573 ...
, Serrão to Serran, Silva to Silver or Sylvia,
Rocha Rocha may refer to: * Rocha (surname), a Portuguese surname * Rocha, Moca, Puerto Rico, a barrio in the municipality of Moca, Puerto Rico * Rocha, Rio de Janeiro, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Rocha, Uruguay, capital city of the Rocha ...
to
Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
(or Stone), Madeira or Madeiros to Wood, Pontes to Bridges,
Fernandes Fernandes is a surname in the Portuguese-speaking countries. The name is a patronymic form of the Portuguese and Spanish personal name ''Fernando''. Fernandes is the 243rd most common surname in the world, the 3rd one in Angola and in São Tom ...
to Frederick, Costa to
Charlie Charlie may refer to: Characters * "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise * Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority * ...
, Emo or Emos to
Emma Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * Emma (1932 film), ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * Emma (1996 theatrical film), ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * Emma (1996 TV film), '' ...
and Santos to
Stan Stan or STAN may refer to: People * Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name ** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy * Stan (surname), a Romanian surname * Stan! (born 1964), American author ...
. A general contribution the Portuguese people have made to American music is the ukulele, which originated in
Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
and was initially popularized in the
Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...
. John Philip Sousa was a famous Portuguese American composer most known for his patriotic compositions. A large amount of mingling took place between Chinese and Portuguese in Hawaii. There were very few marriages between European and Chinese people with the majority being between Portuguese and Chinese people. These unions between Chinese men and Portuguese women resulted in children of mixed parentage, called Chinese-Portuguese. For two years to June 30, 1933, 38 of these children were born; they were classified as pure Chinese because their fathers were Chinese. Curiously, these marriages are in marked contrast to the situation in Macau, where very few Han Chinese married Portuguese settlers; instead, the Portuguese mixed with indigenous Tanka people, leading to the Macanese people.


Capelinhos Volcanic Eruption and the Azorean Refugee Act of 1958

In 1957–58, the
Capelinhos The Capelinhos (from Capelo + ''-inhos'' diminutive, which literally means "little cape") is a monogenetic volcano located on the western coast of Faial Island in the Azores. It is part of the larger volcanic complex of Capelo, which includes 20 sc ...
volcano erupted on the Azorean island of Faial, causing massive destruction from lava and smoke. In response, then Senators John F. Kennedy and John Pastore co-sponsored an Azorean Refugee Act. President
Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
signed the legislation in 1958, making 1,500 visas available to the victims of the eruption. An extension was enabled in 1962, providing opportunities for even more immigrants. According to th
United States Census
from 2000, there were 1,176,615 Portuguese-Americans, the majority being of Azorean descent. This led to the passing of the 1965
Immigration Act Immigration Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in many countries relating to immigration. The Bill for an Act with this short title will have been known as a Immigration Bill during its passage through Parliament ...
, which stated if someone has legal or American relatives in the United States, they could serve as
sponsor
and, therefore could be a legal alien. This act dramatically increased Portuguese immigration into the 1970s and 1980s.Ponta-Garça, Nelson, director. ''Portuguese in New England''. 2016.


Portuguese-American literature

There are four anthologies of Portuguese-American literature: ''Luso-American Literature: Writings by Portuguese-Speaking Authors in North America'' edited by Robert Henry Moser and António Luciano de Andrade Tosta and published in 2011, ''The Gávea-Brown Book of Portuguese-American Poetry'' edited by Alice R. Clemente and George Monteiro, published in 2013, ''Writers of the Portuguese Diaspora in the United States and Canada: An Anthology'' edited by Luís Gonçalves and Carlo Matos, published in 2015, and ''Behind the Stars, More Stars: The Tagus/Disquiet Collection of New Luso-American Writing'' edited by Christopher Larkosh and Oona Patrick, published in 2019 by Tagus Press. The list of accomplished writers is considerable:
Katherine Vaz Katherine Vaz (born August 26, 1955) is an American writer. A Briggs-Copeland Fellow in Fiction at Harvard University (2003–9), a 2006–7 Fellow of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and the Fall, 2012 Harman Fellow at Baruch Colleg ...
, Frank X. Gaspar,
Millicent Borges Accardi Millicent Borges Accardi is a Portuguese-American poet who lives in California. She has received literary fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Fulbright, CantoMundo, the California Arts Council, Foundation for Contemporary A ...
, Sam Pereira,
Nancy Vieira Couto Nancy Vieira Couto (born 1942) is an American poet. She is a recipient of the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize and the National Endowment for the Arts for Poetry award. Life She received her BS in Education from Bridgewater State College in 1964 ...
, Alfred Lewis,
Charles Reis Felix Charles Reis Felix (April 29, 1923 – January 25, 2017) was an American writer who was a prominent contributor to Luso-American literature. Biography Charles Reis Felix was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, one of four children of Portu ...
, Michael Garcia Spring and John dos Passos. In recent years, the Portuguese in the Americas Series at Tagus Press at UMass Dartmouth has been particularly active in publishing works by Portuguese-American authors, the most recent of these being ''The Poems of Renata Ferreira'', by Frank X. Gaspar, published in 2020.


Demography

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.


Biggest communities

Portuguese-American communities in the US according to the 5 Year Estimates of the (2016
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
): USA by Ancestry: 1,367,476
USA by Country of Birth: 176,286 Top CSAs by Ancestry: #
Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-RI-NH CSA Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...
: 393,457 #
New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
: 141,522 #
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gover ...
: 124,652 #
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA CSA Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
: 49,465 # Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, CA-NV CSA: 40,972 #
Modesto-Merced, CA CSA Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...
: 38,031 #
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL CSA The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...
: 21,842 # Hartford-East Hartford, CT CSA: 21,599 # Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA: 14,245 Top CSAs by Country of Birth: #
Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-RI-NH CSA Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...
: 68,875 #
New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
: 47,964 #
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gover ...
: 10,570 #
Modesto-Merced, CA CSA Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...
: 5,841 # Hartford-East Hartford, CT CSA: 3,873 #
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL CSA The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...
: 3,493 # Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA: 3,153 #
Springfield-Greenfield Town, MA CSA The Springfield metropolitan area, also known as Greater Springfield, is a region that is socio-economically and culturally tied to the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the Springfield, MA Metro ...
: 3,105 # Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA: 2,610 Top States by Country of Ancestry: # California: 346,172 # Massachusetts: 296,449 # Rhode Island: 96,433 # New Jersey: 76,952 # Florida: 69,147 #
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
: 50,657 # Connecticut: 49,167 # Hawaii: 48,634 # Pennsylvania: 19,241 # New Hampshire: 18,170 Top States by Country of Birth: # Massachusetts: 54,869 # New Jersey: 31,493 # California: 26,107 # Rhode Island: 16,384 #
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
: 10,858 # Connecticut: 10,282 # Florida: 9,124 # Pennsylvania: 2,557 # Virginia: 1,751 # New Hampshire: 1,207 Top Cities by Country of Ancestry: # Fall River, MA: 37,350 # New Bedford, MA: 30,390 #
New York, NY New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
: 13,837 #
Taunton, MA Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount ...
: 13,825 # East Providence, RI: 13,295 #
Dartmouth, MA Dartmouth (Massachusett: ) is a coastal town in Bristol County, Massachusetts. Old Dartmouth was the first area of Southeastern Massachusetts to be settled by Europeans, primarily English. Dartmouth is part of New England's farm coast, which co ...
: 12,907 # San Jose, CA: 11,712 #
Newark, NJ Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.San Diego, CA: 9,307 #
Pawtucket, RI Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Fal ...
: 7,077 # Honolulu, HI: 6,328 # Sacramento, CA: 6,007 # Boston, MA: 5,948 #
Turlock, CA Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its estimated 2019 population of 73,631 made it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by prominent grain farmer Jo ...
: 5,007 #
Tiverton, RI Tiverton is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,359 at the 2020 census. Geography Tiverton is located on the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, across the Sakonnet River from Aquidneck Island (also know ...
: 4,838 #
Elizabeth, NJ Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
: 4,558 # San Francisco, CA: 4,518 # Providence, RI: 4,486 #
Tulare, CA Tulare ( ) is a city in Tulare County, California. The population was 68,875 at the 2020 census. It is located in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, eight miles south of Visalia and sixty miles north of Bakersfield. The city is named for the ...
: 4,046 #
Somerville, MA Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area o ...
: 3,435 #
Kearny, NJ Kearny ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in the West Hudson, New Jersey, western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark, New Jersey, Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town ...
: 3,958 # Philadelphia, PA: 3,366 # Las Vegas, NV: 3,233 #
Hanford, CA Hanford is a city and county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley. The population was 53,967 at the 2010 census. History Today's Hanford was once north of Tulare Lake, histo ...
: 3,071


U.S. states with largest Portuguese populations


Notable people


See also

* Portugal–United States relations *
Portuguese Australians Portuguese Australians refers to Australians of Portuguese descent or Portuguese-born people living in Australia. Despite their rather modest number compared to the Greek and Italian communities, Portuguese Australians form a very organised, sel ...
* Portuguese Canadians *
Portuguese Brazilians Portuguese Brazilians ( pt, luso-brasileiros) are Brazilians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Portugal. Most of the Portuguese who arrived throughout the centuries in Brazil sought economic opportunities. Although present since th ...
*
Portuguese in the United Kingdom Portuguese in the United Kingdom are citizens or residents of the UK who are connected to the country of Portugal by birth, descent or citizenship. Background History and settlement The New Christians, who had converted from Judaism to Roman C ...
*
Portuguese New Zealanders Portuguese New Zealanders are either Portuguese who migrated to New Zealand, or New Zealanders of Portuguese descent. According to the latest 2018 New Zealand census, 447 residents of the country declared Portugal to be the place of their birth, ...
*
Portuguese Argentine Portuguese Argentines are Argentines of Portuguese descent or a Portugal-born person who resides in Argentina. Portuguese Argentines has always been a small group in Argentina. There are some 30,000 people of Portuguese ancestry in Argentina, of ...


References


Further reading

* Barrow, Clyde W. (2002). ''Portuguese-Americans and Contemporary Civic Culture in Massachusetts''. * Cardozo, Manoel da Silviera Soares (1976). ''The Portuguese in America, 590 B.C.–1974: A Chronology & Fact Book'' * Leal, João, and Wendy Graça (2011). ''Azorean Identity in Brazil and the United States: Arguments about History, Culture, and Transnational Connections''. Dartmouth, Massachusetts, Tagus Press. * Norden, Ernest E. "Portuguese Americans." in ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America,'' edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 3, Gale, 2014), pp. 493–508
online
* Pap, Leo. ''The Portuguese-Americans'' (Twayne Publishers, 1981). * Warrin, Donald, and Geoffrey L. Gomes (2013). ''Land, as Far as the Eye Can See: Portuguese in the Old West''. Dartmouth, Massachusetts: Tagus Press. 376 pages. Traces the experiences of Portuguese immigrants as frontier settlers. * Williams, Jerry R. (2007). ''In Pursuit of Their Dreams: A History of Azorean Immigration to the United States'' (2nd ed.). North Dartmouth, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. * Wolforth, Sandra (1978). ''The Portuguese in America''. * - Compiled by Robert L. "Bob" Santos

* - Compiled by Robert L. "Bob" Santos


External links


Portuguese-American Historical & Research Foundation
– Culture, History & People
UMass-Dartmouth Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American ArchivesPortuguese American Journal
Portuguese American Journal {{Authority control European-American society
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
Portuguese neighborhoods in the United States