Santa Bárbara d'Oeste

Until around 1810, the area where the city of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste now stands was virgin forest. That year, a road was constructed, linking the parish of Santo Antônio de Piracicaba to Villa de San Carlos de Campinas. With these improvements, the area turned into a good agricultural region due to its plentiful water sources, leading to the region being broken into allotments and put up for sale.[9]

Margaret Grace Martins, widow of sergeant major Francisco de Paula Martins, bought one of those allotments, measuring two leagues square, whose boundaries were the Piracicaba river to the north and by Quilombo Creek to the northeast. On the site, she founded a sugar plantation, putting her son, Captain Manoel Francisco Grace Martins, in charge of administering the property. In 1818, she initiated the formation of a settlement and the construction of a chapel, dedicated to Saint Barbara. Martins donated the lands the city would develop on, making the town the first and only Brazilian city founded by a woman.[7] The chapel was dedicated on 4 December 1818, now considered to be the date of the town's founding.[6][9]

As the area was settled, other farmers settled in and around the city. On 16 April 1839, the municipality rose to the position of Capela Curada de Santa Bárbara of Toledos[6] (the name "Toledos" was added in reference to the stream that crossed the city, named Ribeirao of Toledos), and became the Fourth District of Vila Nova da Constituição (now the city of Piracicaba).

Years later, the district of Santa Barbara was created by Provincial Law Number 9, on 18 February 1842, in addition, the chapel was elevated from a capela curada, an official title given by the Catholic Church, to a freguesia.[9] It was then transferred on 23 January 1844, to become part of the municipality of Campinas, followed by a further transfer, by Provincial Law Number 12 on 2 March 1846, back to the Municipality of Piracicaba. Finally, by Provincial Law No. 2, on 15 June 1869 the municipality of Santa Barbara was officially created, parting from Piracicaba.[9] The Municipality has always been made up of a single district. The town was officially renamed Santa Bárbara d'Oeste on 30 November 1944.[7]

The sugar industry boomed in the late 19th century due to the increase in the demand for sugar. At the time, large sugar mills were constructed in the city, such as the Plant de Cillo Santa Bárbara (now disabled). In the 1920s several industries emerged, including textiles and agricultural implements. Over the years, other industries moved into the area. Eventually, on 5 September 1956, the first Brazilian car, the Romi-Isetta, was released.[9]

During the 1960s and 1970s, with the rapid development of the nearby settlement of Americana, many people came looking for jobs and housing. Due to the close proximity of the two municipalities, the area between them was settled, creating a conurbation. Initially there was some confusion, since the boundaries of the two towns were not officially set. The problem was solved with the creation of the Avenida da Amizade, which cut through the region, fixing the boundary between the two towns. The population expansion not only brought development, but also problems to the region, since it drained public accounts. This precipitated years of economic stagnation.[9]

Since the 2000s, due to both public and private investment, the city is reaching an economic and social balance, becoming increasingly competitive in the metropolitan region of Campinas. Legal incentives for businesses that invest in the city were created, and the expansion of the Rodovia dos Bandeirantes, whose route passes through the municipality, has brought new opportunities for development.[9]

Today, Santa Bárbara is one of the major economic forces in the metropolitan region of Campinas, with a good quality of life. The city has a strong industrial character, and is home to companies such as Romi, Usina Furlan, Goodyear, Canatiba, Mazak, and Denso. The city boasts good leisure facilities such as the Tivoli, which opened in November 1998, and is one of the main shopping malls and meeting points in the city with almost 700,000 visitors every month. It serves the population of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Americana, Nova Odessa, Sumaré and Hortolândia, as well as the regions of Piracicaba and Limeira.[9]

Santa Bárbara d'Oeste received an influx of immigrants from the Confederate States of America in the late 1860s (known as Confederados)

The first generation of Confederados remained an insular community, but by the third generation, most of the families had intermarried with native Brazilians or immigrants of other origins. As time went on, these descendants of the Confederados increasingly spoke the Portuguese language and identified themselves as Brazilians.[10] As the area around Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and Americana turned increasingly to the production of sugar cane and the society became more mobile, the Confederados tended to migrate to cities. Today, only a few families still live on the original land owned by their ancestors. While the descendants of the original Confederados are scattered throughout Brazil, they maintain the headquarters of their descendant organization in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste.

Today's Confederados maintain affection for the Confederate flag even though they consider themselves completely Brazilian. In Brazil, the Confederate flag does not have the historical association with slavery nor the corresponding stigma that exists in the United States. Many modern Confederados are of mixed-race and reflect the varied racial categories that make up Brazilian society in their physical appearance. Recently the Brazilian residents of Americana, now of primarily Italian descent, have removed the Confederate flag from the city's crest citing the fact that Confederados now make up only 10% of the city's population. In 1972, then Governor (and future President) Jimmy Carter of Georgia visited the city of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and visited the grave of his wife Rosalynn's great-uncle, who was one of the original Confederados.

Descendants of Americans during Confederado Festival in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste.

The center of Confederado culture is the Campo Cemetery, known as the Cemetery of the Americans, in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, where most of the original Confederados from the region are buried. Most of the Confederados were Protestant, and the only cemetery in town was the Catholic cemetery, where it was forbidden to bury non-Catholics. In 1867, with the death of Beatrice Oliver, wife of Colonel Oliver, he buried her (as he later buried his daughters) on a plot of land on his property. He earmarked an acre of his land so that American families could bury their dead. This became the Cemetery of the Americans. Today about 500 people are buried in the cemetery.

The chapel of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste

The descendants still foster a connection with their history [11] through the Fraternity of American Descendants, an organization dedicated to preserving the unique mixed culture. In April, the organization holds an annual festival, called the Festa Confederada in order to fund the Campo Cemetery. The festival is based on the culture of the old American south of the antebellum period. During the event there are typical American foods such as chicken fingers, burgers and baked corn; bands play jazz, dixieland, and traditional American folk songs, Confederate flags are everywhere. American folk dances, specifically square dances, are the highlight of the event. Women dress the part, much like the character Scarlett O'Hara in the film Gone with the Wind, and men in Confederate uniforms, boots and hats.

The cemetery has a recreation area where the fraternity holds its quarterly meetings, as well as the Festa Confederada. The festival receives visitors from various parts of Brazil and the world; in 2006 the party attracted 1500 people, and has received such distinguished visitors as Georgia Governor (later US President) Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn, as well as representatives of the US Consulate and press agencies of the United States.

The Confederado community established a Museum of Immigration in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste preserving the history of Brazilian immigration and its benefits to the nation.