Lithuanians in Brazil
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 200,000 – 300,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mainly Southeastern and Southern Brazil | |
| Languages | |
| Predominantly Brazilian Portuguese. Some also speak Lithuanian | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (Predominantly Roman Catholicism), and others | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Brazilians, White Latin Americans and Lithuanians other White Brazilians such as Latvian Brazilians, Finnish Brazilians, Scandinavian Brazilians, German Brazilians, Polish Brazilians, Ukrainian Brazilians and Russian Brazilians |
Lithuanian Brazilians (Portuguese: Lituano-brasileiros) are Brazilian citizens who are fully, partially, or predominantly of Lithuanian descent, or are Lithuanian-born people residing in Brazil.
The first Lithuanian to set foot on Brazilian soil, according to a record dated in 1866, was a certain colonel Andrius Višteliauskas. His mission was to aid the Brazilian armed forces in the Paraguayan War that was going on at that time. His experience in Brazil must have influenced people in his homeland, perhaps by his writings or perhaps after he traveled home. Therefore, a few years later a group of Lithuanian immigrants and their families arrived in Brazil. In 1890, twenty-five Lithuanian families entered the land of Brazil. Their destination was the newly established colony of Ijuí, situated on the red and fertile soil of the northwestern part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Today the city of Ijuí is a prosperous town, based on Brazilian standards. From early on Ijuí was settled by peoples of different ethno-linguistic backgrounds, unlike some other towns in the region. For example, the town of Guaraní das Missões was settled mostly by Polish immigrants. On the other hand, Germans, who came from the old German colonies (the Altkolonie) located in the eastern part of the state, went on to settle the municipality of Cerro Largo (formerly known as Serro Azul) and to make it into the small town that it is today.
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