Blumenau, city, eastern Santa Catarina estado (state), southern Brazil, located on the Itajaí River at 46 feet (14 metres) above sea level. Founded in 1852 by German colonists, it draws large crowds of tourists for an annual Oktoberfest that is often more animated than its Bavarian counterpart. The city’s economy is based on the manufacture of textiles (especially towels) from cotton grown in the hinterland, as well as other consumer industries. The Universidade Regional de Blumenau (1968) is located in the city. Roads and air service link Blumenau with Florianópolis, the state capital, some 85 miles (137 km) to the southeast, and with Joinville, 65 miles (105 km) to the north. The city can also be reached by riverboat, train, or automobile from Itajaí, a port 30 miles (48 km) to the east at the mouth of the Itajaí River. Pop. (2010) 309,011.
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Santa Catarina…and founding the cities of Blumenau, Joinvile, and Brusque. Many Italians immigrated after 1875, and Poles, Ukrainians, and Russians arrived in the 1880s. African slaves composed about 10 percent of the population in the 1870s; they were emancipated in 1888. Santa Catarina became a state of Brazil when, in 1889,…
Brazil, country of South America that occupies half the continent’s landmass. It is the fifth largest country in the world, exceeded in size only by Russia, Canada, China, and the United States, though its area is greater than that of…
Santa CatarinaSanta Catarina, southern coastal estado (state) of Brazil, bounded to the north by the state of Paraná, to the south by the state of Rio Grande do Sul, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west by Misiones province of Argentina. It is one of the smaller Brazilian states. The capital is…
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- immigration to Santa Catarina