Since I’ve not found a permanent home outside of the United States as of yet, I’m classified as an expatriate or expat. Once I find some place and settle, I’ll then become an immigrant. This is the story of about 20,000 other American expats, most of whom became immigrants in the South American nation of Brazil.

The last Emperor of Brazil was Don Pedro II. In the 1860s, he wished to diversify his nation’s agricultural exports to Europe’s eager markets. Thus, he made it incredibly easy for American farmers to come to Brazil and get cheap land and help Brazil become much more of an agricultural exporter.

As said above, over 20,000 Americans brought their families south and set up farming in Brazil. Interestingly, until that time, Brazil had been a diverse national ethnically but had been almost 100% Catholic religiously. The expats who came there from the US built the first protestant churches and cemeteries that Brazil ever saw.

Now, Brazil was certainly a difficult change for many of the Americans. The language and culture challenged many of the expats as they sought to raise their children as “American” as possible within the confines of the Brazilian nation. Guide books were written and published in the US detailing how to make the giant leap and move to Brazil and raise your kids while maintaining your “American-ness.” The most famous of these books was Hunting a Home in Brazil and published in 1867.

Some of the Americans brought their metal plows with them, and these technological marvels caused the native Brazilian famers to gasp with awe. An agricultural school was set up to teach the Brazilians the latest farming techniques. The settlements in Brazil grew quickly, and, today, the Brazilian city of Americana boasts over 200,000 residents, many of them descendants of those early American expats turned immigrants.

What do you think made so many Americans accept Emperor Don Pedro II’s offer to come help Brazil’s agricultural sector? Well, if you know anything about American History, you know that the early 1860s saw the American Civil War.

And those more than 20,000 American expats–known today as Confederados–who left the United States for a fresh start?

They were American slave owners who couldn’t stand the idea of living in a nation that had outlawed slavery.