Jim Costa • James Franco • Tony Coelho |
| Total population |
|---|
| Portuguese ancestry 1,477,335 0.5% of the US population [1] Lusitanics in the United States |
| Regions with significant populations |
| California, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, among others. |
| Languages |
| Religion |
|
Predominantly |
| Related ethnic groups |
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Portuguese (Portuguese Canadian) · Galician and other Spaniards (Spanish American) · Italians (Italian American) · Brazilian American (Portuguese Brazilian & White Brazilian) |
Portuguese Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates in the southwest European nation of Portugal, including the offshore island groups of the Azores and Madeira.
Colloquially, the term is also incorrectly applied to people whose ancestry stems from Portuguese-speaking countries. Such use of the term "Portuguese American" is employed as a synonym to Luso American. Accurately, a Portuguese American denotes any person born in the United States whose family came to the USA from Portugal. Americans and others who are not native Europeans from Portugal but originate from countries that were former colonies of Portugal are not Portuguese American, rather, they are codified as Lusitanic, or simply referred to by their present-day nationalities (Cape Verdean, Brazilian, etc.) although many citizens of former Portuguese colonies are also ethnically Portuguese. Famous Portuguese Americans include Tom Hanks, Katy Perry, Meredith Viera, James Franco and Joe Perry.
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Portuguese people have had a very long history in the United States (from 1634), which may even be pre-Columbian, although there is lack of solid historical evidence. Navigators, like the Corte-Real family, may have visited the North American shores at the beginning of the 16th century.[2] There is a monumental landmark, the Dighton Rock, in southeastern Massachusetts, that testifies their presence in the area. During the Colonial period, there was limited Portuguese emigration to the present day U.S., especially on the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
In the late 19th century, many Portuguese, mainly Azorean and Madeiran, emigrated to the eastern U.S., establishing communities in various New England coastal cities, primarily but not limited to:
Providence, Bristol and Pawtucket in Rhode Island, and New Bedford, Taunton and Fall River in Southeastern Massachusetts. On the West Coast in California there are Portuguese communities in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Cruz, and San Diego, in connection to Portuguese fishermen and settlers coming in from Mexico. There are also connections with Portuguese communities in the Pacific Northwest in Astoria, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada as well.
Many Portuguese relocated to the Kingdom of Hawaii, prior to its overthrow by the United States in the late 19th century.
In the mid-late 20th century, there was another surge of Portuguese immigration in America, mainly in the Northeast (New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts). There are various 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, and Mozambique) and Asia (mostly Macau), as well Oceania (Timor-Leste). There were around 1 million Portuguese Americans in the United States by the year 2000.
Some Portuguese surnames have been changed to align with more American sounding names, for example Rodrigues to Rogers, Oliveira to Oliver, Martins to Martin, Silva to Silver, and Pereira to Perry.
A general contribution the Portuguese people have made to American music is the ukulele, which originated in Madeira and was initially popularized in the Kingdom of Hawaii.[3] John Phillip 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.[4] There were very few marriages between European and Chinese people with the majority being between Portuguese and Chinese people.[5][6][7] These unions between Chinese men and Portuguese women resulted in children of mixed Chinese Portuguese 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.[8]
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.[9]
The top 3 biggest Portuguese-American communities in the country (2000 Census):
Other large areas of Portuguese are Santa Cruz, California; San Jose, California; Fresno, California; Bakersfield, California; New Orleans, Louisiana and Newark, New Jersey.
Oakland, California - Large Portuguese immigration established a community, the Portuguese were one of the city's largest ethnicities in the mid 20th century.
See also Portuguese American neighborhoods.
The states with the largest Portuguese populations:
The states with the highest percentages of Portuguese population:
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