Departure from Santarem and End of Week 2

Our short stay in Santarem has been quite enjoyable. We have had a restful and leisurely visit in this historic city. It is historic from the point of view of the US in that a number of confederate families emmigrated to this region after the civil war, because Brazil remained a slave country until 1888. Many descendents of these confederate families are still in this region, with American names, such as "Jennings, Wallace, Riker, Harrington,Pits, and Franklyn." A few historians have written about this exodus of the "Confederados" from the southern US States of Mississippi, Texas and Carolinas. This is also the origin of some of the protestant churches in Brazil. During the Brazilian empire, following the declaration of independence from Portugal in 1822, the Roman Catholic church remain the state denomination and no other religions could be observed. It wasn't until after the establishment of the Federal Republic of Brazil in 1889 that other churches could exist openly. The emmigrant confederates brought their Baptist religion and established it in this region in the late 1800's. The confederate families also formed an American colony near Sao Paulo in the South of Brazil, named "Americana."

A number of Americans from the Franciscan Order have also influenced the creation of the Foundation of Hope (Fundacao Esperanca), which is where we have stayed while in Santarem. This combined college and health center has been supported by Rotary International, both from US as well as European clubs.

During our stay here we visited one of two planned communities, which were established in 1927 and 1934 respectively by the Ford Motor Company. This was a source of rubber for the automobiles that Ford was producing during this pre-World War - II period.

We also had a very relaxing weekend on the Tapajos river, which we traveled by boat from a Rotarian's home to a beautiful recreational area up river.

We leave by plane for Belem this afternoon.