The Gold Rush drew the Portuguese from the Azores; sweeping them across the Atlantic Ocean and around South Americas Cape Horn to the California shore. When gold failed to pan out; many Portuguese moved to the hamlet of San Leandro on the San Francisco Bay where land was reasonable and the ground fertile. Gradually the post-Gold Rush settlers joined with former Portuguese shore whalers to farm the fields of San Leandro. San Leandro became a principal landing place for newly arrived Portuguese immigrants putting down roots on small farms. A steady stream of relatives from the Azores and Hawaii poured into San Leandros fertile foothills; and by 1911 the Portuguese comprised over two-thirds of the citys population. The early days were rough--Portuguese immigrants banded together in fraternal societies to overcome a lack of resources and to help one another navigate a strange world whose language they did not speak. Today the Portuguese Immigrant monument in Root Parks plaza commemorates the journey of Portuguese settlers who left everything behind to start a new life in the new world.
#1384945 in eBooks 2008-03-12 2008-03-12File Name: B0099FGNVM
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