In 1839, on the initiative of the President of the Province of Pernambuco, Francisco do Rêgo Barros, a group of 195 German artisans was brought from Hamburg to Recife to build various public buildings, as well as roads and bridges in the interior. Most of these skilled workmen, some of whom brought their families, remained in Brazil. Their contribution to the development of architecture and the building crafts was lasting.
Guilherme Auler’s study is of especial interest, because he has unearthed from the Public Archives of Pernambuco and other depositories the original documents that evidence this introduction into Brazil of one of the first groups of German settlers. As pointed out by Dr. Freyre (whose own volume on Louis Léger Vauthier, Um engenheiro frances no Brasil, opened the way to a consideration of the importance of European engineers and skilled craftsmen in 19th century Brazil), such original research is still too rare in Brazilian historical studies.
