The city was originally settled by former citizens of the Confederate States of America who fled the United States after the Confederate government's fall. Emperor Dom Pedro II actively recruited the disaffected ex-Confederates by providing tax-breaks and subsidies in exchange for their agricultural knowledge. Approximately 10,000 ex-Confederates migrated to Brazil. It is estimated that 60% either returned to the United States or died of disease. The colonists and their remaining descendants are known as Confederados.
The city is the site of annual festivals celebrating the link between the American south and the descendants of the Confederados.
In the present day the Confederate descendants make up only about 10 percent of the population and there are only a dozen or so English-speaking families.