A history of Falmouth as told through a century of Portuguese migration: Strawberries and Portuguese civic, religious and economic associations. A special and FREE event, open to all!

This talk provides a history of Falmouth from the point of view of the Portuguese settlers who began coming to the town in the decades before 1900. In a period of just a few decades, the numbers of Portuguese in the town swelled to make them not only the single largest ethnic group in Falmouth, but the dominant settler group of what was largely vacated farmland referred to at the time as the “eastern part of the town.”

How the Portuguese became important players in New England agriculture will be discusses along with how the strawberry industry was developed through partnerships among the Portuguese with Falmouth’s business community, agricultural officials, and representatives in local and state government, including individuals like the Cape Cod strawberry growers’ business manager George Lillie and county agricultural agent Bertram Tomlinson.

The history of Portuguese associations will be illustrated with stories of cooperation and conflict among the Portuguese farmers and their founding of farmer’s cooperatives; a look at some of the civic and beneficial organizations formed by the Portuguese and how these associations helped them to influence local politics; the Portuguese’ founding of St. Anthony’s and their participation in other churches; and the establishment and importance of the Holy Ghost Brotherhoods of Falmouth (along with others in the area and the region), including some that have been continuously active since the late 1800s and still exist today.

Falmouth history will be examined from the first decades of the 1900s until after World War II. Early 20th century communities in the northeast were responding to changes brought on by industrialization with the political climate of these decades (much like the current moment) witness to the rise of racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric, culminating in the passing of restrictive migration laws, and social policy that effected not only the migrants but also other laborers. How these attitudes were confronted in Falmouth, by both the Portuguese migrants, the native residents of the town, and business and political interests reveals much about the social history of migration in the US, and is instructive to understand contemporary migrant issues.

The impact on Falmouth’s Portuguese community as a result of the Azorean Relief Act and changes to US migration law will also be examined.

Miguel Moniz is an anthropologist who has written extensively about Portuguese migration in New England. He is a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant Fellow at the University of Lisbon, working on the New England track of the multi sited project COLOUR—an examination of race, identity and labor practices among migrant workers. Moniz’ other ethno-history projects include studies of Portuguese socio-religious associations, migrant deportations, soccer in migrant communities and Portuguese brass bands. Born in Falmouth, Moniz has lived in Portugal over the past 25 years. He studied at Brown (PhD, Anthropology, 2004), is a graduate of FHS (class of 87), and a proud recipient of the Falmouth Public Library’s Book Award for excellence in Social Studies at Falmouth High School