Beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century and extending to the outbreak of the Second World War, Brazil was to receive a stream of Polish immigrants seeking fabled "new lands" in South America. While there is a considerable literature on this subject, the vast majority of the works available are, of course, in Polish and Portuguese with a considerable number in German and Spanish. Very few items are available in English, and most of these works assume a fairly extensive knowledge of Polish history in addition to Latin American history. While there exist many fine scholars of Latin American history and Polish history, very few of them cover both areas and far fewer write in English.

Thus, I perceive a need for this general English introduction to the topic for the Latin Americanist. I hope that in recounting the Polish experience of promise, adversity, and even peril in the frontier settlement of Paranà, their achievements may become more widely known and appreciated.