sus of 1906, the total population was
16,626,991, of which 15,572,671 were Roman Catholics, 177,727
Protestants, 876,593 of other faiths. The returns also show a total of
3,038,500 domiciles outside the federal capital, which gives an average
of 5.472 to the domicile. These returns will serve to correct the
exaggerated estimate of 22,315,000 for 1900 which was published in
Brazil and accepted by many foreign publications.

The racial character of the people is not uniform throughout the
republic, the whites predominating in the southern states, the Indians
in Amazonas and, probably, Matto Grosso, and the mixed races in the
central and northern coast states. The excess of whites over the
coloured races in the southern states is due to their smaller slave
population and to the large number of immigrants attracted to them.
Slavery was not abolished until the 13th of May 1888, but a number of
successful colonies had already been founded in these states. Other
colonies were founded in Bahia, Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro during
the same period, but they were unsuccessful, partly because of the
competition of slave labour. Since the abolition of slavery immigration
has poured a large number of labourers into the coffee-producing states,
and with beneficial results. This strengthening of the white population
of the South with fresh European blood must eventually divide Brazil
into two distinct sections: the white states of the south, and the mixed
or coloured states of the north. The introduction of European immigrants
dates from 1818 when a Swiss colony was located at Nova Friburgo, near
Rio de Janeiro, and it was continued under the direction and with the
aid of the imperial government down to the creation of the republic.
Since then the state governments have assumed charge of immigration, and
some of them are spending large sums in the acquisition of labourers.
The old system of locating immigrants in colonies, or colonial nuclei,
which involved an enormous outlay of money with but slight benefit to
the country, has been superseded by a system of locating the immigrants
on the large plantations under formal contracts. In some of the coffee
districts these contracts have resulted very profitably to the Italian
labourers. The total number of colonists and immigrants entering Brazil
between 1804 and 1902, inclusive, according to official returns, was
2,208,353. The arrivals fluctuate greatly in number from year to year,
i