Christian Mathias Schröder

Christian M. Schröder
Born	Christian Mathias Schröder (1778-01-27)January 27, 1778
Died
Nationality	German
Occupation	Senator
Known for	Member of the Society for the Protection of the Immigrant in Southern Brazil

Christian Mathias Schröder (27 January 1778–25 January 1860) was a German senator from the city of Hamburg, Germany.

Christian Mathias Schröder made history as the main member and stock holder the "Society for the Protection of the Immigrant in Southern Brazil" (in Portuguese: "Sociedade de Proteção ao Imigrantes no sul do Brasil") which was established in 1842. Because of such activities, his name has become permanently linked to the history of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Among other financial colonization activities, Schröder sent his son Eduard Schröder to become the first manager of the Dona Francisca colony (today city of Joinville). After a period of time as the administrator of the colony his son returned to his native land permanently. The municipality of Schroeder, a town located near Joinville, got its name from the Hansean investor Christian Mathias Schröder.

One of the interesting personal details about Christian Mathias Schröder is that he was a Lutheran Pomeranian and a speaker of Low Saxon (Low German), a minority language which also became part of southern Brazil's regional linguistic tradition. Low Saxon, like many other Brazilian minority languages (such as Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, Talian (Italian) and Japanese), is still spoken by some in the old colonial zones. However, like most minority languages throughout the country, it too is facing a fast decline and imminent extinction.

External links

• The History of Joinville - Colônia Dona Francisca (in Portuguese). Accessed on October 24, 2005.
• History of the Municipality of Schroeder. Accessed on October 24, 2005.
• Map depicting the regions of northern Europe where Low Saxon was traditionally and still is spoken today (in German). Accessed on October 24, 2005.