During the Brazilian Colonial period, the province of South Rio Grande was the scene of small wars and border skirmishes between Portugal and Spain for the region, the
Sacramento Colony, and the
Guarani Missions. It was also a focal point for internal rebellions in the 19th and the early 20th centuries.
Guarani Wars According to the
treaty of Tordesillas, the region was to be part of the Spanish possessions in South America. However, the Spanish were much more interested in the Pacific Coast, where gold, silver, and gems were quickly found. Even in the Atlantic coast, their attention was on the
River Plate where they built the seaport of Buenos Aires, on its right bank. Consequently, Spanish settlement followed the course of the River Plate and its tributaries, especially the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, largely ignoring the Rio Grande do Sul area. The Spanish introduced livestock which escaped into the plains and attracted
gauchos to the area. The first Spanish to settle in the region that is now
Paraguay, northwestern Argentina (
Corrientes,
Misiones), and Rio Grande do Sul were
Jesuit missionary priests who came with the idea of converting the indigenous population to
Catholic Christianity. To that end, they founded missionary villages known in Spanish as
misiones or
reducciones, populated by
Guarani Indians. In the early 17th century, the Jesuits founded missions to the east of the Uruguay river, and in the northwest of modern Rio Grande do Sul. The missions were destroyed and their Guarani inhabitants were enslaved in large raids by
bandeirantes between 1636 and 1638; however, in 1687, the Jesuits were back in the region, having refounded seven reductions, the
Misiones Orientales. The region remained under Spanish sovereignty, though in practice the Jesuits operated quite independently as consequence of the Spanish laws, up to the late 17th century. But in 1680, the Portuguese founded
Colônia do Sacramento on the northern bank of the River Plate, in what is now
Uruguay. War ensued and was intermittent until the independence of Uruguay in 1828. The logistics of defending Colônia against the Spanish resulted in a government effort to settle Rio Grande do Sul's coastal region with Brazilian and Portuguese colonists. In 1737, a fortified village (today the city of Rio Grande) was built at the entrance of Lagoa dos Patos. In 1752, a group of
Azorean settlers founded Porto Alegre; to the west, Rio Pardo was also founded. Towards the middle of the century, Brazilians and Portuguese arrived to the west of the region, clashing with the Jesuits and the Guaranis. Up to 1756, the Guaranis fought back, under the leadership of
Sepé Tiaraju, who was popularly canonized as São Sepé (Saint Sepé). However, the Portuguese and Brazilians eventually crushed the resistance, destroyed the missions, and the region came definitely into Portuguese hegemony. In 1738, the territory (which included the present state of Santa Catarina) became the Capitania d'el Rei and was made a dependency of Rio de Janeiro. Territorial disputes between Spain and Portugal led to the occupation by the Spaniards of the town of
Rio Grande (then the capital of the capitania) and neighboring districts from 1763 to 1776, when they reverted to the Portuguese. The capture of Rio Grande in 1763 caused the removal of the seat of government to
Viamão at the head of Lagoa dos Patos; in 1773, Porto dos Cazaes, renamed
Porto Alegre, became the capital. These historic acts were planned and directed by Manuel Sepúlveda, who used the pseudonym José Marcelino de Figueiredo, to hide his identity. In 1801, news of war between Spain and Portugal led to the capture of the Sete Povos and some frontier posts. In 1777, the Santo Ildefonso Treaty granted the coastal region to Portugal, and the Missões to Spain; but, in practice, both regions were populated by Portuguese and Brazilian settlers. In 1801, the Badajoz treaty handed the Misiones (Missões) to the Portuguese; only the borders between modern Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul remained in dispute.
Cisplatine War The districts of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande had been separated in 1760 for military convenience, and in 1807 the latter was elevated to the category of a "capitania-geral", with the designation of "Sao Pedro do Rio Grande", independent of Rio de Janeiro, and with Santa Catarina as a dependency. In 1812 Rio Grande and Santa Catarina were organized into two distinct
comarcas, the latter becoming an independent province in 1822 when the
Empire of Brazil was organized. In 1816, the Portuguese captured Uruguay, which became a Province of Brazil (Província Cisplatina). This situation outlasted Brazil's independence from Portugal in 1822; in 1825, however,
Juan Antonio Lavalleja proclaimed the independence of Uruguay; war followed, until in 1828 Brazil recognized Uruguayan independence.
Farroupilha Revolution |left leading the Riograndense navy to Laguna. Painting by
Lucílio de Albuquerque, 1916. Populating Rio Grande do Sul was a constant concern of the Portuguese. To that end, the metropolitan Crown distributed land in the form of enormous
latifundia. In those large latifundia, cattle raising was the predominant economic activity. The Guaranis, under Jesuit rule, had started raising cattle in the Missões. The destruction of the Missões left astray immense herds, which went feral. Thus the newcomers from São Paulo and Santa Catarina settled by re-domesticating these feral herds, called "gado xucro". The Azorean settlers, on the other hand, mainly introduced wheat crops in much smaller properties. Up to the beginning of the 19th century, wheat was the main export product of Rio Grande do Sul. Up to 1830, political unrest in Argentina and Uruguay favoured the jerky producers of Pelotas. But with order restored in these countries, competition by Argentinian and Uruguayan jerky producers became a concern. The jerky industry of the Plata was favored by the superior quality of Argentinian and Uruguayan pastures, by their better seaports, and by their use of free labor, instead of slavery. Consequently, the regional elites soon started to demand customs protection for the gaúcho jerky against the product of the Rio de la Plata; on the failure of the Imperial government to address those concerns, political demands of greater autonomy, and ideas of a federal relationship towards the rest of Brazil were put forth. The ensuing
Farroupilha Revolution (known locally as
Guerra dos Farrapos) lasted ten years. The rebels stormed Porto Alegre, but were driven out from there in June 1836. From then on, the Empire was able to control most of the coastal region, achieving decisive strategic advantage from this. However, in 1839, the rebels were still able to invade Santa Catarina, where they proclaimed a
Juliana Republic, in a federal relationship with Rio Grande do Sul (during the Santa Catarina campaign,
Giuseppe Garibaldi joined the rebels for a while before he returned to Europe and eventually became a hero in his native Italy). The Empire soon retook initiative, though, and from them on the rebels fought in the defensive. In 1842, the Empire assigned a new Provincial governor and military commander, the Baron, later
Duke of Caxias. The inability of the rebels to secure contact with the world through a seaport, the dwindling economy of the Province, combined with Caxias' superior capabilities as military commander, led to the fall, in 1843, of important rebel strongholds,
Caçapava do Sul,
Bagé, and
Alegrete. Economically exhausted and militarily defeated, the rebels accepted Caxias' terms of surrender. A general amnesty was declared, the rebellious officials were incorporated into the Imperial Army, slaves enrolled in the rebel Army were freed. Additionally, the Empire imposed a 25% tax on foreign jerky imports. The province suffered greatly in the struggle, but recovered quickly, not only due to the import tax protection, but mainly due to renewed instability in Argentina and Uruguay: Rosas' government in Argentina continually interfered in Uruguayan affairs until 1851, and Buenos Aires was blockaded by the French and the English from 1845 to 1848.
Conflicts with neighbouring countries At the mid-19th century, Rio Grande do Sul was repeatedly involved in war between Brazil and its neighbours. Those included war against Argentina and Uruguay (deposal of
Juan Manuel Rosas, Argentinian dictator, and
Manuel Ceferino Oribe y Viana, Uruguayan president, 1852) and intervention in Uruguay (deposal of
Atanasio Cruz Aguirre, 1864). This, in turn, led to Paraguayan intervention, and the
Paraguayan War, known in Portuguese as Guerra do Paraguai. In the war against Rosas, 75% of the Brazilian troops were
gaúchos. As the only Brazilian boundaries actually facing foreign armies able to project the Empire's power, Rio Grande do Sul and its gaúchos quickly developed a reputation as soldiers.
Paraguayan War .
National Archives of Brazil. , 1866 During this long and bloody war against Paraguay, Rio Grande do Sul remained usually a secondary front. But in 1865 a Paraguayan division invaded the state, occupying
Uruguaiana by August 5. By August 16, troops of the Triple Alliance put siege to Uruguaiana, and by September 17, an ultimatum was delivered to General Estigarribia, commander of the Paraguayan division. Having no possibility of breaking the siege or defending the position, the Paraguayans surrendered, under conditions, the following day. But if the territory of Rio Grande do Sul was spared most action, its dwellers provided a very significant part of the Brazilian troops: about 34,000 soldiers, more than 25% of the Brazilian army. This military characteristic of Rio Grande do Sul lasted long after the Paraguayan War: In 1879, of a standing army of less than 15,000, more than 5,000 were in Rio Grande do Sul. On the other hand, during the late Empire, more Brazilian generals were from Rio Grande do Sul than from any other province. In 1889, of 25 generals born in Brazil, four were from Rio Grande do Sul; and of the three born abroad, two were born in Uruguay but made their careers in Rio Grande do Sul.
Late Empire , 1886 Political agitation was frequent in Rio Grande do Sul, but no important revolution occurred after the Ponche Verde Treaty in 1845 until the presidency at Rio de Janeiro of General
Floriano Peixoto, whose ill-considered interference with state governments led to the revolt of 1892–94, under
Gumercindo Saraiva. After the
Paraguayan War, Rio Grande do Sul underwent important changes in its economy. Railways connected the countryside to Porto Alegre and Rio Grande. Together with the introduction of steam ships, this reduced the costs and duration of transportation, facilitating the province's exports. New cattle breeds were introduced, and barbed wire was used to demarcate properties.As a consequence, the population of the province doubled between 1872 and 1890, from 434,813 inhabitants to 897,455. This was partly due to immigration: about 60,000 immigrants, mostly from Italy, and, in lesser numbers, from Germany, came to Rio Grande do Sul during this period. Most of the Italians settled in the Serra Gaúcha, and most of the Germans in the valleys of the Jacuí, Sinos, and Caí, as small landed proprietors, and agricultural producers. In the area of German settlements, a messianic movement, the
Muckers (German for False Saints) erupted in 1874, and was smashed by the Brazilian Army. Also during this period, the Liberal Party established its hegemony over the province, meaning control of the provincial legislature, the National Guard in Rio Grande do Sul, and most of the municipal governments. Before the War of the Triple Alliance, the Conservative and Liberal parties had alternated in local power, following the national tendency. But, from 1872 on, the Liberals, under the leadership of
Gaspar da Silveira Martins, were able to retain provincial power, even when the Conservatives won at national level.
1893 Revolution In this struggle the revolutionaries occupied Santa Catarina and Paraná, capturing
Curitiba, but were eventually overthrown through their inability to obtain munitions of war. An incident in this struggle was the death of Admiral
Saldanha da Gama, one of the most brilliant officers of the Brazilian navy and one of the chiefs of the naval revolt of 1893–94, who was killed in a skirmish on the Uruguayan border towards the end of the conflict.
1923 Revolution In 1923, civil war again exploded between supporters of State President Borges de Medeiros and opposition linked to the Partido Libertador and
Assis Brasil.
1930 Revolution In 1930, State President
Getúlio Vargas, after unsuccessfully running in the presidential elections against the candidate of São Paulo, Júlio Prestes, led a revolt against the Federal government, and succeeded in overthrowing it. This eventually led to the Vargas dictatorship in 1937 and the period known as the
Estado Novo. What is now the
Rio Grande do Sul Military Brigade fought on the side of the state leadership and, as a result, was never reformed. In fact, the Brigade remains the only state militia in Brazil. (The Military Police is the federal force that polices in the other states.) A poignant example of the Brigade's quasi-autonomy is the participation of its servicemen in both the coup attempt of 1961 and the military coup in 1964. == Demographics ==