In the 18th century the region of the modern state
Rio Grande do Sul was a trade route between the cities
Sorocaba and
Colônia do Sacramento. Various colonists created cattle ranches and plantations here. In 1725, Cosme da Silveira, a member of Captain
João de Magalhães' fleet, settled in the Viamão region. He was joined by
Francisco Carvalho da Cunha in 1741, who created the Estância Grande site, where the church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (
Immaculate Conception) would be built. In 1747, the colony was declared a civil parish. With the Spanish invasion of 1766, it became necessary to install a government center for the
captaincy. Viamão served as the seat of the governor until 1773. At that time, the seat was transferred to Porto dos Casais (which later became
Porto Alegre). In 1880, Porto Alegre became its own separate municipality. In 1889, with the advent of the
Republic and the dissolution of the Municipal Chambers as an executive power, the city elected its first mayor, Lt.-Col. Tristão José de Fraga, who previously served as the president of the above-mentioned Municipal Chambers. The second mayor would be Col. Felisberto Luiz de Barcellos. The economic importance of the region, for being the first cattle ranch, grew from the commerce and transport of dried meat (
charque) and
leather to
Laguna and
São Paulo. The three commercial routes at the time began where Viamão is located today. The main road, the
Estrada Real ("Royal Road"), left the city and passed through
Vacaria,
Lages,
Curitibanos,
Papanduva,
Rio Negro,
Campo do Tenente,
Lapa,
Palmeira,
Ponta Grossa,
Castro,
Piraí do Sul,
Jaguariaiva,
Itararé and arriving at
Sorocaba. Another route was over the coastal regions until Laguna. ==Recent mayors==