Rio Grande do Sul
Webpages concerning "Rio Grande do Sul"
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Wikipedia-Article "Rio Grande do Sul"
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| Capital: | Porto Alegre |
| Area: | 282,062 km² |
| Inhabitants: | 10,167,800 (2000) |
| Pop. density: | 36.0 inh./km² |
| Timezone: | GMT-3 |
| Governor: | Germano Antonio Rigotto |
| ISO 3166-2: | BR-RS |
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Rio Grande do Sul (English: "Great River of the South") is the southernmost state of Brazil. It is bordered on the north by the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Uruguay, and on the west by Argentina.
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History
Despite been mainly rural for much of its early history, Rio Grande do Sul served as the launching pad for several wars Brazil waged against its southern and western neighbors. It also was a focal point for internal rebellion in the 19th century. Getulio Vargas, who led Brazil as dictator from 1930 and later was elected president in 1950 (before committing suicide), was a native of Rio Grande do Sul (known as Gauchos).
Rio Grande do Sul's prairies have been the scene of bloody wars: the dispute between Portugal and Spain for the Sacramento Colony, the Guarani Missions War, the War of Tatters, the Federalist Revolution, the Maurers Revolt, and the Vargas's levant.
Rio Grande do Sul's population consists primarily of the descendants of European immigrants, especially Portuguese, Italians, Spaniards, and Germans and, to a much smaller extent, groups of Poles, Russians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Jews. In the 1960s, a number of Japanese immigrants settled in various parts of the state.
The first German immigrant families arrived in Rio Grande do Sul in 1824 at the town of São Leopoldo, and in the following century an estimated quarter of a million Germans settled in Brazil, mostly in Rio Grande do Sul and the neighboring state of Santa Catarina.
Most of the German speakers in southern Brazil spoke or eventually adopted the Hunsrückisch dialect so that it became the most commonly used German dialect in this part of the world and is still spoken by millions today (also referred to as Riograndenser Hunsrückisch to differentiate it from the Hunsrückisch spoken in Germany).
In its 180 years of history Riograndenser Hunsrückisch has been greatly influenced by other German dialects (such as Pomeranian, Pfälzisch) and by immigrant languages such as the national language, Portuguese but also to some degree by Italian.
Talian is a uniquely Brazilian variety of Italian not spoken anywhere else in the world. The emergence of Talian in Rio Grande do Sul happened because of the great variety of Italian dialects that came together into a fairly compact and specific geographical location of the state. Talian is frequently called Vêneto because it is close to the Venetian language spoken in Italy's Veneto region.
Italian immigrants began arriving in the area in the late 1800's, settling mostly in the hilly Northeastern parts of Rio Grande do Sul. Soon the region became the most important grape and wine-producing region in Brazil. Although the climate does not favor the production of the finest wines, the last few years have seen great progress in winemaking, especially with white sparkling wines.
All minority languages in southern Brazil have experienced a significant degrees of decline in the last few decades, not only immigrant languages such as Italian or Talian and German, but also the indigenous languages of the Kaingang (also spelled Kaingáng, Cainguangue, etc.) and the Guaraní.
In the far western area of the state are the remnants of Brazil's 17th century Jesuit missions or reductions (aldeias) to the Guaraní Indians. Important to the region, it should be noted that Jesuit Father Roque Gonzales also known as Roque Gonzales de Santa Cruz arrived from Paraguay on the 3rd of May of 1626 to establish the Saint Nicolas mission (today known as São Nicolau) was the first white person to enter in what is today know as the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Of all the ruins left behind by the vanished Guarani Missions, the most significant one is São Miguel or São Miguel Arcanjo, located nearby the present city of Santo Angelo. There is an ongoing Light and Sound (or Som e Luz in Portuguese) show presented at the ruins of the São Miguel church.
Tourism
The Rota Romântica is a popular scenic drive that exhibits the diverse Germanic culture of the mountainous regions of the state referred to as the Serra Gaucha.
Main towns
Porto Alegre (the state capital), Caxias do Sul, Pelotas, Canoas, São Leopoldo, Novo Hamburgo, Santa Maria, Rio Grande, Passo Fundo, Santa Cruz do Sul, Erechim, Gravataí, Bento Gonçalves, Uruguaiana, Livramento, Gramado, Nova Petropolis, Canela and Torres.
See also:
- List of cities in Brazil (all cities and municipalities)
Minority Languages
Minority languages spoken in Rio Grande do Sul can be divided into two groups:
Indigenous languages
Immigrant languages
Talian (Veneto/Italian), Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, Low German, Pommeranisch (German dialects), Polish (and other Slavic languages), etc.
Economy
One of the most prosperous Brazilian states, Rio Grande do Sul is known especially for grain production, viticulture, ranching, and for its considerable industrial output. Natives of the state are known as gaúchos, named after the cattle herders and ranchers who settled the state's pampa regions.
Flag
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The flag was established by law no. 5213 of January 5, 1966. However, its design dates back much more. The independent Rio Grande Republic adopted the flag in 1836, in 1891 the shield in the center was added. According to the common interpretion of the flag colors the green and yellow stands for the Flag of Brazil and the red for the blood spilt during the internal rebellion for the independent Rio Grande Republic. |
External links
- Official homepage (Portuguese)
| States of Brazil |  |
|---|---|
| Acre | Alagoas | Amapá | Amazonas | Bahia | Ceará | Espírito Santo | Goiás | Maranhão | Mato Grosso | Mato Grosso do Sul | Minas Gerais | Pará | Paraíba | Paraná | Pernambuco | Piauí | Rio de Janeiro | Rio Grande do Norte | Rio Grande do Sul | Rondônia | Roraima | Santa Catarina | São Paulo | Sergipe | Tocantins | |
| Federal District: Brazilian Federal District | |