Rio Grande Do Sul or Sao Pedro Do Rio Grande Do Sul

RIO GRANDE DO SUL or SAO PEDRO DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL (sometimes SAO PEDRO and commonly Rio GRANDE) ; a city and port of the state, on the western side of the Rio Grande (as the outlet of the Lagoa dos Patos is called), about 6m. from its mouth and nearly 78om. S.W. of Rio de Janeiro, in lat. 32° 7' S., long. 52° 8' W. Pop. (1920) of the city, of the city and its suburbs, 53,607. The principal streets are served by tramways, and the Rio Grande to Bage railway has an extension to its shipping wharf called "Estacao Maritima" (iim.), a branch to some points on the river (ijm.), and a branch to Costa do Mar, on the sea coast (I fin.). The city is a port of call for several steamship lines, and has direct communication with European ports. Vessels of 24ft. draught can cross the bar, and those not exceeding 22ft. draught can safely enter the port.

The city is built on a low sandy peninsula, barely

5ft. above sea-level. formed by two arms of the Rio Grande projecting westward from the main channel, the peninsula being part of a large sandy plain extending southward along the coast to Lagoa Mirim. The level of the plain is broken by ranges of sand dunes, some of which rise not far from the city on the south and south east. The openness of the surrounding country and the prox imity of the sea give to Rio Grande unusually healthy conditions, which, however, are largely counteracted by defective sanitary arrangements. In pleasing contrast to the drifting sands which surround the city is the fertile Ilha dos Marinheiros (Sailors' island) lying directly in front of the port ; it is highly cultivated and supplies the market with fruit and vegetables. The water

front has been improved by substantial stone walls, which permit the mooring of light-draught vessels alongside.

Rio Grande is wholly a commercial and industrial city. Its ex ports include salted jerked beef (came secca or xarque), pre served meats, tongues, hides, horns, hoofs, woollen fabrics, Para guay tea, beans, onions, fruit, flour, farinha de mandioca (cas sava flour), candles and leather. The pioneer woollen factory in Brazil, and one of the largest in the country, is in Rio Grande.

Rio Grande was founded in 1737 by Jose da Silva Paes, who built a fort on the river near the site of the present city and called it Estreito. In 1745 the garrison and settlement was removed by Gomes Freire d'Andrade to its present site, which became a "villa," in 1751, with the name of Sao Pedro do Rio Grande, and a "cidade" (city) in 1807. It was the capital of the captaincy down to 1763, when it was captured by a Spanish force from Buenos Aires under the command of its governor, Don Pedro Zeballos, the seat of government being then removed to Viamao at the northern end of Lagoa dos Patos. The city was occupied by the national forces in the ten years' war which began in 1835, and in 1894 it was unsuccessfully besieged by a small insurgent force that had attempted to overthrow the government at Rio de Janeiro.