The Riograndense Republic, often called Piratini Republic ( or ), was a de facto state that existed between September 11, 1836 and March 1, 1845 geographically coinciding with the present state of Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

, in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 . Although never recognised as a self-governing state, it voted itself a Constitution in 1843.

Independence was proclaimed by Antônio de Souza Neto, who assigned Bento Gonçalves da Silva

Bento Gonçalves da Silva

General Bento Gonçalves da Silva, , was a Tatter Revolutionary leader and President of the Piratini Republic ....

 as its first president during the rebellion which became the War of the Farrapos.

In 1839, the Piratini Republic formed a confederation

Confederation

A confederation in modern political terms is a permanent union of political units for common action in relation to other units. Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign...

 with the short-lived Juliana Republic

Juliana Republic

The Juliana Republic was declared in the imperial Brazilian province of Santa Catarina on July 24, 1839, and lasted only until November 15, 1839...

 (República Juliana in Portuguese) which proclaimed its independence in the same year. November 1839, however, saw the war result in the defeat of the Juliana Republic.

The Riograndense Republic had five capitals during its nearly nine years of existence: the cities of Piratini

Piratini

Piratini is a city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul with a population of some 19,000. It is the former capital of the short-lived Riograndense Republic which was proclaimed on September 11, 1836....

 (for which it is often called Piratini Republic), Alegrete

Alegrete

Alegrete is a town and a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul located in southern Brazil. Its medium altitude is 102 m. Its estimated population in 2008 was 78,984 inhabitants and the total area is 7,803.967 km² . Its inhabitants are called Alegretenses.Alegrete was settled in 1816 and became a...

, Caçapava do Sul

Caçapava do Sul

Caçapava do Sul is a Brazilian city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, located on the banks of the Camaquã River. As of 2006 the city had a population of 34,461. It was the 2nd capital of the Piratini Republic from 1839 to 1840....

 (official capitals), Bagé

Bagé

Bagé is a city and a municipality in the south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In 2007 its population was 112,550 in a total area of 4,096 km2. It was the tenth largest city in the state in 2007 -Location:...

 (for only two weeks), and São Borja

São Borja

São Borja is a city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. São Borja is the oldest municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and was founded in 1682 by the Jesuits as the first of the Seven Points of the Missions, and named São Francisco de Borja, in honor of Saint Francis...

. The war between the Gaúchos and the Brazilian Empire was ended by the Ponche Verde Treaty.

External links

• Varela, Alfredo . História da Grande Revolução. 6v. Ed. Instituto Histórico e Geográfico do Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre, 1933. (Portuguese). Electronic edition – free download.
• Free Pampa Movement has as goal restore the Rio-Grandense Republic independence. PampaLivre.info.