ers of
Santa Catharina: Rio Itajahy do Sul; Rio das Tijucas; Rio Braco do
Norte; and Rio Capivary.[31]

In point of numbers, Santa Catharina is next to the most important state
in Brazil so far as German colonization is concerned.

RIO GRANDE DO SUL.

=Sao Leopoldo=, a state colony, was founded in 1824. The first settlers
came from the Hunsrueck section. To-day its population is estimated at
more than 50,000, mostly of German descent.[32] We may designate Sao
Leopoldo as the center of the "Deutschbrasilianerthum" of Rio Grande do
Sul.

The state colonies of =Tres Forquilhas= and =Sao Pedro de Alcantara das
Torres= were founded in 1826. The former was settled by German
Protestants, the latter by German Catholics.

=Santa Cruz=, a state colony, was founded in 1849. Its first settlers
were mainly from Pomerania and the Rheinland.

Next in order there followed an important period of private
colonization. As a result of this we have =Rincao d'El Rei=, founded in
1850 by Dr. Israel R. Barcellos; =Mundo Novo=, founded in 1850 by
Tristao Jose Monteiro; =Conventos=, founded in 1853 by Baptista F.
Pereira e Cie.; =Estrella=, founded in 1856 by Santos Pinto; =Mariante=,
founded in 1856; and =Marata= founded in 1856 by Andreas Kochenborger
and Pedro Schreiner.

In the year 1857 two provincial colonies were founded, i.e., =Santo
Angelo= and =Nova Petropolis=.

The year 1858 marked the second period of private colonization. In that
year =Sao Lourenco= was founded by Jakob Rheingantz. The first settlers
of this colony were Pomeranians and natives of the Rheinland. In the
same year =Teutonia= was founded by a group of capitalists of Porto
Alegre.[33]

The last period of strictly provincial colonization is marked by the
founding of =Monte Alverne= in 1859 and of =Sao Feliciano= in 1867.

In the most recent period a number of colonies supported by both the
state and central governments have been founded. Of these the following
have been settled largely by Germans; =Guarany=, founded in 1891;
=Ijuhy=,[34] founded in 1891; and =Erechim=, founded in 1909.[35] In
addition, Dr. Hermann Meyer's private colonies of =Xingu= and =Neu
Wuerttemberg= were founded in this period; the former in 1897 and the
latter in 1899.

The German element is very strongly represented in the important cities
of Porto Alegre and Pelotas as well as in the "municipios" of Sao Joao
de Montenegro, Sao Sebastiao do Cahy (now includes Nova Petropolis),
V