Ragamuffin War

The Farrapen Revolution was a military conflict carried out between rebels of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and the Empire of Brazil. The war took place between March 1, 1845 of 19 September 1835.

Reasons for the uprising were economic conflict between Rio Grande do Sul and the rest of Brazil. Main product of the state was Charque, salted dried meat, which was covered with high domestic duties while Charque from Uruguay and Argentina could be imported duty free.

On September 20, 1835 Bento Gonçalves da Silva conquered the capital, Porto Alegre, and thus began an uprising against the perceived unjust trade policies of the central government. The President of Rio Grande do Sul, Antonio Rodrigues Braga, fled to the south to the Rio Grande, while the insurgents Marciano Pereira Ribeiro elected its new President. The Regent Diogo Feijó appointed a new president who had to take office in Rio Grande. General Antônio de Sousa Neto declared on September 11, 1836, the independence of Rio Grande do Sul as a republic with Piratini Gonçalves da Silva nominated as President. Gonçalves da Silva was captured by imperial troops, but could flee in 1837. On May 15, 1836 Porto Alegre again fell into the hands of the central government and could not be recaptured by the rebels.

1839 joined Giuseppe Garibaldi - he should be paid to meet his wife Anita - to the separatists and the uprising spread to the northerly province of Santa Catarina, occupied its capital in Laguna and the short-lived Republic of Juliana was proclaimed. Laguna was already four months later back in the hands of the central government. 1842 adopted the separatists a liberal constitution. In the same year was Luís Alves de Lima e Silva appointed President of Rio Grande do Sul and commander of the troops charged with the suppression of the uprising. He managed to find a negotiated solution.

On March 1, 1845 both parties signed in Dom Pedrito the Treaty of Ponche Verde. In it, the separatists an amnesty takeover in the imperial army, repayment of the debt of the Republic of Piratini and a 25 percent tariff on imported Charque was promised.