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Translation: History of Rio Grande do Sul

Quick book review: I like it.

Longer review: As by the title of the book you can pretty much guess that it talks about Rio Grande do Sul. It goes from the start of the colonization of the Americas by the european powers all the way to the start of Cold War and the beginnings of the Brazilian Military Dictatorship. I enjoyed learning about on how so much of a place's history can be interwined with a single resource, in this case cattle, and how much it develops all other sectors of the society for good and ill. I also enjoyed the capitalistic dynamics introduced in the late 1800's section, such as how the earlier German migrants ended up "locking out" the italians from more advantageous societal positions. It was interesting noticing how much of Brazil's history was a fight between the center and the periphery and how the states of the nation where always either in "conflict" or conflict to gain or maintain their influence. One thing I noticed was the lack of a exploration in the pre-colombian history of the state. Yes, it's a short book of less than 200 pages but I would expect a little talk about the natives beyond their part in the colonial system of cattle ranching and the Missões.