 With the first permanent Portuguese settlement in the region, livestock was introduced and began to spread far and wide over the territory.With the new settlers, the Portuguese decided to make a church-sanctioned settlement and, in 1736, created the Freguesia de São Pedro which covered what is today all of Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul.The city of Rio Grande was founded in 1737 by Brigadier General José da Silva Pais and his men to defend Portugal's territory.