developed into large cities, such as Blumenau and Joinville, the largest city in Santa Catarina. Considerable numbers of immigrants from Germany arrived at Paraná during the civil war, most of them coming from Santa Catarina; others were Volga Germans from Russia. Ragamuffin War The Ragamuffin War was a Republican uprising that began in Southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina) in 1835. The rebels, led by generals Bento Gonçalves da Silva and Antônio de Souza Netto with the support of the Italian warrior Giuseppe Garibaldi, surrendered to imperial forces in 1845. This conflict occurred because in Rio Grande do Sul, the state's main product, the charque (dried and salted beef), suffered stiff competition from charque from Uruguay and Argentina. The imports had free access to the Brazilian market while gaúchos had to pay high taxes to sell their product inside Brazil. The Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi joined the rebels in 1839. With his help the revolution spread through Santa Catarina, in the northern border of Rio Grande do Sul. After many conflicts, in 1845 peace negotiations ended the war. Italian settlement Italian immigrants started arriving in Brazil in 1875. They were mostly peasants from the Veneto in Northern Italy (but also from Trentino and Lombardia) attracted to Southern Brazil for economic opportunities and the chance to acquire their own lands. Most of the immigrants worked as small farmers, mainly cultivating grapes in the Serra Gaúcha. Italian immigration to the region lasted until 1914, with a total of 100,000 Italians settling in Rio Grande do Sul in this period, and many others in Santa Catarina and Paraná. In 1898, there were a total of 300,000 people of Italian origin in Rio Grande do Sul; 50,000 in Santa Catarina; and 30,000 in Paraná. Today their Southern Brazilian descendants number 9.7 million and comprise 35.9% of Southern Brazil's population. Demographics As noted, the region received numerous European immigrants during the 19th century, who have had a large influence on its demography and culture. The main ethnic origins of Southern Brazil are Portuguese, Italian, German, Austrian, Luxembourger, Polish, Ukrainian, Spanish, Dutch and Russian. Smaller numbers that follow are French, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Black, Swiss, Croat, Lebanese, Lithuanian and Latvian, Japanese, Finnish and Estonian, Belarusian, Slovene, Ashkenazi Jew, Caboclo, British, Czech, Slovak, Belgian and Hungarian Racial composition Climate Southern Brazil has subtropical or temperate climate. The annual average temperatures vary between 12 °C