The state colony =Santa Izabel= was founded in 1847. The first settlers
were composed chiefly of Rhenish Prussians.
=Santa Leopoldina=, another state colony, was founded in 1857. A
suggestion as to the origin of the first settlers is offered by the
names of the different districts into which the colony was first
divided; _viz._; Schweiz, Sachsen, Pommern, Rheinland, Tirol and
Holland.
The two above-mentioned are the most northern of the important German
colonies in Brazil to-day.
RIO DE JANEIRO (Federal District).
=Nova Friburgo=, the oldest state colony in Brazil, was founded in 1819.
The first settlers were Swiss, but since Germans immediately followed
them and formed the larger part of the subsequent influx, Nova Friburgo
is properly classed as a German colony.
=Petropolis= was made a state colony in 1845. In reality it had its
origin as a German colony in 1838. The first settlers were German
emigrants originally bound not for Brazil but for Sydney, Australia. On
account of the bad treatment they received on the French sailing vessel
"Justine" they revolted and compelled the captain to land them at Rio de
Janeiro on December 2d, 1837. Here the Brazilian Imperial Government
assisted them and at the suggestion of Major Julius Friedrich
Koehler[12] gave them employment on the construction of the Serra road
between Estrella, located a short distance above Rio, and Parahyba do
Sul, located near the border between the Federal District and Minas
Geraes. They formed their settlement at what later became Petropolis. On
account of the satisfaction which the government found in these
immigrants it turned the settlement into a state colony in 1845, as
above mentioned.
As in the case of Santa Leopolidina, the origin of individual groups of
colonists to Petropolis is indicated by the names of some of the
sections into which the colony was divided, _viz.,_ Bingen, Ingelheim,
Moselthal, Nassau, Westphalen, Unteres-Rheinthal, Mittleres-Rheinthal,
Simmern, Castellaunerthal, Untere Pfalz, Obere Pfalz, Oberes Rheinthal,
Wöstädterthal, Schweizerthal, Wormserthal, Darmstädterthal, etc.
Since 1850 there has been but little German immigration into the
Petropolis colony. On the other hand, this particular colony has been a
rich source for indirect German immigration into the more southern
states.
Among the recent state colonies of Rio de Janeiro that of =Visconde de
Mauá= is largely populated by Germans.[13]