Its lands, which until than had been inhabited by three native groups —Gê or Tapuia, Pampeano and Guarani— began to be occupied after 1610, a period that also marked the start of a series of conflicts and revolutions that were to last at least three hundred years, until the beginning of the twentieth century.

In the struggle for land, the Indians and the bandits took up arms and became involved in various disputes. With the aim of civilizing and converting the Indians, the Spanish Jesuits gathered together several tribes and created seven townships, the so called Seven Townships of the Missões, in the western part of the state. Nowadays this is a major tourist attraction, with ruins designated by UNESCO as a heritage site. Whilst seven townships were formed in the west, the Portuguese occupied the coastal strip and in 1680 created the colony of Sacramento on the banks of the River Plate, the present day city of Colonia in Uruguay. Organized by the Jesuits, the colony became one of the focuses of border wars that were waged between the Portuguese and the Spanish during the eighteenth century.

In addition to conflicts between the Indians and bandits over the possession of land, and between the Spanish and Portuguese for supremacy of the River Plate basin, other struggles took place in the area now occupied by Rio Grande do Sul. Between 1835 and 1845, the state was the battleground during the Farroupilha Revolution, with separatist ideals uniting the republican liberals against the imperial government. After some years of truce another war began in 1893, the Federalist Revolution between two political factions - on one side the Republican Party, led by Júlio Castilhos, with followers known as "chimangos", presidential supporters who were identified by their use of white handkerchiefs; and on the other side, the liberals and parliamentarians, commanded by Gaspar Silveira Martins, whose symbol was red handkerchiefs. Although it lasted less than two years, this conflict left behind unfinished business that led to the other revolution in 1923. It was only after 1928 that peace came to the state, during the Government of Getúlio Vargas, later to become President of Brazil.

In the midst of the conflicts, waves of immigrants began to arrive in Rio Grand do Sul. First came the Germans who established themselves in the Vale do Rio dos Sinos, close to Porto Alegre, the state capital; then came the Italians who headed towards the mountain ridges and the towns of Caxias do Sul, Flores da Cunha, Bento Gonçalves and Garibaldi where they planted vines and started producing wine.