Santa Catarina in the Late 19th Century

David Canabarro remained in the presidency until 1846, when he convened the first presidential elections, the first elections occurred on July 24 as a tribute to the control of Laguna, which was 7 years at the time. The Liberal Party of Santa Catarina won, with its candidate Diego Araujo. He encouraged immigrants to come to Santa Catarina, making the population grow, as well as the economy, using liberal policies. Immigrants brought their riches and culture, liberal policies brought investors, it was soon possible to see industries and railroads being built, there were already railroads linking from Laguna to Joinville.

In 1860, gigantic coal and mineral reserves were discovered in the west and south of Santa Catarina, this accelerated industrialization with English support. Santa Catarina needed war and naval industries, England, in exchange for coal and minerals the English built with the Santa Catarina shipyards in four locations, Laguna, Joinville, Desterro and São Francisco do Sul. After the opening of the first shipyards, the construction of ships were initiated. The British also helped with the equipment for the Army. With all these advances, the population of Santa Catarina in 1875 reached 750 thousand inhabitants, one of the largest in Latin America.