Rio Grande do Sul was a Bahia-class cruiser built for the Brazilian Navy in 1909–10.

Rio Grande do Sul was part of a large 1904 naval building program by Brazil.

[6][7] With a design that borrowed heavily from the British Adventure-class scout cruisers,[1] Rio Grande do Sul's keel was laid in 1907 in Armstrong Whitworth's Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne yard.

[1] Construction took about a year and a half, and she was launched on 20 April 1909 with Madame A. M. Gomez Ferraz being the sponsor on behalf of Her Excellency Senhora Dr. Carlos Barbosa.

[8] As a class, Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul were the fastest cruisers in the world when they were commissioned,[1] and the first in the Brazilian Navy to utilize steam turbines for propulsion.