This work analyzes the increase and decrease of yerba-matte exports in the Province of Rio Grande do Sul in the second half of the nineteenth century. For this, it was performed a survey in Provincial Presidential Reports, Council Codes of Conduct, provincial laws and yerba-matte export data. The analysis of these documents indicates that, in the beginning of 1850, endogenous and exogenous reasons had contributed to the aforementioned increase. Finally, the paper also suggests the main reasons that had led to a crisis in the last two decades of the nineteenth century
