History of Uruguay

The first permanent settlement on the territory of present-day Uruguay was founded by Spanish Jesuits in 1624 at Villa Soriano on the Río Negro, where they tried to establish a Misiones Orientales system for the Charrúas.

[3] Uruguay's early 19th-century history was shaped by an ongoing conflict between the British, Spanish, Portuguese, and local colonial forces for dominance of the La Plata Basin.

During the Second Banda Oriental campaign in 1813, Artigas joined José Rondeau's army from Buenos Aires and started the second siege of Montevideo, resulting in its surrender to Río de la Plata.

Uruguay also renounced its territorial claims north of the Río Cuareim, thereby reducing its area to about 176,000 square kilometers (68,000 sq mi) and recognized Brazil's exclusive right of navigation in the Laguna Merin and the Rio Yaguaron, the natural border between the countries.

[11] In 1865, the Treaty of the Triple Alliance was signed by the Emperor of Brazil, the President of Argentina, and the Colorado general Venancio Flores, the Uruguayan head of government whom they had both helped to gain power.

The National Army obtained a monopoly on Mauser and Remington rifles, which allowed it to have supremacy against any uprising, while also serving as a deterrent method for seditionists.In addition, the Rural Police was created to prevent livestock theft and rustling.

[23] To guarantee private property, the Rural Code was also drafted, which provided for the mandatory fencing of fields, and the Oficina de Marcas y Señales (Spanish for 'Trademark and Signals Office') was created to keep track of livestock and their owner.

[28] The railways converged in Montevideo, which made it possible to transport raw materials and manufactured products to the country's main port, as well as enabling the faster movement of troops to any part of the territory in the event of an armed uprising.

Thus, the governors of the departments of Cerro Largo, Treinta y Tres, Rivera, Maldonado, Flores and San José would be appointed by the Honorable Board, the National Party's central body.

The Blancos feared loss of their power if a proportional election system was introduced and started their last revolution in 1904 —led by Aparicio Saravia— which ended with the Colorado victory at the Battle of Masoller.

[54] The Batlle era saw the introduction of various reforms[55][56][57][58][59] such as new rights for working people,[60] the encouragement of colonization,[61] universal male suffrage, the nationalization of foreign-owned companies, the creation of a modern social welfare system.

[62] Loans and seeds were provided to poor farmers, and agricultural colonies were established,[63] while Montevideo also underwent a great deal and social and economic development during these years.

The United Kingdom decided at the British Empire Economic Conference to freeze import volumes from Uruguay, and international meat prices decreased drastically.

[79] In rejection of the agreement in the council, the leader of the opposition National Party, Luis Alberto de Herrera joined President Terra in the campaign to carry out a constitutional reform.

[80] On 30 March, a manifesto by Colorado Batllista politicians opposed to the constitutional reform bill was published in the El Día newspaper, and in response, Terra decreed some extraordinary measures that were annulled by the General Assembly hours later.

[88] In foreign policy, Terra's regime broke diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1935 and recognized the National Defense Junta of Spain led by Francisco Franco in 1936.

[89] During his administration, the construction of the Rincón del Bonete hydroelectric dam was ordered to a consortium of German companies, which transferred its own technicians to the country, who settled in a town in the rural area.

[91] However, as the months passed, the Uruguayan government began to take a position in favor of the Allies and US directives, which meant a radical change in foreign policy with respect to that of Gabriel Terra.

[92] On 13 December 1939, the Battle of the River Plate was fought a day's sailing northeast of Uruguay between three British cruisers and the German "pocket battleship" Admiral Graf Spee.

With the escalation of the war, a parliamentary commission was established to investigate German and Italian cultural and sports organizations, which were presumed to be used to cover up Nazi-fascist activities infiltrated in the country.

The Herrerism sector led by Luis Alberto de Herrera, which had agreed to the 1934 Constitution, was opposed to the reform bill, and after not supporting the president's candidate for speaker of the Chamber of Representatives, Baldomir replaced three Herrerista ministers.

[119] Additionally, the far-left guerrilla group National Liberation Movement – Tupamaros, emerged and commenced operations involving weapons theft, bombings targeting government officials and military officers, and kidnappings.

[122] Additionally, the activity of the far-left guerrilla group Tupamaros intensified, led by Raúl Sendic Antonaccio, who, years earlier, had organized the sugarcane workers' marches from Bella Unión to Montevideo.

[27] In the early 1970s, the group began carrying out more assassinations and kidnappings, including that of the British ambassador to Uruguay, Geoffrey Jackson,[124] and Dan Mitrione, a CIA agent who collaborated with the National Police.

President Lacalle executed major economic structural reforms and pursued further liberalization of trade regimes, including Uruguay's inclusion in the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) in 1991.

The economy grew steadily for most of Sanguinetti's term until low commodity prices and economic difficulties in its main export markets caused a recession in 1999, which continued into 2002.

The social safety net that had once made Uruguay a model welfare state was badly frayed, and government, from garbage collection to mass transport, no longer worked well.

The Frente Amplio promised to tackle these problems, creating a municipal government that was efficient, efficacious and responsive, services that were modern and affordable, and a city whose financial burdens and economic benefits were more equitably distributed.

[135] The newly elected government, while pledging to continue payments on Uruguay's external debt, also promised to undertake a crash jobs programs to attack the widespread problems of poverty and unemployment.

[139] A number of other reforms were carried out during the Broad Front's time in office in areas like social security,[140] taxation,[141] education,[142] housing,[143] tobacco control,[144] and worker's rights.