In a span of less than ten years—1807 to 1816—the Banda Oriental and its capital city of Montevideo were occupied by the English, retaken by the Spanish, and invaded by the Portuguese.
In 1816, Portuguese Brazil took Banda Oriental from the north, ousting the province's hero José Gervasio Artigas in 1820 and forcing him into exile in Paraguay.
In 1825 a group of exiled Uruguayan fighters called the 33 Orientals returned from Buenos Aires.
The 33 Orientals secretly crossed the Plata River, landing on the Eastern Bank on 19 April.
There they planted what would be known as the flag of the 33 Orientals and took an oath to kick the Brazilian government out of Uruguay.