The Portuguese garrison was expelled in February 1724 by a Spanish soldier, Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst the Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region.

Montevideo is the seat of the administrative headquarters of Mercosur and ALADI, Latin America's leading trade blocs, a position that entailed comparisons to the role of Brussels in Europe.

[34] A few years after its foundation, Montevideo became the main city of the region north of the Río de la Plata and east of the Uruguay River, competing with Buenos Aires for dominance in maritime commerce.

[citation needed] In 1776, Spain made Montevideo its main naval base (Real Apostadero de Marina) for the South Atlantic, with authority over the Argentine coast, Fernando Po, and the Falklands.

[40] Uruguay's 1830s were dominated by the confrontation between Manuel Oribe and Fructuoso Rivera, the two revolutionary leaders who had fought against the Empire of Brazil under the command of Lavalleja, each of whom had become the caudillo of their respective faction.

[47] During World War II, a famous incident involving the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee took place in Punta del Este, 200 kilometers (120 mi) from Montevideo.

During this season, there are bursts of icy and relatively dry winds of continental polar air masses, giving an unpleasant chilly feeling to the everyday life of the city, with daytime temperatures around or below 8 °C (46 °F) and possible night frosts.

[64] Source 3: Weather Atlas(daylight-UV)[68] As of 2010[update], the city of Montevideo has been divided into 8 political municipalities (Municipios), referred to with letters from A to G, including CH, each presided over by a mayor elected by the citizens registered in the constituency.

The Towers Square, is an area of remarkable aesthetic design, intended to be a platform for the development of business activities, art exhibitions, dance and music performances and social places.

It contains many colonial buildings and national heritage sites, but also many banks, administrative offices, museums, art galleries, cultural institutions, restaurants and nightclubs, making it vibrant with life.

[83] The barrio of Parque Battle includes four former districts: Belgrano, Italiano, Villa Dolores and Batlle Park itself and borders the neighborhoods of La Blanqueada, Tres Cruces, Pocitos and Buceo.

The work of sculptor José Luis Zorrilla de San Martín (1891–1975), it is a three-sided granite obelisk, 40 meters (130 ft) tall, with bronze statues on its three sides, representing "Law", "Liberty", and "Force", respectively.

[100] The first set of subsidiary forts was planned by the Portuguese at Montevideo in 1701 to establish a front-line base to stop frequent insurrections by the Spaniards emanating from Buenos Aires.

[109] In the course of the 20th century the city continued to receive large numbers of European immigrants, especially Spanish and Italian, followed by Portuguese Brazilians, French, Germans, English, Irish, Swiss, Austrians, Poles, Dutch, Greek, Hungarians, Russians, Croats, Lebanese, Armenians, and Jews of various origins.

The city government of Montevideo performs several functions, including maintaining communications with the public, promoting culture, organizing society, caring for the environment and regulating traffic.

The Junta, composed of 31 unsalaried elected members, is responsible for such things as the freedom of the citizens, the regulation of cultural activities, the naming of streets and public places, and the placement of monuments; it also responds to proposals of the Intendant in various circumstances.

[117] In recent years Montevideo nightlife has moved to Parque Rodó, where a large concentration of buildings cater for the recreational interests of young people during the night time.

In 1900, the city had a remarkable group of writers, including José Enrique Rodó, Carlos Vaz Ferreira, Julio Herrera y Reissig, Delmira Agustini and Felisberto Hernández.

[132] Among the outstanding authors of Montevideo of the second half of the 20th century are Juan Carlos Onetti, Antonio Larreta, Eduardo Galeano, Marosa di Giorgio and Cristina Peri Rossi.

[145] The Museo de Historia del Arte, located in the Palacio Municipal, features replicas of ancient monuments and exhibits a varied collection of artifacts from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Greece, Rome and Native American cultures including local finds of the pre-Columbian period.

Officially, the public holiday lasts for two days on Carnival Monday and Shrove Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday, but due to the prominence of the festival, most shops and businesses close for the entire week.

Besides Estadio Centenario, other stadiums include Gran Parque Central, Estadio Campeón del Siglo, Belvedere, Complejo Rentistas, Jardines del Hipódromo, José Pedro Damiani, "La Bombonera", Luis Franzini, Luis Tróccoli and the park stadiums of Abraham Paladino, Alfredo Víctor Viera, Omar Saroldi, José Nasazzi, Osvaldo Roberto, Maracaná and Palermo.

The Uruguayan Basketball League is headquartered in Montevideo and most of its teams are from the city, including Defensor Sporting, Biguá, Atlético Aguada, Goes, Malvín, Unión Atlética [es], and Trouville.

The Golf Club of Punta Carretas was founded in 1894 covers all the area encircled by the west side of Bulevar Artigas, the Rambla (Montevideo's promenade) and the Parque Rodó (Fun Fair).

The new archdiocese became the Metropolitan of the suffragan sees of Canelones, Florida, Maldonado–Punta del Este, Melo, Mercedes, Minas, Salto, San José de Mayo, Tacuarembó.

The city has received a US$20 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to modernize the port, increase its size and efficiency, and enable lower maritime and river transportation costs.

[162] The most important state-owned companies headquartered in Montevideo are: AFE (railways),[163] ANCAP (Energy),[164] Administracion Nacional de Puertos (Ports), ANTEL (telecommunications),[165] BHU (savings and loan),[166] BROU (bank),[167] BSE (insurance),[168] OSE (water & sewage),[169] UTE (electricity).

The city has become the principal center of business and real estate, including many expensive buildings and modern towers for residences and offices, surrounded by extensive green spaces.

Montevideo is served by the Carrasco International Airport (IATA: MVD, ICAO: SUMU), which is located in the north of Ciudad de la Costa, in Canelones Department, 19 km (12 mi) from the city center.

[209][210] The Christian Brothers of Ireland Stella Maris College is a private, co-educational, not-for-profit Catholic school located in the wealthy residential southeastern neighborhood of Carrasco.