Uruguay History
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Early Days:

    Indians were the first people to live in what is now Uruguay.  They gathered wild fruits and seeds and hunted game for food.  The Charrua Indians, the largest group, were a warlike tribe.  In 1516 Juan Diaz de Solis, a Spanish navigator, became the first white person to land in Uruguay.  But when he and part of his crew went ashore, the Charruas killed them. Because Uruguay lacked gold and other riches, the country attracted few other Eurpoeans until the later 1600's.

Colonial Years:

    In 1680, Portuguese soldiers from Brazil established the town of Nova Colonia do Sacromento (now Colonia) on the Rio de la Plata, across from the Spanish settlement of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  Spanish Colonists founded Montevideo in 1726 in an effort to check Portuguese expanision in Uruguay.  Spanish and Portuguese forces battled for control of the region during the 1700's.  By the 1770's, the Spaniards had settled most of Uruguay.  In 1777, they attacked Coloniaand drove the Portuguese out of the country. Uruguay became part of a Spanish colony called the Viceroyalty of La Plata, which also included Argentina, Paraguay, and parts of Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile.  During the colonial period, almost all of Uruguay's Indians were killed in battles with the Europeans, died of European diseases, or fled to the interior of the continent.

Independence:

    During the early 1800's, a soldier named Jose Gervasio Artigas organized an army to fight for independence from Spain.  In 1811, Artigas and his forces laid siege to Montevideo. Just when they had almost defeated the Spaniards, Portuguese troops from Brazil attacked both the Spanish and Uruguayan armies.  Rather than submit to either Spanish or Portuguese rule, Artigas led his forces and thousands of Uruguayans into the countryside of neighboring Paraguay and Argentina, leaving much of Uruguay abandoned.  The Spanish surrendered Montevideo to troops from Buenos Aires in 1814.  This surrender permanently ended Spanish control of Uruguay.  In 1815, Artigas and his forces returned to
capture Montevideo for Uruguay.  But, in 1816, Portuguese troops again attacked the Uruguayans.  After four years of bitter warfare, the Portuguese annexed Uruguay to Brazil and forced Artigas into exile.
    In 1825, a group of Uruguayan patriots called "The Immortal Thirty-Three" revolted against Brazil and renewed the struggle for independence.  Within a few months, their armies held much of the country-side.  Argentina supported the patriots in the war against Brazil.  Britain intervened in the war because a Brazilian blockade of Montevideo and Buenos Aires interfered with British trade.  In 1828, because of the British intervention, Brazil and Argentina recognized Uruguay as an independent republic.  Uruguay adopted its first constitution in 1830.  Jose Fructuoso Rivera, one of the patriot leaders, became the nation's first president.

Civil War:

    Manuel Oribe succeeded Rivera as president in 1835.  But in the next year, Rivera attempted to regain power by leading a revolt against Oribe.  Most of Rivera's followers, known as the Colorados, came from the cities.  Oribe's forces, the Blancos, were mainly rural landowners.  The two groups, which developed into Uruguay's two major political parties, fought for control of Uruguay for 16 years.  Finally, in 1852, the Colorados defeated the Blancos.

Struggles for Power:

    Struggles for power continued during the mid 1800's, as control of the government passed between the Colorados and Blancos. Foreign governments often interfered in Uruguay's affairs by supporting one party or the other in uprisings and rebellions.  In 1865, the Colorados gained control of the government with the help of Brazil.  Paraguay supported the Blancos in an attempt to regain power.  Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina then formed an alliance and fought against Paraguay.  The War of the Triple Alliance ended with the defeat of Paraguay in 1870.  By the end of the war, the Colorados had clearly become the dominant political party, mainly due to the rapid growth of Montevideo as Spanish and Italian immigrants poured into Uruguay.  A series of Colorado leaders headed the government during the late 1800's.  Some of them ruled as dictators.

Reforms in the Early 1900's:

    In 1903, Jose Batlle y Ordonez was elected president of Uruguay.  Batlle believed strongly in democratic priniciples and social justice.  Under his leadership, the ruling Colorado Party passed wide-ranging laws that established free education, minimim wages, and protection of worker's rights, credit to farmers, free medical care for the poor, and other social welfare programs.  The government took control of public utilities and many manufacturing firms, and established national banks and railroads.  Batlle and his successors made Uruguay into a model of democracy, social reform, and economic stability.

National Council Government:

    Uruguay severed diplomatic relations with Germany, Italy, and Japan in 1942 and declared war on the Axis nations three years later.  But no Uruguayan troops fought in World War II.  Uruguay's exports of meat and wool soared during the war, helping to finance a number of new social programs.  Uruguay became a charter member of the United Nations in 1945.
     In 1951, Uruguay ratified a new constitution that abolished the presidency and established a nine-member National Council of Government.  The council allowed the Colorado and Blanco parties to share power.  Uruguay's economy began to decline during the early 1950's.  Foreign trade decreased due to a loss of markets for agricultural exports, while the cost of the country's social programs rose rapidly.  Inflation became a serious problem.  The National Council proved inefficient in dealing with these troubles.  A new constitution re-established a presidentail government in 1967.

Military Government:

    Economic problems began to worsen and caused a widespread unrest in Uruguay during the late
1960's and early 1970's.  Antigovernment terrorist groups became active.  The Tupamaros carried out kidnappings and murders of Uruguayan and foreign officials. Terrorist violence increased after Juan Maria Bordaberry became president in 1972.  He declared a state of war against the Tupamaros, and the guerrilla movement was crushed within a few months.  In 1973, in response to growing public unrest and economic problems, military leaders took control of the government and forced President Bordaberry to dissolve the national legislature.  They suspended the Constitution and formed a Council of State to rule Uruguay by decree.  Bordaberry was a member of the council, but the military completely dominated the government.  The military leaders removed Bordaberry from office in 1976 and named Aparicio Mendez to the presidency.  General Gregorio Alvarez succeeded Mendez in 1981.
     Thousands of Uruguayans participated in antigovernment protests during the early 1980's.
Negotiations between the military and political parties led to democratic elections in 1984
and a return to civilian government.