Editing History of Uruguay (section)

==The "Guerra Grande", 1839–1852==
{{Main|Uruguayan Civil War}}
[[File:Juan Manuel Blanes - Retrato del General Fructuoso Rivera.png|thumb|Fructuoso Rivera]]
[[File:Joaquín Suárez - Montevideo.jpg|thumbnail|right|Joaquín Suárez monument in Montevideo]]
Soon after achieving independence, the political scene in Uruguay became split between two new parties, both splinters of the former Thirty-Three: the conservative [[National Party (Uruguay)|Blancos]] ("Whites") and the liberal [[Colorado Party (Uruguay)|Colorados]] ("Reds"). The Colorados were led by the first President [[Fructuoso Rivera]] and represented the business interests of Montevideo; the Blancos were headed by the second President [[Manuel Oribe]], who looked after the agricultural interests of the countryside and promoted protectionism.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

Both parties took their informal names from the color of the armbands that their supporters wore. Initially, the Colorados wore blue, but, when it faded in the sun, they replaced it with red. The parties became associated with warring political factions in neighboring Argentina. The Colorados favored the exiled Argentinian liberal [[Unitarian Party|Unitarios]], many of whom had taken refuge in Montevideo, while the Blanco president [[Manuel Oribe]] was a close friend of the Argentine ruler [[Juan Manuel de Rosas]].{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

Oribe took Rosas's side when the French navy blockaded Buenos Aires in 1838. This led the Colorados and the exiled Unitarios to seek French backing against Oribe, and, on 15 June 1838, an army, led by the Colorado leader Rivera, overthrew Oribe who fled to Argentina. The Argentinian Unitarios then formed a government-in-exile in Montevideo, and, with secret French encouragement, Rivera declared war on Rosas in 1839. The conflict would last 13 years and become known as the ''Guerra Grande'' (the Great War).{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

In 1840, an army of exiled Unitarios attempted to invade northern Argentina from Uruguay but had little success. In 1842, the Argentinian army overran Uruguay on Oribe's behalf. They seized most of the country but failed to take the capital. The [[Great Siege of Montevideo]], which began in February 1843, lasted nine years. The besieged Uruguayans called on resident foreigners for help. French and Italian legions were formed. The latter was led by the exiled [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], who was working as a mathematics teacher in Montevideo when the war broke out. Garibaldi was also made head of the Uruguayan navy.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

During this siege, Uruguay had two parallel governments:
* [[Gobierno de la Defensa]] in Montevideo, led by [[Joaquín Suárez]] (1843–1852).{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}
* [[Gobierno del Cerrito]] (with headquarters at [[Cerrito de la Victoria]] neighborhood), ruling the rest of the country, led by [[Manuel Oribe]] (1843–1851).{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

The Argentinian blockade of Montevideo was ineffective as Rosas generally tried not to interfere with international shipping on the River Plate, but, in 1845, when access to Paraguay was blocked, Great Britain and France allied against Rosas, seized his fleet, and began a blockade of Buenos Aires, while Brazil joined in the war against Argentina. Rosas reached peace deals with Great Britain and France in 1849 and 1850, respectively. The French agreed to withdraw their legion if Rosas evacuated Argentinian troops from Uruguay. Oribe still maintained a loose siege of the capital. In 1851, the Argentinian provincial strongman [[Justo José de Urquiza]] turned against Rosas and signed a pact with the exiled Unitarios, the Uruguayan Colorados, and Brazil against him. Urquiza crossed into Uruguay, defeated Oribe, and lifted the siege of Montevideo. He then overthrew Rosas at the [[Battle of Caseros]] on 3 February 1852. With Rosas's defeat and exile, the "Guerra Grande" finally came to an end. Slavery was officially abolished in 1852.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} A ruling triumvirate consisting of Rivera, Lavalleja, and [[Venancio Flores]] was established, but Lavalleja died in 1853, Rivera in 1854, and Flores was overthrown in 1855.<ref>Burford, p. 18.</ref>

===Foreign relations===
The government of Montevideo rewarded Brazil's financial and military support by signing five treaties in 1851 that provided for a perpetual alliance between the two countries. Montevideo confirmed Brazil's right to intervene in Uruguay's internal affairs. Uruguay also renounced its territorial claims north of the [[Río Cuareim]], thereby reducing its area to about {{convert|176000|km2|sqmi|sp=us}} and recognized Brazil's exclusive right of navigation in the [[Laguna Merin]] and the [[Rio Yaguaron]], the natural border between the countries.<ref>Handelmann, Heinrich, and Lucia Furquim Lahmeyer. Historia do Brasil / por Henrique Handelmann [traducção brasileira feita pelo Instituto historico e geographico brasileiro]. Translated by Lucia Furquim Lahmeyer. Rio de Janeiro: Imprensa nacional, 1931.</ref>

In accordance with the 1851 treaties, Brazil intervened militarily in Uruguay as often as it deemed necessary.<ref name="loc-7">{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/uruguay/7.htm |title=The Struggle for Survival, 1852–1875 (Chapter 7) |work=Uruguay: A Country Study |editor1=Rex A. Hudson |editor2=Sandra W. Meditz |year=1990 |publisher=Library of Congress Country Studies |location=Washington DC |access-date=23 February 2011}}</ref> 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 Triple Alliance was created to wage a war against the Paraguayan leader [[Francisco Solano López]].<ref name="loc-7" /> The resulting [[Paraguayan War]] ended with the invasion of Paraguay and its defeat by the armies of the three countries. Montevideo, which was used as a supply station by the Brazilian navy, experienced a period of prosperity and relative calm during this war.<ref name="loc-7" />