The Uruguayan Civil War , also known in Spanish as the Guerra Grande ("Great War"), was a series of armed conflicts between the leaders of Uruguayan independence. While officially the war lasted from 1839 until 1851, it was a part of armed conflicts that started in 1832 and continued until the final military defeat of the Blancos faction in 1904.
26-455: Guerra Grande can refer to: Uruguayan Civil War from 1839 to 1851 Paraguayan War from 1864 to 1870 Ten Years' War in Cuba, from 1868 to 1878 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Guerra Grande . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
52-742: A new force with the support of Buenos Aires strongman Juan Manuel de Rosas and in March 1834 invaded Uruguay, only to be defeated by Rivera once again. On March 1, 1835, Manuel Oribe, another of the Thirty-Three Orientals, was elected as the second President of Uruguay while Rivera remained as the commander of Army. Oribe pursued his own policies and in January 1836 removed Rivera from the command and gave amnesty to his old comrade Lavalleja. On July 16, 1836, Rivera rebelled against Oribe. To distinguish his soldiers, Oribe ordered them to wear
78-533: A term from 6 November 1830 until 24 October 1834. Rivera then supported General Manuel Oribe as his successor to presidency. Once again, Rivera become involved in conflict with Lavalleja and also with Oribe. In October 1838 Rivera defeated Oribe and forced him to flee into exile to Buenos Aires. During this conflict the political division between Colorados and Blancos began, as Rivera's supporters wore red armbands, but Oribe's wore white. Later these factions formed their political parties. Rivera assumed Presidency for
104-478: A white armband. Rivera then ordered his supporters to wear blue, but as it quickly faded, they started using red armbands. Out of these military distinction marks quickly emerged the conservative Blancos ("Whites") and the liberal Colorados ("Reds"). The Colorados were led by Fructuoso Rivera and represented the business interests of Montevideo ; the Blancos were headed by Manuel Oribe , who looked after
130-534: The Battle of Sarandí . Due to arguments with other leaders, Rivera left the country for a year and did not participate in the Battle of Ituzaingó in 1827. After Uruguayan independence was proclaimed in 1828 as a result of the Treaty of Montevideo , arguments between Rivera and Lavalleja turned into fighting, and Argentine general José Rondeau became the first provisional Governor. Rivera finally assumed Presidency for
156-585: The Blancos under Manuel Oribe and the Colorados under Fructuoso Rivera fought the Battle of Arroyo Grande . Rivera's forces were utterly defeated, and Oribe laid siege to Montevideo. With the destruction of the Uruguayan army at the battle of Arroyo Grande, it was assumed that the country's capital, Montevideo, would fall to the combined forces of the Buenos Aires governor Juan Manuel de Rosas and
182-731: The Colorado Party and the National Party , both of which received backing and support from foreign sources, including neighboring Empire of Brazil , the Argentine Confederation , Buenos Aires Province as well as European powers, primarily the British Empire and the Kingdom of France , but also a legion of Italian volunteers including Giuseppe Garibaldi . The great diversity of nationalities among
208-638: The Laguna Merin and the Rio Yaguaron , the natural border between both countries. Both parties were weary of the chaos. In 1870, they came to an agreement to define spheres of influence: the Colorados would control Montevideo and the coastal region, the Blancos would rule the hinterland with its agricultural estates. In addition, the Blancos were paid half a million dollars to compensate them for
234-603: The Rio Uruguay and its tributaries and exempted cattle and salted meat exports from taxes. The Uruguayan cattle industry was devastated by the war. The treaty also acknowledged Uruguay's debt to Brazil for its aid against the Blancos and Brazil's commitment for granting an additional loan. Uruguay renounced its territorial claims north of the Río Cuareim , thereby reducing its area to about 176,000 square kilometers, and recognized Brazil's exclusive right of navigation in
260-774: The Abrazo del Monzón (Embrace of the Monsoon). In the same year, the Thirty-Three Orientals led by Juan Lavalleja and their Argentine supporters, began their fight against the Empire of Brazil , Rivera joined the Argentinians. It's not clear if he joined voluntarily or was forced to join. He soon became an important military commander during the Cisplatine War and participated in the Battle of Rincón and
286-729: The French and British forces intervened in the region to ensure free navigation along the Rio Parana and Rio Uruguay . However, in 1850, both the French and British withdrew after signing a treaty which represented a triumph for Juan Manuel de Rosas and his Federal Party in Argentina. After the withdrawal of British and French troops, it appeared that Montevideo would fall to Juan Manuel de Rosas and Oribe. However, an uprising against de Rosas led by fellow Federalist Justo José de Urquiza , governor of Argentina's Entre Ríos Province , with
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#1732758361000312-408: The agricultural interests of the countryside and promoted protectionism. In order to support Oribe, Lavalleja organized an army in Argentina and moved against Rivera, who was helped by Argentine Unitarians led by General Juan Lavalle . On September 19, 1836, Rivera was defeated at the Battle of Carpintería and fled to Brazil, where his troops joined the newly proclaimed Riograndense Republic . With
338-669: The assistance of a small Uruguayan force, changed the situation completely. Manuel Oribe was defeated in 1851, leaving the Colorados in full control of the country. Brazil followed up by intervening in Uruguay in May 1851, supporting the Colorados with financial and naval forces. This led to the Platine War with Rosas in August 1851. In February 1852, after being defeated at Caseros , Rosas resigned and Urquiza's pro- Colorado forces lifted
364-654: The city by allowing it to receive supplies. First, the British and French naval forces temporarily blockaded the port of Buenos Aires during December 1845. Then, the French and British fleets protected Montevideo from the sea. French, Spanish and Italian legionnaires, led by Giuseppe Garibaldi , teamed up with the Colorados in defending the city. Also in 1846, the 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot, sent by Britain, arrived in Montevideo and defended it for seven months against besieging Argentine troops. Historians believe that
390-528: The country. In 1847 Rivera was forced to leave for exile in Brazil, where he stayed until 1853. After President Juan Francisco Giró was overthrown, a ruling triumvirate was created on 25 September 1853 consisting of Venancio Flores , Juan Antonio Lavalleja and Rivera. However, Lavalleja died on 22 October and Rivera died on 13 January 1854 en route to Montevideo, leaving only Flores in power. Rivera's legacy in Uruguayan political history, and particularly among
416-622: The former Uruguayan president Manuel Oribe. However, Oribe's siege of Montevideo lasted for nine years. The newly freed slaves, who formed a contingent 5,000 strong, and the community of foreign exiles were mostly responsible for the defense of the city. By 1843 Montevideo's population of thirty thousand inhabitants was highly cosmopolitan with Uruguayans making up only a third of it. The remaining were chiefly Italian (4205), Spanish (3406), Argentine (2,553), Portuguese (659), English (606) and Brazilians (492). During this time Uruguay had two parallel governments: The British Empire eventually saved
442-827: The help of this republic Rivera invaded Uruguay in 1837 and on October 22 defeated Oribe's forces at the Battle of Yucutujá and completely crushed Oribe on June 15, 1838 Battle of Palmar . In 1838, France had started a naval blockade of Buenos Aires port in support of their allies the Peru–Bolivian Confederation who were involved in the War of the Confederation with the Argentine Confederation and Chile . Unable to deploy land troops, France looked for allied forces to fight Buenos Aires strongman Juan Manuel de Rosas on their behalf. For this purpose they supported Fructuoso Rivera and helped him to defeat Oribe, who
468-466: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guerra_Grande&oldid=932857745 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Uruguayan Civil War Supporters of the two opposing presidents Rivera and Oribe formed two political parties:
494-614: The loss of their stake in Montevideo. But the caudillo mentality was difficult to erase from Uruguay and political feuding continued culminating in the Revolution of the Lances ( Revolución de las Lanzas ) (1870–1872), and later with the uprising of Aparicio Saravia . French author Alexandre Dumas , in his novel The New Troy , described Oribe's siege of Montevideo as a new Trojan war . Fructuoso Rivera José Fructuoso Rivera y Toscana (17 October 1784 – 13 January 1854)
520-640: The military forces supporting the Colorado Party posed difficulties in arguing for their struggle in terms of a "national liberation"; instead, the Colorado Party side argued that they were defending "humanity" and "civilization" against "tyranny". After the proclamation of Uruguayan Independence in 1828 a conflict for primacy arose between the leader of the Thirty-Three Orientals Juan Lavalleja and veteran military commander Fructuoso Rivera , who on November 6, 1830,
546-609: The native Charrúa during the 1831 Massacre of Salsipuedes . Rivera was a rancher who joined the army of José Gervasio Artigas in 1810. Eventually he rose to the rank of general. When Banda Oriental was occupied by the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves and the defeated Artigas forced into exile in 1820, Rivera stayed in the newly created Cisplatina province. Rivera first met with Juan Antonio Lavalleja in 1825, during an event that would become known as
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#1732758361000572-537: The second time between 1 March 1839 and 1 March 1843. Oribe, with the support of Buenos Aires strongman Juan Manuel de Rosas , organized a new army and invaded Uruguay, thus starting the Uruguayan Civil War . In December 1842 Oribe defeated Rivera at the Battle of Arroyo Grande and started the Great Siege of Montevideo . Rivera's power was limited to the capital city, while Oribe ruled the rest of
598-502: The siege of Montevideo. The government of Montevideo rewarded Brazil's financial and military support at the final stages of the war by signing five treaties in 1851 that provided for perpetual alliance between the two countries. Brazil was required to extradite runaway slaves and criminals from Uruguay. In fact, during the war, both the Blancos and the Colorados had abolished slavery in Uruguay to reinforce their respective military forces. The treaties also allowed joint navigation on
624-411: Was an Uruguayan general and patriot who fought for the liberation of Banda Oriental from Brazilian rule, thrice served as President of Uruguay and was one of the instigators of the long Uruguayan Civil War . He is also considered to be the founder of the Colorado Party , which ruled Uruguay without interruption from 1865 until 1958. He made a controversial decision to almost completely eliminate
650-469: Was chosen as the first President of Uruguay. In June 1832 Lavalleja's supporters attempted to kill Rivera and on July 3 the Montevideo garrison revolted, calling for Lavalleja to be made Commander-in-Chief. Rivera, with the help of Argentine Unitarians defeated Lavalleja on September 18, 1832, at Tupambaé , forcing Lavalleja to flee to the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul . There Lavalleja organized
676-421: Was on good terms with Rosas. On October 24, 1838, Oribe resigned and fled to Buenos Aires, and Rivera assumed power. Rosas did not recognize Rivera as a legitimate President, and sought to restore Oribe to power. Rivera and Juan Lavalle prepared troops to attack Buenos Aires. At this point, both the British and French troops intervened, transforming the conflict into an international war. On December 6, 1842,
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