Uruguay Timeline
Uruguay is a small country on the southeastern coast of South America. Most Uruguayans descended from Spanish and Italian settlers. Indians were the original inhabitants of the region, but most of them were killed by the settlers or the diseases brought by the Europeans.
1516 Juan Diaz de Solis became the first European to land in Uruguay. He and his crew were killed by the Charrua.
1500s Spanish colonists began to arrive in Uruguay. Because Uruguay lacked gold and other riches, it was not a favorite place to settle in South America.
1600s-1700s Spanish settlers colonized Uruguay.
1680 Portuguese settlers from Brazil established Nova Colonia do Sacramento.
1700s By this time period most of the Indian population had disappeared
1726 Montevideo was founded by the Spanish. They wanted to stop the Portuguese expansion in Uruguay.
1770s Spanish settlers had colonized most of Uruguay.
1777 Spanish colonists attacked Colonia to drive out the Portuguese.
Early 1800s Jose Gervasio Artigas organized an army to fight for independence from Spain.
1811 Artigas laid siege to Montevideo. Just when the Spaniards were almost defeated, Portuguese troops from Brazil attacked both Uruguayan and Spanish forces. Artigas led his forces into the countryside of Paraguay and Argentina rather than to submit to Spanish or Portuguese forces.
1814 Montevideo surrendered ending the control of Spain over Uruguay.
1815 Arigas returned to Montevideo to recapture it for Uruguay.
1816 Portuguese troops attack Uruguayans.
1820 Brazil annexed Uruguay. The fighting ended and Aritgas was forced into exile.
1825 "The Immortal Thirty-Three," a group of Uruguayan patriots revolted against Brazil. Argentina supported the patriots in their fight against Brazil.
1828 The British intervened in the conflict between Uruguay and Brazil, because it interfered with their trade.
1828 Uruguay became an independent nation
1830 Uruguay adopted its first constitution. Jose Fructuoso Rivera was named the first president.
1800s-Early 1900s Italian immigrants began to settle in Uruguay.
1835 Manuel Oribe succeeded Rivera as president.
1836 Rivera attempted to regain power by staging a revolt against Oribe. Rivera's followers were called the Colorados and Oribe's followers were called the Blancos. The two groups caused a civil war throughout the country as they fought for control.
1852 The Colorados defeated the Blancos.
Mid 1800s The Blancos and Colorados continued to fight for control of the government. Foreign countries would often come to the aid of one side or the other.
1865 The Colorados gained control of the government with the help of Brazil. Meanwhile Paraguay was supporting the Blancos. As a result the War of the Triple Alliances began. Urugauy joined forces with Brazil and Argentina in a fight against Paraguay.
1870 Paraguay was defeated.
Late 1800s The Colorados dominated the political scene, but other people still tried to take control of the government.
1903 Jose Batlle y Ordonez was elected president. He promoted democratic principles and social justice.
1942 Uruguay severed ties with Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II.
1945 Uruguay declared war on Germany and Japan, but no Uruguayan troop fought in World War II.
1945 Uruguay became a charter nation of the United Nations.
1951 Uruguay adopted a new constitution which abolished the presidency and established a nine-member National Council of Government.
1950s Uruguay's economy declined due to a decrease in trade. Inflation became a huge problem
1967 Uruguay adopted a constitution. The presidency was reestablished.
1970s Anti-government terrorist groups became active in Uruguay. The Tupamaros. A terrorist group carried out murders and kidnapings of officials.
1972 Juan Maria Bordaberyy became president. He declared war on the Tupamaros. The guerilla movement was crushed in a few months.
1973 Military leaders seized control of the government. The constitution was suspended.. The new leaders dissolved the national legislature and banned all political party activity.
1976 Aparicio Mendez was named president by the military leaders.
1981 Gregorio Alvarez succeeded Mendez as President.
1980s Uruguayans protested the military government.
1984 Democratic elections were held
1985 Military rule ended. The constitution was reinstated.
1989 In the election the Blanco party won presidential and congressional elections for the first time since 1962.
1990 Luis Alberto Lacalle became president. He focused on shrinking the deficit and foreign debt. This economic program increased the wages with a smaller amount than before for government employees. Many labor unions were against the plan and strike occurred all over the country.
1994 During the election the Colorado party returned to power. Sanguinetti became president.
1998 Sanguinetti initialized a plan to deregulate electricity.
1999 Jorge Batlle Ibanez a member of the Colorado party was elected president
Works Cited
Wilkie, Richard W. "Uruguay." Worldbookonline.com