Montevideo

Title

Montevideo

Description

Magnificent view of the city of Montevideo in Uruguay with offshore ships.

ca. 1880

Artist

Anonymus

Historical Description

According to most theories, Montevideo got its name from the Cerro de Montevideo, a 132-meter-high hill opposite the port. It is said to have been called Yvyty ("rock") by the Guaraní. In the logbook of Magellan's boatswain Francisco Albo, the spelling Monte Vidi is documented for the first time. In 1724, the process of founding Montevideo on the site where Ciudad Vieja now stands was set in motion by the Spanish Crown. The foundation of Montevideo served primarily to defend against the Portuguese, who repeatedly invaded the Banda Oriental from Brazil, and thus for military purposes. Securing shipping in the southern Atlantic and the Río de la Plata estuary there also played a role in connection with the founding of the city. Montevideo was then officially founded as a city in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala - governor of Buenos Aires. In 1739, due to emerging conflicts with the Portuguese and the English, the Spanish crown decided to enclose the city with a fortification wall as well as to secure it with a citadel on the land route. This led to restrictions on further urban development. The second half of the century saw the completion of both the fort to the northwest of the peninsula and the parapet facing the open sea, the Cubo del Sur. In the second half of this century, Montevideo's original military importance now receded more and more into the background in favor of commercial and economic activities, combined with the expansion of the port. From 1777 onwards, Montevideo's economic rise accelerated. Montevideo's port, which in 1781 received a quay wall that was soon too small, now played an increasingly important role in the city's development. From the beginning of the 19th century, the city suffered repeated sieges and bombardments by England, Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Argentina. The economic prosperity towards the end of the 18th century had now also brought about a change in the cityscape along these lines. After Uruguay's independence, the demolition of the Montevidean fortifications, decreed on August 25, 1829, ushered in a new phase in the city's development as a result of the opportunities for expansion that this created. However, construction in the newly developed area was initially slow as a result of the political unrest. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that a French company began the expansion of the port, which had already been established by law in 1856.