Uruguayan Civil War - The Great Siege of Montevideo

The Great Siege of 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 the former Uruguayan president Manuel Oribe. Oribe's siege of Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, lasted for nine years. The Great Siege of Montevideo meant an unusual situation, with two parallel governments:

• Gobierno de la Defensa in Montevideo, led by Joaquín Suárez (1843–1852)
• Gobierno del Cerrito (with headquarters at the present neighbourhood Cerrito de la Victoria), ruling the rest of the country, led by Manuel Oribe (1843–1851)

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. The British Empire eventually saved the city by allowing it to receive supplies. First, the British and French naval forces temporarily blockaded the port of Buenos Aires during the December of 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. Historians believe that 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 former president Oribe.
However, an uprising against de Rosas led by fellow Federalist Justo José de Urquiza, governor of Argentina's Entre Ríos Province, with the assistance of a small Uruguayan force, changed the situation.
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 the siege of Montevideo.

See also: Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata