Montevideo Uruguay

Description: Montevideo is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country’s total population) in an area of 201 square kilometers (78 sq mi). Montevideo is situated on the southern coast of the country, on the northeastern bank of the Río de la Plata.

Population: 1,319,108

Demographics: City’s residents are white 87.7%, Black 4.6%, Indigenous 2.4%, other 0.3%, none or unspecified 5%.

History: Between 1680 and 1683, Portugal founded the city of Colonia do Sacramento in the region across the bay from Buenos Aires. This city met with no resistance from the Spanish until 1723, when they began to place fortifications on the elevations around Montevideo Bay. A census of the city’s inhabitants was performed in 1724 and then a plan was drawn delineating the city and designating it as San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo, later shortened to Montevideo. The census counted more than 100 families of Galician and Canary Islands origin, more than 1000 indigenous people, mostly Guaraní, as well as some trafficked slaves of Bantu origin. On 3 February 1807, British troops under the command of General Samuel Auchmuty and Admiral Charles Stirling occupied the city during the Battle of Montevideo (1807), but it was recaptured by the Spanish in the same year on 2 September when John Whitelocke was forced to surrender to troops formed by forces of the Banda Oriental—roughly the same area as modern Uruguay—and of Buenos Aires. After the end of hostilities, a period of growth and expansion started for the city. In 1853 a stagecoach bus line was established joining Montevideo with the newly formed settlement of Unión and the first natural gas street lights were inaugurated. From 1854 to 1861 the first public sanitation facilities were constructed. In 1868, the horse-drawn tram company Compañía de Tranvías al Paso del Molino y Cerro created the first lines connecting Montevideo with Unión, the beach resort of Capurro and the industrialized and economically independent Villa del Cerro, at the time called Cosmopolis. In the same year, the Mercado del Puerto was inaugurated. In 1869, the first railway line of the company Ferrocarril Central del Uruguay was inaugurated connecting Bella Vista with the town of Las Piedras. In the early 20th century, many Europeans (particularly Spaniards and Italians but also thousands from Central Europe) immigrated to the city. In 1908, 30% of the city’s population of 300,000 was foreign-born. From the 1960s to the end of the dictatorship in 1985, around one hundred people died or disappeared because of political violence. In 1974 another hundred Uruguayans also disappeared in Argentina. In 1980, the dictatorship proposed a new constitution. The project was submitted to a referendum and rejected in the first polls since 1971, with 58% of the votes against and 42% in favor. The result weakened the military and triggered its fall, allowing the return of democracy. In the 1980s, Pope John Paul II visited the city twice. In April 1987, as head of state of Vatican, he signed a mediation agreement for the conflict of the Beagle Channel. He also held a large mass in Tres Cruces, declaring the cross located behind the altar as a monument. In 1988, he returned to the country, visiting Montevideo, Florida, Salto and Melo. The 2002 Uruguay banking crisis affected several industries of Montevideo. In 2017, the city has maintained 15 years of economic growth. Montevideo has consistently been rated as having the highest quality of life of any city in Latin America: by 2015 it held this rank every year during the decade through 2014.

Elevation: 43 m

Climate: Humid subtropical climate. Average annual temperature in Montevideo is 17 C (62 F), the average for July is 11 C (51 F), the average for January is 24 C (74 F).

Attractions: Andes Museum, Rambla De Montevideo, Pocitos, Plaza Independencia, Ciudad Vieja, Catedral De Montevideo, Bodega Spinoglio

Airports: Carassco International Airport MVD

Distance To City Centre: 20 km

Commute Length: 30 min

Average Cost: 65 USD

Traffic Hours: 7 am – 9 am, 5 pm – 7pm