HISTORY
The discovery of Uruguay--Reception by the Indians--Juan de Solis
and his fate--Navigation of the River Plate--Serrano and
Magellanes--Rivalry between Spaniards and Portuguese--The first
settlement in the Banda Oriental--Aggressive tactics of the
Indians--Forts destroyed by them--Colonisation under
difficulties--The introduction of cattle--A prophetic
move--Intervention of the missionaries--Jesuit settlements
established--Uruguay's isolation comes to an end--Influence of
the livestock--Cattle-raiders--The first Portuguese
invasion--Victory of the Spaniards, assisted by native
auxiliaries--Treaties and their attendant troubles--The
indecision of Old Spain--Partial extermination of the
Indians--The town of Colonia as a bone of
contention--Introduction of the first negro slaves into the
provinces of the River Plate--Unrest on the Spanish main--Moreau,
the buccaneer--The fate of his expedition--Portuguese invaders
expelled by the Spaniards--A fort is constructed on the present
site of Montevideo.
The early history of Uruguay needs but cursory recapitulation, since
its episodes form part and parcel of the general discovery of the
River Plate. Juan Diaz de Solis, the famous explorer of the great
river, was the first leader in the Spanish service to set foot on
Uruguayan soil. The precise point of his disembarkation is unknown,
but it is certain enough that the spot lay somewhere just to the north
of the island of Martin Garcia. His reception at the hands of the
hostile Charrúa Indians, who at the time inhabited the district, was
fatally inhospitable. Solis and many more of the landing party of
fifty who accompanied him were slain by these natives almost as soon
as they had landed, and the disheartened expedition returned to Spain.
It is supposed that Rodriguez Serrano was the first to sail the waters
of the Uruguay River proper. In 1520, when anchored in the mouth of
the River Plate on his way to the South, Magellane is supposed to have
sent this subordinate of his some distance up the Uruguay. There is
much, however, that is vague in the history of these particular
waterways at this time. A certain material reason obtained for the
mystery. The rivalry between the Spaniards and Portuguese tended
towards a concealment on the part of each of discoveries that affected
comparatively unknown and debatable areas. Thus there is no doubt that
various Portuguese expeditions sailed the Uruguay River at this
period; but the details of these are uncertain.
In 1527 Spain, fearing the possibilities of Portuguese influence,
turned her attention once more to the great river system of the South.
It was in that year that Cabot founded the fort of San Sebastian on
the Uruguayan coast. This, at the confluence of the San Salvador River
with the Uruguay, was the first Spanish settlement in the country. Its
existence was short-lived. Attacked by the Charrúa Indians in 1529,
the fort was destroyed and many of its garrison slain.
After this little was heard of the Uruguayan coast until, in 1552,
Irala, the famous Governor of the River Plate, ordered Captain Juan
Romero to found a settlement on that shore. Juan Romero set out with
an expedition of 120 men, and founded the settlement of San Juan at
the mouth of the river of the same name. This attempt was likewise
unsuccessful. The Charrúas had to be reckoned with, and two years
later the place was abandoned on account of their incessant attacks.
[Illustration: INDIAN MACE HEADS.]
[Illustration: INDIAN STONE AXE.
To face p. 38.]
In 1573 another noted _conquistador_, Zarate, on the completion of his
voyage from Europe, arrived at the island of San Gabriel. He founded a
settlement on the neighbouring Uruguayan mainland, and the Charrúas
for once received him with comparative hospitality. Nevertheless it
was not long ere hostilities broke out, by reason of the Spaniard's
own arrogance, it is said. In the end the Europeans were completely
defeated by the famous chief Zapicán, losing over one hundred soldiers
and various officers. The Spaniards then retired to the island of San
Gabriel, leaving the aboriginal tribe in possession of the new
township, which they immediately destroyed.
A short while after this Juan de Garay, afterwards famed as the
founder of the modern Buenos Aires, arrived near the scene of the
disaster. With a diminutive force (it is said by some that his
expedition comprised no more than twelve cavalry and twenty-two
infantry) he attacked Zapicán's army of a thousand men. The result was
the rout of the Indians, in the course of which Zapicán and many other
leading caciques perished. This action was fought in the neighbourhood
of ruined San Salvador, and Zarate founded a new settlement on the
ruins of the old. Triumph, however, was short-lived, for the Indians
remained as fiercely persevering as ever, and three years later their
aggressive tactics caused the establishment to be abandoned once
again.
In 1603 it is said that Hernando Arias de Saavedra, the first
colonial-born Governor of the River Plate, led an expedition of five
hundred men against the Charrúas. Hernandarias, by which name the
Governor was popularly known, was a famous warrior of whose prowess
and feats of arms much is told. For all that, according to report, the
defeat of the Spanish force was so complete that only Hernandarias,
thanks to his tremendous personal strength, escaped from the field
alive. It is probable, however, that this version of the fight is, to
say the least of it, exaggerated.
The next move of Hernandarias in the direction of the Banda Oriental
was of a more pacific nature. With a rare touch of wisdom and
foresight he shipped from Buenos Aires to Colonia across the river one
hundred head of cattle, and a like number of horses and mares. These,
sent adrift to roam at their own sweet will in the new country,
multiplied at least as fast as had been anticipated. The animals in
question undoubtedly stand as the nucleus of the pastoral riches of
to-day. Thus Hernandarias sent out wealth to the land that was closed
to his men in order that it should seed and multiply until the time
came for the European to take it over with the country itself.
In this earlier era of River Plate history the march of civilisation
had been arrested at the first step in Uruguay on each occasion on
which it had been undertaken. It was not until the beginning of the
seventeenth century that success attended the endeavours of the
Spaniards. In 1618 the first missionaries entered Uruguay. The
Franciscan fathers Bernardo de Guzman, Villavicencio, and Aldao landed
in that year at the mouth of the Rio, and converted to Christianity
many members of the more peaceably disposed tribes. In 1624 Bernardo
de Guzman founded the first Uruguayan Jesuit settlement, Santo Domingo
de Soriano, and a little later the missions of Espinillo, Viboras, and
Aldao were established in the present provinces of Soriano and
Colonia. Larger and more important missions were shortly afterwards
founded in the north, and formed a more or less integral portion of
the great Jesuit field in Paraguay. At one time there were no less
than thirty-seven of these stations existing within the frontiers of
the old Banda Oriental as they were then defined. In consequence of
the later Brazilian encroachments, however, the sites of only seven of
these--San Francisco de Borga, San Nicolas, San Juan Bautista, San
Luis Gonzaga, San Miguel, San Lorenzo, and Santa Angel--lie within the
boundaries of the present Republic.
While in the north of Uruguay the Indians, taught by the missionaries,
were now beginning to occupy themselves with agriculture and grazing,
in the south the herds introduced by Hernandarias were multiplying
amazingly. These were responsible for the visits of many who came over
from Argentina to slay the cattle and to collect their hides. They
were licensed by the Cabildo of Buenos Aires, who received a third of
the profits. In order to facilitate this traffic in hides, these
_Faeneros_, as they were termed, gradually established themselves upon
the banks of the Uruguay and its tributaries, and upon the ocean
coast. Thus the names of Cufré, Pavón, Toledo, Pando, Solis,
Maldonado, and many others have been bequeathed to the soil by the
merchant adventurers who trafficked in those spots, since each named
his settlement after himself.
No little competition was afforded these Faeneros by the
_Changadores_, adventurers of a more reckless order who made their
incursions into the country without licence and against the law.
Corresponding precisely to the buccaneers of the farther north, they
slew where opportunity offered, taking refuge in Brazil when pursued,
until their growing numbers enabled them from time to time to offer
armed resistance to the officers of the Crown sent to chastise them.
Attracted by this commerce, pirates, whether of Portuguese or other
nationality, would occasionally make descents, and would raid and
harry the cattle in their turn. The Indians, for their part, were not
slow in availing themselves of this new and convenient source of
livelihood, and, according to a Uruguayan writer became "carnivorous
from necessity and equestrian from force of imitation." In 1680 a more
serious danger threatened the Banda Oriental. At the beginning of that
year a Portuguese fleet came to anchor off the island of San Gabriel.
Eight hundred soldiers and a number of colonist families were
disembarked at Colonia del Sacramento on the mainland, where they
founded a township. On learning of this invasion the Governor of
Buenos Aires, José de Garro, immediately demanded the evacuation of
the place. As a reply to this request, Lobo, the Portuguese commander,
triumphantly produced a map on which Colonia was represented as in
Brazilian territory. A strenuous geographical discussion ensued, at
the conclusion of which Garro, having failed to convince the intruders
of the inaccuracy of the chart by more subtle arguments, resolved to
expel the enemy by force.
With this end in view he obtained the loan of three thousand Indians
from the Jesuits, who were by this time becoming accustomed to the
lending of men and arms for such patriotic purposes. With this force,
stiffened by the presence of three hundred Spaniards, he captured the
hostile settlement, taking prisoners the Portuguese Governor and
garrison.
It is related that the Spanish general had prepared a striking _ruse
de guerre_ that was to serve in this assault. Four thousand loose
horses were to be driven to the front of the charging forces, and upon
these animals the first devastation of the artillery fire of the
defenders was to expend itself. The Indians, however, whose destined
place was in the vanguard, raised some powerful objections to this
scheme of attack. Considering with reason that a backward rush of the
wounded and terrified beasts--like that of the elephants of a previous
age--would promise greater disaster to themselves than to the enemy,
they protested against the living bulwark with its many possibilities.
Thus the town was captured without the aid of the horses, and the
first of the many combats that reddened the shore of Colonia ended in
favour of Spain.
This triumph was short-lived. In 1681 Carlos II. of Spain in a weak
moment signed a treaty by which Colonia was given back to Portugal, to
be held by her until a definite decision could be arrived at
concerning the vexed question of ownership. In the meanwhile it was
arranged that the geographical arguments should be settled by the
pontifical authorities, whose expert knowledge upon the point was
doubtful. The Portuguese, moreover, in order to obtain an added salve
to their dignity, stipulated that Garro should be deprived of his
post. This was complied with; but the result did not in the least
coincide with the Portuguese expectations. Garro himself must have
smiled broadly when he learned that he was deprived of his command at
Buenos Aires in order to take over the superior governorship of Chile!
In 1702 a campaign was waged against the Indians. The tactics of the
majority of the tribes had remained consistently aggressive, and their
predatory interest in the commerce of hides and dried meat had
developed to a pitch inconvenient to the settlers. The war, although
its scope did not include the entire aboriginal population, was one of
extermination so far as it went, and at its conclusion the sections of
the Charrúas, Bohanes, and Yaros in the neighbourhood of the River Yi
had practically ceased to exist.
In the meanwhile Colonia, in the hands of the Portuguese, had become
the centre of contraband operations by means of which merchandise was
smuggled into the sternly closed port of Buenos Aires. As a point of
vantage it served so admirably for this purpose, and so greatly to the
profit of both the Portuguese and of the more unscrupulous residents
of Buenos Aires, that in 1705 Philip V. of Spain ordered its recapture
in earnest.
For this purpose two thousand Spaniards and four thousand Jesuit
Indians assembled. After a six months' strenuous siege of the place
the Portuguese garrison fled in a fleet that had been sent to their
rescue, and Colonia passed back into the hands of the Spaniards. But
the vicissitudes of the spot were not yet at an end. Oblivious of the
past, Philip V. by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 ceded the town to the
Portuguese. Garcia Ros, the Governor of Buenos Aires, was of sterner
mould. Taking advantage of a loosely worded clause in the treaty, he
limited the Portuguese ownership of the soil to the radius of a
cannon-shot from the plaza of the town. By this means the
inconvenience of the occupation was to a certain extent neutralised.
[Illustration: A GAUCHO RACE: THE START.]
[Illustration: A GAUCHO RACE: THE FINISH.
To face p. 44.]
About this time negro slaves were first introduced from Africa into
the provinces of the River Plate. This measure had been originally
urged by the famous Father Bartolomé de las Casas with a view of
augmenting the local force of labour, and thus of alleviating the
condition of the aboriginal races that in many parts were becoming
exterminated on account of the excess of toil imposed upon them. This
state of affairs, as a matter of fact, did not obtain in the Banda
Oriental, where Indian and Spaniard stood entirely apart. Nevertheless
an influx of negroes occurred in the province, and--though nothing can
be said in favour of the morality of the proceeding--there is no
doubt that, once arrived, their presence tended to benefit the
industries of the land.
The period now was one of considerable unrest throughout the Spanish
main. For some while the adventurers of other nations, seeking a share
in the great riches of the South American provinces, had been knocking
loudly at the gates that remained closely barred to them. Privateering
and raids upon the coast had become more and more frequent, while the
Spanish galleons, in continuous dread of attack, only put to sea for
the purpose of long voyages in imposing numbers and beneath weighty
escort. The River Plate, owing to the practical absence of the mineral
traffic from its frontier, suffered far fewer depredations than fell
to the lot of the gold and silver bearing countries to the north.
Yet the homelier riches of the pastoral districts were becoming known
and appreciated to a certain extent. In consequence of this the waters
of the River Plate from time to time had many unwelcome visitors.
Privateers of all nationalities, although their enforced ignorance of
the navigation forbade them to penetrate for any distance up the
waters of the great streams themselves in the face of local
opposition, harassed the coast-line, and occasionally landed in more
or less formidable parties. One of the most notable of these was a
French adventurer of the name of Moreau, whose buccaneering ideas were
considerably in advance of those of the majority who were wont to
harry these particular districts. Moreau's plan of campaign, in fact,
savoured rather of regular warfare than of the more usual methods of
the rapid raidings and retreats. Thus in 1720 he disembarked with a
body of men and four cannon at Maldonado, where he fortified himself,
and began to amass a great store of hides. Surprised by the Spaniards,
he was forced to take to his ships in haste, with the loss of his
guns and of his stock-in-trade. A few months later the Frenchman
returned, accompanied this time by a force of over a hundred
well-armed men, and prepared to settle himself for an extended stay in
the country. Curiously enough, it appears to have been the unfortunate
Moreau's fate to reverse the fighting rôles of the buccaneer and local
resident, since, instead of surprising others, it was he who was
caught unawares on either occasion. The termination of his second
visit was more fatal than that of his first. Attacked when in an
unprepared condition by the Spaniards, the defeat of the buccaneer
force was complete. Moreau himself was slain, together with the
greater part of his company, while the remainder were taken prisoners.
Freed from this source of danger, the inhabitants of the Banda
Oriental were not long left without anxiety on another head. The
Portuguese had never ceased to covet the rich land that might be made
to serve as such a valuable and temperate pendant to their torrid
northern areas. The River Plate stood to them in the light of a Rhine,
and at the end of 1723 they awoke once more into aggressive activity.
An expedition then left Rio de Janeiro consisting of four ships with
three hundred soldiers. The force sailed to the point where the town
of Montevideo now stands, at that time a lonely spot whose commercial
and strategic importance was then for the first time discovered. Here
the expedition landed, and in a short while its leaders had negotiated
with the natives whom they found in the district, had supplied them
with arms, and had founded a settlement. On learning of this
aggression the Buenos Aires authorities determined to resist the
attempt in earnest. Gavala, the Spanish Governor, collected a powerful
fleet, and sailed in haste to the spot. The Portuguese, ascertaining
the strength of the attacking force, abandoned their new settlement,
and made off to the north without awaiting its arrival. Gavala then
took possession of Montevideo in turn, and took measures in order to
prevent a repetition of the incident. To this end he constructed a
powerful battery on the spot, and supplied the fort with a garrison of
a hundred Spanish troops, and with a thousand native auxiliaries.