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South American / Mesoamerican Civilisations History Timeline & Facts

Concise History and Facts about Uruguay
The Arawak and Taino Indians first inhabited Uruguay
The Arawaks were tropical forest people who probably originated in South America and were related the people found anywhere from Panama to Brazil
The Arawaks were progressively wiped out by the after-effects of the Spanish conquest
1516 Juan Diaz de Solis became the first European to land in Uruguay
1500s Spanish colonists began to arrive in Uruguay
1600s-1700s Spanish and Portuguese settlers colonized Uruguay
1726 Spanish found Montevideo and take over Uruguay from the Portuguese
1776 Spain encompassed all of its territories in south-east South America to create one large colony called the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata
1777 Spanish colonists attacked Colonia to drive out the Portuguese
1810 - Overthrow of the king of Spain by Napoleon
1812-20 - Orientales, or Uruguayans from fight against Argentinian and Brazilian invaders
1800s Jose Gervasio Artigas organized an army to fight for independence from Spain
1811 Artigas laid siege to Montevideo
1814 Montevideo surrendered ending the control of Spain over Uruguay
1816 Portuguese troops attack Uruguayans
1825 A group of Uruguayan patriots revolt against Brazil
Argentina supported the patriots in their fight against Brazil
1828 The British intervened in the conflict between Uruguay and Brazil
1828 Uruguay became an independent nation
1830 Uruguay adopted its first constitution and Jose Fructuoso Rivera became the first president
1800s - 1900s Italian immigrants began to settle in Uruguay