Antecedents

The Antecedents

By the time colonel José Artigas entered Montevideo in June 1814 after the fall of the last Spanish resistance, he knew that the fight for a free Banda Oriental (how Uruguay was then called) was far from over.

Having been led to ask for Buenos Aires aid to beat the Spanish Army at Las Piedras and then to siege Montevideo, the Uruguayans were aware of the pretensions of their neighbors of seizing the region as an Argentinean province.

At the same time, the Portuguese Kingdom, which was established in Rio Grande do Sul, a southern province of Brazil, proclaimed sovereignty over the Cisplatine (as they referred to Uruguay).

Artigas decided to deal with one enemy at each time. First he expelled Buenos Aires forces from the Uruguayan territory in a series of small engagements where his gaucho cavalry proved to be decisive.By June 1815 Uruguay was free of foreign troops.

Notwithstanding, in April 1816 Portuguese troops marched into the Cisplatine and swiftly overran it. Artigas found himself in a precarious situation. He had only 2,000 men-in-arms to face 4,900 troops under lieutenant-general Carlos Frederico Lecor. In three major engagements Lecor beated Artigas men. On January 4, 1817, in the Catalan Battle, the Portuguese Army crushed Artigas last stand, entering Montevideo some days later (January, 20). Artigas had to abandon his country towards Paraguay. The desire of a free country, however, never left the hearts of the Uruguayan people.

At the beggining, many of them accepted the rule of the Portuguese Kingdom under D.João VI. The relations between the Portuguese authorities and the new subjects were peaceful, mainly in the capital where commerce grew by the time of conquer.

Uruguay in the 1820's

Things began to change when Brazil became independent in 1822 and inherited the region. The new emperor, D. Pedro I, D. João eldest son, was inclined to hold as much power he could. His government was marked by repression, not only in Uruguay but in all provinces.

By April, 1825 a small group landed in Uruguay coming from Buenos Aires. It was led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja, former officer of Artigas army who came from exile to raise the flag of rebellion. Soon he began to gather followers to his cause. Thanks to D. Pedro authoritarian polices Lavalleja was able to put together members of distinguished political parties in order to fight Brazilian troops.

Many historians have debated the role played by Lecor in these events. He was a Portuguese officer that joined the new empire after Brazil's independence. He had been a skillful commander, beating Artigas in the opening wide fields of Uruguay. When rebellion started in 1825 he was still in command in Cisplatine with support of 4,400 men. Nonetheless, as Lavalleja grew in force, Lecor troops were kept in Montevideo and Colonia. It took months until Lecor considered the situation worth of attention, raising doubts about his loyalty to the empire.

In August, an assembly proclaimed the union between Uruguay and the United Provinces of Prata, headed by Buenos Aires. Lavalleja was elected commander-in-chief of the Liberation Army. Troops was being gathered in Corrientes, Entre Rios, Santa Fé and Buenos Aires to support the revolt. To make things worst to the empire, Lavalleja started to conquer village after village (many of which welcomed him, leading to peaceful occupations) and had now 3,000 men in arms.

Ipiranga Museum (Brazil)

D.Pedro I

By late September Lecor ordered colonel Bento Manuel along with colonel Bento Gonçalves da Silva to meet Lavalleja in combat. Bento Manuel would command the force. He would have at disposal 1,600 men.

Knowing that Lavalleja was marching toward Montevideo and that he had split his force in two columns, one led by Lavalleja himself, and the other by General Frutuoso Rivera, Bento Manuel started planning the attack. With serene confidence in the superiority of his troops he expected to cut down Lavalleja's column and then face Rivera in combat. He would have to act quickly, before the enemy could join their forces. On October 1, he moved his troops.

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