Montevideo was founded in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, governor of Buenos Aires, to counteract the Portuguese advance into the area from Brazil. During its early years, Montevideo was mostly a Spanish garrison town.

How did Montevideo get its name?

There are at least two explanations for the name Montevideo: The first states that it comes from the Portuguese "Monte vide eu" which means "I see a mountain". The second is that the Spaniards recorded the location of a mountain in a map as "Monte VI De Este a Oeste" meaning "The sixth mountain from east to west".

When was Montevideo built?

Created as a result of a Spanish-Portuguese spat, Montevideo's hasn't enjoyed a smooth ride. Unhappy about Portuguese advances south from Brazil, Buenos Aires governor Bruno Mauricio de Zabala founded Montevideo in 1726.