Colonia Del Santísimo Sacramento
World Historical Heritage
UNESCO December, 1995
Brief Historical Description
The history and traditions of the ancient Colonia Del Sacramento bear witness to its legendary past full of battles, intrigues, love and hate since it was founded, almost 327 years ago.

Once called "The Apple of Discord", “The City of Feather and Sword” or, for many, “Mother of Cities”, it was the motive of bloody wars between the Portuguese and Spanish Crowns in the 17th and 18th centuries, together with England, France and Holland, thus becoming, for many others, the “Gibraltar of the River Plate”. Nowadays its romantic halo lends a unique charm to the city. Long before it was founded, Amerigo Vespucci, João de Lisboa, Juan Díaz de Solís, Sebastiano Caboto, Diego and Pedro de Mendoza, Irala, Ortiz de Zarate, Juan de Garay, Sir Francis Drake, Cavendish, and Edward Fenton, among others, stepped on its shores.

Once it was founded, the River Plate became international, giving birth to a dispute over the domination of the territory between the two biggest empires of the time with the intervention of their respective allies.
Governors and Viceroys of great importance of Buenos Aires, such as Cevallos, Sobremonte, Liniers or Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, visited Colonia. Scientists such as Humbolt, Bomplant and Darwin covered its fields. Expeditions headed by Bouganville and Malaspina recorded it in images. Important figures such as Arthur Phillips, founder and Governor of New South Wales, today Sydney, capital of Australia, lived for a long time in this city. Uruguayan heroes and presidents, like José Gervasio Artigas, Rivera and Juan Antonio Lavalleja, commander of the “ 33 Orientales”, participated in its daily life, as well as Argentinian heroes and presidents such as Bernardino Rivadavia, Bartolomé Mitre and Admiral William Brown.

Colonia belonged to the Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilian empires. It was part of the United Provinces of the River Plate. It was occupied by English and French legions, as well as the Italian legions commanded by Giuseppe Garibaldi. Its shores keep some of the most famous shipwrecks in history.
Let’s start from the beginning

Colonia Do Sacramento was founded between January 20th and 28th, 1680, by Don Manuel Lobo, Governor of Rio de Janeiro, who had been appointed by Prince Peter II of Portugal to create a vantage and defence point on the northern coast of the River Plate.
On January 20th, Manuel Lobo landed on San Gabriel Island taking it as a strategic point for the possession of terra firma. Thus, the first constructions made of earth and straw are built in Colonia and are dedicated to the Holy Sacrament.

The Spanish government established in Buenos Aires in charge of Don José Garro, alarmed, warns the authorities in Lima, and immediately asks the other Spanish areas such as Córdoba, Asunción, etc. for help.
After several months of preparation, the forces commanded by Antonio de Vera y Muxica attacked this fortress on August 7th, 1680 and took possession of it. That was one of the bloodiest mornings in the history of Colonia.

Manuel Lobo was also captured and taken to Spanish domains.
On May 7th, 1681, because of the "Provisional Treaty of Lisbon", Colonia is handed back to the Portuguese, who founded it again in January 1683, giving it the name of “A Nova Colonia do Santísimo Sacramento”.

Unfortunately, Lobo dies in prison in Buenos Aires on January 7th, 1683, without any knowledge about the fate of the city.

A Portuguese citadel is built on the banks of the River Plate, backed by the Spanish Crown, while awaiting a decision from Rome as to who the true owner of this land is. In 1704, the War of the Spanish Succession generates a new confrontation with the intervention of England, France, Austria y others.

Colonia del Sacramento is attacked again by Spanish armies and from 1705 until 1715 it becomes “no-man’s-land", commanded at the time by Alonso de Valdés Inclán, Governor of Buenos Aires.

On February 6th, 1715, the “Treaty of Utrecht" is signed in Holland, where the Spanish have to sacrifice their South American interests in favour of other European interests which were more important to them. On November 4th of the same year, Manuel Gómez Barboza took possession of the government until 1722. According to a census conducted on April 16th, 1718, there were forty thousand inhabitants including black slaves and tupí natives.

On March 14th, 1722, the Portuguese Governor Antonio Pedro de Vasconcellos takes command; he will be responsible for the material, cultural and commercial development of Colonia. A large number of

Spanish documents from the time make reference to the settlers of Colonia as “the crypto-Jews of Colonia del Sacramento”.
Actually, many of the “Portuguese” were really Portuguese Sephardic Jews, a fact which is undeniably confirmed by taking a look at the surnames of the settlers.

Spain, knowing the importance and service record of this military man, urgently orders the Governor of Buenos Aires to found a citadel in the bay of Montevideo, as it is the only way to avoid the complete occupation of the northern side of the River Plate by the Portuguese. Bruno Mauricio de Zabala does not comply with such request, and only when he is informed that Fonseca, Captain of Colonia, has established a precarious Portuguese settlement in the bay, he makes the decision to march and found a city.

Montevideo is born as a direct consequence of the occupation and development of this little citadel and trading post. In January 1730, the first theatre performance in Uruguayan territory takes place: "Las Armas De La Hermosura" by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, in honour of the wedding of the heir Prince Joseph of Portugal and Princess Maria Anna Vittoria of Castile.

In 1735 the city is besieged by the Spanish forces. It was called the “Sitio de Salcedo” (the Salcedo Siege) by the Governor of Buenos Aires who decides to attack through blood and fire. Governor Antonio Pedro de Vasconcellos lifts the siege on September 16th, 1737. During his rule, the port of Colonia – a key entrance point to South America – accommodates almost fifty ships of different flags, which illicitly introduced merchandise towards the Viceroyalty of Peru. After 27 years of excellent government, Vasconcellos, the main driving force behind the city’s military, commercial and cultural life, has to retire due to illness. While he was in power, there had been many diplomatic and military attempts to make the marvellous city of Colonia disappear. His words are famous: “Colonia is so important that I would not change it for the most advantageous equivalent”.

Now without Vasconcellos, there is the idea of exchanging the city for something that Portugal might be interested in. The “Treaty of Exchange” was signed in Madrid in 1750: Colonia del Sacramento in exchange for the seven Uruguayan mission towns. It was war again, but not on River Plate soil. This time it was on missionary soil. Together, the yesteryear enemies fight against the biggest defenders of the Spanish Crown in America: the Jesuits. It was called the Guarani War and lasted almost 4 years. After the war, and without being able to defeat them, the Treaty of Madrid was annulled and the Treaty of Utrecht was in force again.

In 1756 the new "Seven Years’ War" between Portugal and Spain breaks out, and in 1761, the Spanish General Pedro de Cevallos founds the famous Real de San Carlos as a military camp and center of operations in order to attack Colonia one more time. War breaks out again. On October 31st, 1762, the city surrenders and on November 2nd, the Spanish flag flutters on the walls.

On January 6th, 1763, two powerful British vessels and one Portuguese vessel bombard the square. Cevallos rejects the attack, the 64-cannon frigate "Lord Clive", the pride of the English fleet, is sunk, and Admiral Mac Namara dies. The remaining ships, Ambuscade and Gloria, are seriously damaged and retire from the battle. It is one of the main Spanish victories in the River Plate: the taking of Colonia and the sinking of the Lord Clive.
In the "Treaty of Paris" signed on January 13th, 1763, only 7 days later, Colonia is handed back to the Portuguese until 1777, when Pedro de Cevallos, after violent battles, takes possession and destroys most of the fortifications that had been built there.

It is to be noted that the last Captain and Admiral of the Portuguese fleet in Colonia, ARTHUR PHILLIPS, English, after valiantly leaving these waters, founds New South Wales, later called Sydney, thus being the Founder, First Governor and General Captain of Australia. On October 1st of the same year, the "Treaty of San Ildefonso" is signed, in which Portugal finally recognizes the rights of Spain over this entire region.

On March 5th, 1807, the English take possession of Colonia until the end of August. At the time, the "Aide-De-Camp José Artigas" (the national hero of Uruguay) was in command until February 15th, 1811, when he leaves Colonia to adhere to the May Revolution together with Priest José Maria Enríquez de la Pena and a group of patriots from Colonia. A few months afterwards, Colonia del Sacramento is occupied by the patriot forces commanded by Venancio Benavides y Viera.

In 1815, the future chief of the “33 Orientales“, Juan A. Lavalleja, is appointed Commander by Artigas.
In 1818 Colonia is occupied by the Portuguese Imperial forces, being part of the Cisplatine Province. In 1822, after september 7th, it is added to the Brazilian Empire until February 1826, when it is bombarded again by the Argentinian army commanded by Admiral William Brown. Even if he owns very important estates in the city and surroundings since 1814, he destroys part of his own house when he unsuccessfully tries to vacate the invaders.

On December 2nd, 1828, Colonia del Sacramento is handed to the Uruguayan forces in the "Preliminary Peace Convention". The support of the English, the traffic of slaves and the smuggling puts our city in a privileged position thus becoming one of the most disputed: many powers battled over this “stone point accompanied by seven islands".

In 1845 during the "Guerra Grande" (Uruguayan Civil War), Giuseppe Garibaldi takes possession of Colonia and Martín García Island. In 1848 it is also attacked by the forces of Manuel Oribe (second President of Uruguay), as part of the political movements in the “Banda Oriental”, which will later give birth to the “White and Red” emblems, that is, the first signs of the two traditional political parties in Uruguay.

The historical neighbourhood in its prime, with the halo of the past, vibrates in every stone, in every grille, in every wall and in every hallway. Sunsets in front of the river are wonderful and somewhat mysterious, becoming an inspiration to poets and painters. History is in every corner of the city: a legacy left by the region of San Gabriel and Colonia del Sacramento to our country.

Angular, narrow streets, paved with wedge stones, with central drain, thick stone walls, saddle roofs, ceramic and stone floors constitute an unforgettable image for those who have the privilege of contemplating it. A marvellous, fascinating and magnetic setting…

Discovering Colonia Del Sacramento and its history is a fascinating experience.

ANCIENT SOUTH
HISTORICAL-CULTURAL CITY-TOUR

ALBERTO TITO PINTOS
HISTORIAN-RESEARCHER
TOURIST GUIDE

COLONIA DEL SACRAMENTO – REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY
TEL: 00598-52-24473 - CEL: 00598-99-167150 (DAYTIME)
E-MAIL: titopintoscolonia@gmail.com / titopintoscolonia@hotmail.com