COLONIA DEL SACRAMENTO Colonia del Sacramento (formerly the Portuguese Colónia do Sacramento) is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the oldest town in Uruguay and capital of the departamento of Colonia. It had a population of 21,714 according to the 2004 census. It is renowned for its historic quarter, a World Heritage Site. Founded in 1680 by Portugal as Colónia do Sacramento, the colony was later disputed by the Spanish who settled on the opposite bank of the river at Buenos Aires. The colony was conquered by José de Garro in 1680, but returned to Portugal the next year. It was conquered again by the Spanish in March 1705 after a siege of five months, but given back in the Treaty of Utrecht. Another attack during the Spanish-Portuguese War, 1735-1737, failed. It kept changing hands from crown to crown due to treaties such as the Treaty of Madrid in 1750 and the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1777, until it remained with the Spanish. It then transferred to Portuguese control again, being later incorporated in Brazil after 1816, when the entire Banda Oriental (Uruguay) was seized by the government of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves and renamed the Cisplatina province. Now part of the independent country of Uruguay, Colonia del Sacramento has expanded to the north and east, but the original Barrio Histórico (historic quarter) retains its irregular, terrain-fitting street plan built by the Portuguese, contrasting with the wider, orthogonal calles in the newer Spanish area. |
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IMAGE COLLECTION Gustavo Armand Ugon, 2009 (Flicker) Intendencia de Colonia (COLONIAMUEVE) Pedro Gonçalves (www.colonialvoyage.com) Adam Paul, 2008 (blog.adampaul.com)
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SOURCES OF INFORMATION Colonia del Sacramento (formerly the Portuguese Colónia do Sacramento) is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the oldest town in Uruguay and capital of the departamento of Colonia. It had a population of 21,714 according to the 2004 census. It is renowned for its historic quarter, a World Heritage Site. Modern Colonia del Sacramento produces textiles and has a free trade zone, in addition to a polytechnic center and various government buildings. More… Founded by the Portuguese in 1680 on the Río de la Plata, the city was of strategic importance in resisting the Spanish. After being disputed for a century, it was finally lost by its founders. The well-preserved urban landscape illustrates the successful fusion of the Portuguese, Spanish and post-colonial styles. More… The Historic Quarter of the City of Colonia del Sacramento is a fusion of Portuguese, Spanish and post-colonial styles. The buildings date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Its street plan is organic, contrary to the general checkerboard layout used elsewhere in colonial Latin America. More… In the 17th century, Buenos Aires was an up-and-coming Spanish port city. Galleons and frigates from Britain and the Netherlands were circling the river, looking for a rival place to set up camp. A Portuguese seafarer, Manuel Lobo, realised the strategic importance of the Colonia peninsula and, in January 1680, he stuck the red- and green-flag in it. More… La rivalidad luso-española por la posesión de las colonias americanas se remonta a las tempranas fechas del descubrimiento de América. Ambas coronas ibéricas creían que las tierras recién descubiertas pertenecían a las Indias Orientales, por lo que Portugal se creía con derechos sobre ellas. La Bula del papa Alejandro VI, expedida en Roma el 3 y 4 de mayo de 1493, confirmó el derecho de los Reyes Católicos sobre todas las tierras halladas o por hallar con los mismos derechos y provilegios que los papas anteriores habían concedido a los reyes de Portugal sobre las tierras de África. Sin embargo, la Bula añadía que ese derecho debía ejercerse a partir de cien leguas al occidente de una línea imaginaria trazada de Polo a Polo que pasase por las islas Azores y Cabo Verde. More... From the first step off the ferry at nighttime, Colonia del Sacremento settles upon your senses with a serene, mysterious atmosphere. As you pass the blocks in darkness, past empty stone-clad avenues lined with trees, the architecture of the surrounding buildings seems to travel backwards in time under the dim light of the streetlamps. More... |
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