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At the time of independence, Uruguay had an estimated population of just
under 75,000, of which less than 20 percent resided in Montevideo, the capital.
Indeed, the new nation was born with most of its population scattered throughout
the countryside. Political power centered on local leaders, or caudillos, who
attracted followers because of their power, bravery, or wealth. There were three
major caudillos at the time of independence: Rivera, Oribe, and Lavalleja. The
first two were later elected presidents, Rivera from 1830 to 1835 and from 1838
to 1843 and Oribe from 1835 to 1838. Their rivalry, which turned violent in
1836, led to the formation of the first political groups, known as Colorados and
Blancos because of the red and white hatbands, respectively, worn during armed
clashes beginning in 1836. The groups would subsequently become the Colorado
Party and the National Party (the Blancos).
During this period, the economy came to depend increasingly on cattle, on the
proliferation of saladeros (meat-salting establishments), and on the
export of salted beef and leather. But political instability was the most
significant feature of this period. Caudillos and their followers were mobilized
because of disputes arising from deficient land demarcation between absentee
landowners and squatters and between rightful owners and Artigas's followers who
were granted land seized by Artigas. Rivera remained in the countryside for most
of his presidency, during which Lavalleja organized three unsuccessful
rebellions. Rivera was followed as president by Oribe, one of the ThirtyThree
Heroes, but they began to quarrel after Oribe permitted Lavalleja and his
followers to return from Brazil. In 1836 Rivera initiated a revolutionary
movement against President Oribe, but Oribe, aided by Argentine troops, defeated
Rivera's forces at the Battle of Carpinterķa on September 19, 1836. In June
1838, however, the Colorados, led by Rivera, defeated Oribe's Blanco forces;
Oribe then went into exile in Buenos Aires.
Internationally, the new territory was at the mercy of the influence of its
neighbors. This resulted from its lack of clearly defined borders, as well as
from Rivera's ties with Brazil and Oribe's with Argentina.
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