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More than 40% of the
population of Uruguay live in Montevideo, which may just have
something to do with the fact that the standard of living there
is reckoned to be the highest in Latin America! It is not solely
the largest city in Uruguay but also the country's largest port
and, indeed, the centre of the country's transport system with
the majority of the main exports, which are animal hides, meat
and other animal products, passing through it. A fairly
prosperous city now, it has not always been so industrious and
it in fact started its life as a garrison town occupied by the
Spanish who were determined to hold back the Portuguese who were
advancing upon them from Brazil. Subsequently the settlement has
been occupied by Brazilians, Argentinians, Portuguese, British
and Spanish forces, and all this disruption had a very
unfortunate effect upon trade and population. Independence from
Spain came in 1830 but the lot of the populace was not greatly
improved as nearby countries attempted to extend their influence
over it and this culminated in a siege by Uruguayan and
Argentinian forces which were kept in check by the British and
the French. All of this extra international attention actually
attracted more traders to the now growing city, which became the
principal port of the area and the British built an extensive
rail network with Montevideo at its hub.
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One of the major claims to fame of
Montevideo is that it was the scene of a major naval clash in
the second world war between the German rocket battleship Graf
Spee and the British and New Zealand Navy's navies represented
by the cruisers Ajax, Exeter, and Achilles. After suffering
heavy damage the battleship limped into Montevideo harbour but
was placed under considerable diplomatic pressure to leave after
a few hurried repairs have been carried out. Rather than face
the guns of the British fleet, the commander, Captain Hans
Langsdorff, decided to scuttle the ship in the estuary and he
committed suicide a couple of days later rather than return to
Germany and face a court martial. There is a small display of
salvaged wreckage from the ship on the harbourfront.
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