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Montevideo is Uruguay's capital, chief port, and by far its largest city. It is therefore considered a primate city.
The city is served by the Carrasco International Airport.
History
The Portuguese founded Colonia del Sacramento in the 17th century despite Spanish claims to the area due to the Treaty of Tordesillas. The Spanish chased the Portuguese out of a fort in the area in 1724. Then, Bruno Mauricio de Zabala - governor of Buenos Aires - founded the city on December 24, 1726 to prevent further incursions.
In 1828, the town became the capital of Uruguay. 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 fountain in a map as "Monte VI De Este a Oeste" meaning "The sixth mountain from east to west". The city's full original name is San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo.
The city fell under heavy British influence from the early 19th century until the early 20th century as a way to circumvent Argentine and Brazilian commercial control. It was repeatedly besieged by Argentinian dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas between 1838 and 1851. Between 1860 and 1911, the British built an extensive railroad network linking the city to the surrounding countryside.
During World War II, a famous incident involving the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee took place in Montevideo, which was a neutral port during the war. After the Battle of the River Plate with the British navy on December 13, 1939, the Graf Spee retreated to the port. To avoid risking the crew in what he thought would be a losing battle, Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttled the ship on December 17th. Langsdorff committed suicide two days later.
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