Colonia del Sacramento (; ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in southwestern

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, by the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, facing

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. It is one of the oldest towns in Uruguay and the capital of the Colonia Department. As of the 2023 census, it has a population of around 32,174. Its historic quarter is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. Modern Colonia del Sacramento produces

textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

and has a free trade zone, in addition to a

polytechnic A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

centre and various government buildings.

History

Following the restoration of the Portuguese crown, King Peter II sought the resolution of the southern border of Brazil. Manuel Lobo with 5 ships containing about 400 soldiers, craftsmen, carpenters and stonecutters, and 18 guns, reached San Gabriel Island on 20 January 1680. On 28 January, they commenced establishing a post. José de Garro sent spies from Santo Domingo de Soriano on 22 February 1680, after receiving a negative response on 10 February to his ultimatum to leave the site. Garro sent a force of 3,400 men under the command of Antonio de Vera Mujica, capturing the besieged town on the night of 6–7 August 1680. Lobo was taken as a prisoner to Buenos Aires, where he died on 7 January 1683. A treaty between Spain and Portugal signed in 1681 returned Colonia to Portugal. Field Marshal Duarte Teixeira Chaves arrived off the San Gabriel islands on 25 January 1683, and commenced to rebuild the settlement. Field Marshal Cristóvão Dornelas Abreu was its governor until 1690, when Dom Francisco Naper de Lencastre took over. Smuggling, and cattle hunting from the

Banda Oriental Banda Oriental (Eastern Bank), or more fully Banda Oriental del Río Uruguay, was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay, the modern state of Ri ...

, were the main components of the colony's economy. Lencastre ordered the building of houses of stone and mud with tile roofs, the enlargement of the city walls, and the addition of a fortified tower. The colonists grew wheat, hemp flax, and grape vines, and exported cattle hides to Rio de Janeiro, while importing wood and foodstuffs. Sebastião da Veiga Cabral took over as governor in 1699. As a consequence of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

, the governor of Buenos Aires, Valdes Incian, initiated the Siege of Colonia del Sacramento. The forces of the Spanish governor were commanded by Baltazar García Ros from 18 October 1704 until 14 March 1705, when the colonists were evacuated by Portuguese ships. Only the churches and bridge remained undestroyed. The colony was given back to Portugal in the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

. Manuel Gomes Barbosa took possession on 10 February 1718 with 1,040 colonists. More colonists arrived in 1721. Antonio Pedro de Vasconcellos took over as governor on 14 March 1722 and transformed it into the richest and best-defended city in the

Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

region. This included the coastal

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s of São Pedro de Alcântara, São Miguel, Santo António, São João, Carmo, and Santa Rita. Another attack during the

Spanish–Portuguese War (1735–1737) The Spanish-Portuguese War between 1735 and 1737 was fought over the Banda Oriental, roughly present-day Uruguay. At the time, this part of South-America was sparsely populated and was on the border between Portuguese Brazil and the Spanish G ...

, failed. Don Luis Garcia de Bivar took over as governor in 1749, but died on 5 March 1760. During that time, the Treaty of Madrid (13 January 1750) was never complied with and was finally considered null and void. Brigadier Vicente da Silva da Fonseca then took over as governor. Fonseca was forced to surrender the colony to Pedro Antonio de Cevallos on 11 October 1762. Spain returned the colony in the 1762 Treaty of Fontainebleau, and Dom José Pedro de Figueiredo Sarmento took over as governor on 27 December 1763. He was replaced by Francisco José da Rocha on 15 March 1777. With the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1777, the colony became a Spanish possession once more. It then transferred to Portuguese control again, being later incorporated into

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

after 1816, when the entire ''Banda Oriental'' (Uruguay) was seized by the government of the

United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was a pluricontinental monarchy formed by the elevation of the Portuguese colony named State of Brazil to the status of a kingdom and by the simultaneous union of that Kingdom of Brazil ...

and renamed the Cisplatina province. On 10 January 1809, before the independence of Uruguay, it was designated as a "Vila" ("town" in 19th century Portuguese) and has since been elevated to the status of "Ciudad" ("city" in Spanish). Since independence, Colonia del Sacramento has expanded to the north and east, but the original ''Bairro Histórico'' (historic quarter in Portuguese or ''Barrio Histórico,'' current Spanish spelling) retains its irregular, terrain-fitting street plan built by the Portuguese, contrasting with the wider, orthogonal ''calles'' in the newer Spanish area. In 2022, it was confirmed Uruguay planned to create a

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

-style new city in Colonia called Colonia Ala Este, to entice

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

immigrants due to Argentina's poor economic situation. This would double Colonia's population to about 60,000 people. With an initial investment of more than US$100 million, it was planned to build a sustainable city open to the community as a hub for the knowledge economy industry on a 500-hectare site, which includes forests and seven kilometers of coastline, with beaches such as Calabrés and Fernando.

Timeline of rule

The rule from 1680 to present (with flag of the period) is:

Population

In 2011 Colonia del Sacramento had a population of 26,231. Source: ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay''

Geography

Climate

Colonia del Sacramento has a mild

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, described by the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

as ''Cfa''. Summers are warm and winters are cool, with relatively frequent

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

s and fog. The precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with an average of 1,039 mm (40.91 in), and the annual average temperature is 17 °C (63 °F).

Urban fabric

The city was developed on a peninsula that protrudes into the

. The 16-hectare "Barrio Histórico", or Portuguese Old City, was enclosed by a fortification wall across the peninsula in the site of present-day Calle Ituzaingó. Most of the fortification wall was removed in 1777 and some remaining parts again in 1859. The Portuguese part of the city has an irregular street network. Outside the wall, the historical part of the city was planned in the Spanish colonial style and in the characteristic checkerboard layout.

Sport

The local professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team is Plaza Colonia, founded in 1917, playing at the Estadio Profesor Alberto Suppici. They won the 2016 Clausura, their biggest success to date. Deportivo Colonia, founded in 1999, lost its professional status in 2007. They play at the Estadio Miguel Campomar. Club Atlético Plaza has

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

sections, as well as a football section based at Estadio Néstor Naviliat. The town's Plaza de toros Real de San Carlos is a disused

bullring A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are ...

which has been renovated and repurposed as a performing arts venue.

Points of interest

The ''Barrio Histórico'' (historic quarter) section of Colonia del Sacramento is designated a

. It has some cobblestone streets built by the Portuguese in the 17th century, and is within walking distance of the town's ferry terminal. Among the tourist attractions around the tree-lined ''Plaza Mayor'' (main square) are: *''Portón de Campo'' – the City Gate and wooden drawbridge *Lighthouse and convent ruins of the 17th-century Convent of San Francisco *'' Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento'' – the Basilica of the Holy Sacrament, built of stone by the Portuguese in 1808 *Portuguese Museum – constructed in the 18th century, it exhibits Portuguese furnishings, jewelry, uniforms and old maps of Portuguese naval expeditions *''Casa de Nacarello'' – an 18th-century Portuguese house *'' Calle de los Suspiros'', a historical street *Municipal Museum – rebuilt by the Spanish in 1835 as the ''Casa del Almirante Brown'', it exhibits artifacts and documents of the city's different periods and cultures *Viceroy's House – the ''Casa del Virrey'', reconstructed from the original ruins * Plaza de toros Real de San Carlos, a former bullring and a current sports and cultural venue

Gallery

File:The Attack of Nova Colonia in the River Plate in 1763, under the command of Captain John Macnamara.jpg, The Portuguese led attack on Nova Colonia, 6 January 1763 File:Colonia-map-tiles-TM.jpg, Map of the Old City in ceramic tiles File:Colonia-from Faro-view-TM.jpg, View of the historic district from the top of the lighthouse File:Colo do sac 1.jpg, Portón de Campo, the City Gate File:Colonia-Porton de Campo-murallas-TM.jpg, Another view of the City Gate File:Colonia-Faro-ruinas-TM.jpg, Lighthouse at Colonia del Sacramento File:Colonia-Calle San Pedro-TM.jpg, Calle San Pedro, a typical street in the historic district File:Colonia-Muelle 1866-TM.jpg, The 1866 Wharf of Colonia File:Colonia del Sacramento water front2.JPG, The water front File:ColoniaDelSacramentoCalleReal.jpg, Old car parked on Calle Real in the historic district File:ColoniaDelSacramentoCalleMisionesDeLosTapesDeNoche.JPG, Night at the historic quarter district - "Misiones de los Tapes" Street File:A boat to unite two countries.JPG, The Buquebus seen from the Paseo San Gabriel File:Colonia old city.jpg, Restaurant on a corner File:Colonia del Sacramento art in Uruguay.JPG, Wall art in Colonia del Sacramento File:PortugueseMuseum-Colonia4.jpg, Remains of Portuguese

Azulejo (, ; from the Arabic ) is a form of Portuguese and Spanish painted Tin-glazing, tin-glazed ceramic tilework. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of church (building), churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, r ...

Transportation

Colonia del Sacramento is served by three ferry boat lines from Buenos Aires, Argentina: "Buquebus", "Seacat Colonia" and "Colonia Express". Two principal highways end in Colonia: Route 1 connects Colonia to

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

and points east; Route 21 connects to points north, including the ''Aarón de Anchorena National Park'', distant, and Fray Bentos. There is also a local airport for small planes. There is a project in process to lengthen the runway and begin commercial flights to Buenos Aires (this was done in the past) and other cities within Uruguay. The city is served by Laguna de los Patos International Airport located from Colonia along Route 1.

Consular representation

Argentina and Portugal both maintain a consulate in Colonia del Sacramento.

Twin towns – sister cities

Antigua Guatemala Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the Guatemalan Highlands, central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque- ...

, Guatemala *

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved ...

, Portugal *

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state ca ...

, Brazil *

Pelotas Pelotas () is a Brazilian city and Municipalities of Brazil, municipality (''município''), the fourth Largest cities in Rio Grande do Sul by population, most populous in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, after Porto Alegre, Caxias do Su ...

, Brazil *

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

, Argentina

Bibliography

* (with prologue by Federico Mayor Zaragoza and introduction by Marta Canessa de Sanguinetti)

References

External links

Article on Colonia del Sacramento, Official Portal of the Uruguayan Government

360° Virtual Tours of Colonia del Sacramento - Uruguay360.com.uyTourist information about Colonia del SacramentoTourist guide about Colonia del Sacramento
– photos, hosting and attractions of Colonia del Sacramento attractions
Colonia del Sacramento WebsiteINE map of Colonia del Sacramento
{{Authority control Populated places in the Colonia Department Port cities and towns in Uruguay Río de la Plata Colonial Uruguay Former Portuguese colonies Portuguese colonization of the Americas Populated places established in 1680 1680 establishments in Uruguay 1680 establishments in the Portuguese Empire Portugal–Spain relations Tourism in Uruguay World Heritage Sites in Uruguay

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...