Montevideo, << `mon` tuh vih DAY oh >> (pop. 1,318,755), is the capital, largest city, and chief port of Uruguay. It lies at the midpoint of Uruguay’s coast, where an estuary (bay) called the Rio de la Plata meets the Atlantic Ocean.
The center of the city is Independence Plaza, a park surrounded by highly decorative buildings. These buildings include the Government House, the Museum of Natural History, the Salvo Palace, the Solis Theatre, and the Victoria Plaza Hotel. The Avenida 18 de Julio runs east from the plaza and passes through the main business district. This avenue gets its name from July 18, 1830, the date Uruguay adopted its first constitution. West of the plaza, an arch leads to a historic district called Old Town. This district has many buildings that date from the 1700’s or 1800’s.
Most of Montevideo’s people are of European descent. A small minority of people are of African descent. About two-fifths of all Uruguayans live in Montevideo. Most people in Montevideo dwell in single-family houses or modern apartment buildings. There are few slums. The city has an excellent system of public education and is the home of the University of the Republic and the Technical University of Uruguay.
The Uruguayan government employs more than one-third of the workers of Montevideo. The city’s important industries include textile manufacturing, banking, and tourism. Most of Uruguay’s exports and imports pass through Montevideo’s port.
Montevideo was founded in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, the Spanish colonial governor of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Beginning in the late 1800’s, the city expanded rapidly as the result of heavy immigration from European countries, including Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom. This heritage makes Montevideo seem much like a European city. Since 1990, the city has been governed by the Broad Front, a leftist coalition party.
