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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: MOL-MOS |
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MONTEVIDEO, SAN FELIPE Y SANTIAGO DE , capital and chief
Uruguay , and capital of the department of Monte-video, on the northern shore of the Rio de la Plata estuary, 120 M. E.S.E. of Buenos Ayres, in lat. 340 54' 33" S., long. 56 12' 18" W. Pop. (1908, estimate), 312,946. The old city (ciudad vieja) occupies a low rocky headland that projects westward between the estuary and an almost circular bay which forms the harbour; it was once enclosed with walls and defended by small forts, all of which have been removed. The new city (ciudad nueva and ciudad novisima) extends eastward over a beautiful tract of rolling country and is extending north-ward around the eastern shore of the bay. The site of the old city resembles a whale's back in shape; it slopes gently to its western extremity at Punta Sarandi and to the water's edge on either side. The general plan is that of rectangular squares, except at the western extremity of the old city and its union with the newer or extra-mural city, on the line of the old ram-parts, known as Calle de la Ciudadela. The streets. are well paved and have sufficient slope at all points to give easy surface drainage; Montevideo has the reputation of being one of the cleanest cities of the world. The rainfall is ample (about 44 in. a year), and the prevailing winds help to clean the streets. The westerly winds, however, sometimes bring across the bay the offensive smells of the great abattoirs and meat-curing establishments (saladeros) at the foot of the Cerro. The mean annual temperature is about 62 F. An abundant water supply is brought from the Santa Lucia River, 32 M. distant, with areceiving reservoir at Piedras, loo ft. above the level of the Plaza de la Independencia. The ciudad vieja is largely devoted to commercial, shipping and financial interests. The government edifices, large retail shops and most of the fine urban residences are in the ciudad nueva, while most of the urban industries, the railway stations and the dwellings of the poorer classes are in the ciudad novisima. Beyond these is a fringe of suburbs (La Union and Paso Molino), and on the western side of the bay is the straggling suburb of Cerro, largely industrial in character. In 1908 eight tramway lines (all electric but one) extended out to these suburbs, some of the lines extending to the bathing resorts of Ramirez and Pocitos and the Buceo cemeteries on the eastern coast.The principal street, which is considered one of the finest boulevards in South America, is the Calle 18 de Julio, extending eastward from the Plaza de la Independencia to the suburb of Cordon; one of its features is its Sunday morning market, occupying the whole street from the Plaza de la Independencia to the Plaza Libertad, a distance of half a milea survival of the old market that existed here at the fortified entrance to the walled town in the earlier years of its history. There are seven plazas, or squares, within the urban limits: Zabala or Rincon, Constitucibn or Matriz, Independencia, Libertad or Cagancha, Treinte y Tres, Flores and Frutos; and two suburban parks or public gardens: the Paseo del Prado and Parque Urbano. The Plaza de la Independencia stands at the junction of the old and new towns and is the centre of the city's political and social life. This square is distinguished for a uniform and nearly completed line of colonnades in front of the buildings surrounding it. The Paseo del Prado, which ranks high among the public gardens of South America, is beautifully situated beyond the suburb of Paso Molino, 3 M. from the city. The Paseo was originally the quinta of a German of cultivated tastes named Joseph .Buschenthal, who spent a fortune in its adornment. The Parque Urbano, at the Playa Ramirez bathing resort, is a modern creation. The buildings of Montevideo are chiefly of brick and broken stone, covered outside with plaster and stucco, of one to three storeys, with flat roofs, usually surmounted by a square tower, or mirador. The roofs, or azoteas, are largely used for domestic purposes, or roof gardens. The city contains a large number of handsome edifices, both public and private, among which are the Bolsa, Government House, municipal hall
Athenaeum
dome behind, rise far above the surrounding buildings and make a very conspicuous landmark. The church was consecrated in 1804, and in 1868 was raised to the dignity of a cathedral. Montevideo is now the seat of a small archiepiscopal see with only two suffragan dioceses. Directly across the plaza is the old Cabildo, a plain, heavy-looking two-storeyed edifice of the colonial period, the seat of municipal administration during Spanish rule, but now occupied by the two chambers of the Uruguayan Congress and by the higher police authorities of the city.The people of Montevideo maintain more than forty charitable associations, including the Caridad (charity) hospital on Calle 25 de Mayo, and the insane asylum in the suburb of La Union, both built and largely supported from the proceeds of frequent lottery drawings. They also maintain a beggars' asylum and a foundlings' asylum. The national museum (founded in 1830) and public library (founded 1833) are in one wing of the Solis theatre. There are a British hospital (founded 1857, the present edifice dating from 1867) chiefly for the use of sailors, an Anglican church in Calle Santa Teresa dating from 1847, and a handsome Italian hospital of modern construction. The university, in Calle Uruguay , has faculties of law, medicine, letters, mathematics, engineering, and some minor groups of studies, including agriculture and veterinary science. The government maintains two normal schools, a school of arts and trades (artes y oficios), and a military school.The harbour of Montevideo consists of a shallow bay, circular in shape and about 2+, M. from shore to shore, and an outer roadstead exposed to the violent winds of this latitude, where the larger ocean-going steamers were compelled to anchor before the construction of the new port works. In 1899 the Uruguayan government entered into, a contract for the dredging of the bay, the construction of two long breakwaters, the dredging of a channel to deep water, and the construction of a great basin and docks in front of the city. Surtaxes were imposed on imports and exports to meet the expenditure, and work was begun in 1901. In 1908 the breakwaters and the greater part of the dredging had been completed, and the en-trance channel, with a minimum depth of 241- ft., permitted the admission of large steamers. Another important improvement, for which a concession was given to an English syndicate and work was begun in 1909, is the construction of an embankment and new shore line on the south side of the city, to be finished in five years at a cost of $7,211,116. There are three large dry docks connected with the port, known as the Mafia (275 ft. long, inside) and the Gounouilhou (300 ft.) on the east side of the bay, and Jackson & Cibils (45o ft.) on the west side at the foot of the Cerro. Four railways terminate at Montevideo, one of them (the Central Uruguay) extending to the Brazilian' frontier. In 1908 20 lines of ocean-going steamers made regular calls at the port and several lines of river steamers ran to Buenos Aires and the ports of the Parana, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers. The exports consist 'chiefly of livestock, jerked beef, hides, wool, and other animal products, wheat, flour, corn, linseed, barley, hay, tobacco, sealskins, fruit, vegetables, and some minor products. Manufactures exist only to a limited extent and chiefly for domestic consumption. The suburbs of Montevideo include the fashionable bathing resorts of Playa Ramirez and Pocitos on the coast east of the city, the inland suburbs of Paso Molino and La Union, and the industrial town of Cerro, across the bay. The Flores Island quarantine station is 12 m. east of the city. The station was formerly on Rat Island (within the bay), which is now used as a public deposit for inflammables. The chief
interest
mount
elevation
Montevideo was founded in 1726 through the efforts of Don Mauricio Zabala, governor of Buenos Aires, who wished to check the advance of the Portuguese on this side of the La Plata. A small military post had existed there since 1717, but efforts to create a town had been fruitless until Zabala offered to make hidalgos of the first settlers and to give them cattle and sheep. The first families to accept this offer came from the Canary
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