The Spaniards, having already possession of
the northern bank, fiercely resented any such pretension, with the
result that the Banda Oriental, by which name the Republic of Uruguay is
still locally known, as well as the southern part of the Province of
Paraguay, became the scene of many battles. It may be said that the
warfare between the two nations continued here, with but rare and short
peaceful interludes, for centuries.
The fortified town of Colonia, on the north bank of the Uruguay River,
represented one of the chief bones of contention. Its possession
constituted a strategic advantage of no small importance, and Spanish
and Portuguese flags waved alternately over its shattered ramparts. The
situation was accentuated by the characteristics of the inhabitants of
the Portuguese city of Sao Paolo. These people, who lived in the town
loftily placed upon its rock, had acquired for themselves, almost from
the inception of the colony, a somewhat sinister and reckless
reputation. The Portuguese and half-breeds here, their vigour unimpaired
by a temperate and bracing climate, would sally out to the west and to
the south on slave-raiding expeditions, which they conducted with
extraordinary ferocity and enterprise.
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