URUGUAY", otherwise BANDA ORIENTAL DEL URIIGUAY—i. C., "the eastern bank of the Uruguay," is a small South American state, bounded on the D. and me. by Brazil, on the e. and s.e. by the Atlantic, on the s. by the Rio de la Plata, and on the w. by the Uruguay. It is nearly square in shape, and its greatest length and its greatest breadth are over 300 miles. Area, 71,752 sq.m.; pop. '76, 443.000. The interior of Uruguay is very imperfectly known. In the south all along the Rio de la Plata, and as far north as the Rio Negro, the country is a sort of terraced upland, with a bold, broken, tree less coast-line, possessing some excellent harborage; while the shores facing the Atlan tic are ]ow and sandy. Further east, rises a woody plateau; but high, bare, grassy plains, traversed by ranges of low hills, seem to be the predominant feature. The cli mate is mild; rain falls pretty copiously iu winter, but is rare in summer. The most important rivers are the Rio Negro, the Daiman, the Arapey, the Yaguaron, and the Sebollati. Agriculture is in a very backward state, although the soil is naturally rich. Small quantities of wheat, maize, barley, rice, peas, beans, flax, hemp, and cot ton are raised, and fruit trees thrive well; but the wealth of the country consists 't its splendid pasturage, which supports great. herds of horned cattle, horses, and sheep. The wool of these Uruguayan sheep is of a superior quality. The wild animals em
brace the tapir, deer, ounce, monkey, paca, rabbitt, and fax; and large packs of wild dogs infest the plains. Uruguay has almost no manufactures, and very little commerce, as yet. The chief exports are jerked and salted beef, tallow, hides, horn; and hair; and the chief imports woolen goods, household furniture of all kinds, sugar, cordage, tigrieultural implements, timber, etc. The value of the imports in 1877 amounted to about .4...,2,800,000; and that of the exports to about £3,000,000. Nearly all the imports and exports pass through Monte Video (q.v.), the capital. The towns of note besides the capital are Maldonado and Colonia del Santo Sacramento.
Uruguay was originally colonized by Spanish settlers from Buenos Ayres, on the other side of the La Plata; but the territory which forms the natural limit of Brazil on the south was claimed by Portugal, and a war ensued between the two nations for its possession which terminated in favor of Spain. Uruguay was now attached to the vice royalty of Buenos Ayres, and received the name of Banda as has been explained above, the country on the eastern bank of the Uruguay. Its independence was secured by treaty in 1828, when it took the title of Republica del Uruguay Oriental; but, like most of the South American republics, it has suffered incessantly from internal discords.