Siege of Montevideo (1811) 1811
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1811 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Uruguay | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | South America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Argentine War of Independence | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -34.8669, -56.1667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The first siege of Montevideo (Spanish: primer sitio de Montevideo) took place between May and October 1811, when the troops of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata unsuccessfully besieged the city of Montevideo, still held by Spanish loyalists.
In 1810, the May Revolution had forced the Spanish to abandon Buenos Aires, but they held on to the Banda Oriental (present-day Uruguay), as Francisco Javier de Elío moved the headquarters of his Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata to Montevideo. In May 1811, the revolutionary José Gervasio Artigas defeated the Spanish in the Banda Oriental at the Battle of Las Piedras. After the battle, the Royalists only remained in control of two cities: Colonia del Sacramento and Montevideo, which was besieged by Artigas and José Rondeau.
Montevideo had formidable fortifications and the Spanish controlled the Río de la Plata river. When a Portuguese relief army entered the Banda Oriental at the request of Spain, the United Provinces signed a truce with Elío, recognizing him as the ruler of the Banda Oriental. Artigas felt the truce to be treasonous. He broke relations with Buenos Aires, and lifted the blockade over Montevideo in October 1811.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Montevideo (1811) (revision 1370743627), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Great Siege of Montevideo 1843 · 0 km
- Siege of Montevideo (1812–1814) 1812 · 0 km
- Siege of Montevideo (1823) 1823 · 0 km
- Battle of Cerrito 1812 · 2 km
- Battle of Cardal 1807 · 2 km
- Battle of Montevideo (1807) 1807 · 6 km
Other battles of the Argentine War of Independence
- Battle of Suipacha 1810
- Battle of San Nicolás 1811
- Battle of Salta 1813
- Battle of Vilcapugio 1813
- Battle of Yavi 1816
- Battle of Chacabuco 1817
- Battle of Sopachuy 1817
- Battle of la Tablada de Tolomosa 1817
All 9 battles of the Argentine War of Independence →
Browse more: battles in Uruguay · South America · 19th century battles