ABSTRACT
The Portuguese presence in the region of the Banda Oriental (the territory of present-day Uruguay) during the eighteenth century was crucial in shaping the demographics, the economy, and political characteristics of the region. By focusing on the Portuguese settlement of Colonia del Sacramento (1680–1777), and the relocation of people of Portuguese descent into Montevideo and other areas under Spanish rule, this chapter explores the multi-faceted ways in which Luso-Brazilians contributed to the formation of modern Uruguay. Based on Portuguese and Spanish documental evidence, I suggest that the Portuguese colonial project in the region had a strong demographic and social impact in shaping the population and social dynamics of the Banda Oriental beyond Colonia del Sacramento. After the fall of Portuguese Colonia (1777), hundreds of Luso-Brazilians relocated to Montevideo and the countryside of the Banda Oriental. During the late eighteenth century, intermittent warfare led many Portuguese subjects to swear loyalty to the Spanish Monarchs. Luso-Brazilians successfully integrated into Banda Oriental's society. Such a trans-imperial dynamic reveals the gap between official colonial policies and the social dynamics of colonial subjects on the ground. Because of the longstanding presence of the Portuguese in Colonia, Montevideo, and the countryside of the Banda Oriental, Luso-Brazilian settlers became an integral part of the colonial population of Montevideo and the Banda Oriental. As a result, the formation of the Banda Oriental population and society was intrinsically a trans-imperial process.
