Old Postcards from Brazil

Montevideo is Uruguay's capital, chief port, and by far its largest city. It is therefore considered a primate city.
The Portuguese founded Colonia del Sacramento in the 17th century despite Spanish claims to the area due to the Treaty of Tordesillas. The Spanish chased the Portuguese out of a fort in the area in 1724. Then, Bruno Mauricio de Zabala - governor of Buenos Aires - founded the city on December 24, 1726 to prevent further incursions.
In 1828, the town became the capital of Uruguay. There are at least two explanations for the name Montevideo: The first states that it comes from the Portuguese "Monte vide eu" which means "I see a mountain". The second is that the Spaniards recorded the location of a fountain in a map as "Monte VI De Este a Oeste" meaning "The sixth mountain from east to west". The city's full original name is San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo.
Montevideo is situated in the south of the country, at the northern mouth of the very wide River Plate (Río de la Plata) estuary. The geographic coordinates are 34.5° S, 56°W.
The climate is mild, with average temperatures of approximately 13°C, achieving 40°C or more in summer.Montevideo is situated in the south of the country, at the northern mouth of the very wide River Plate (Río de la Plata) estuary. The geographic coordinates are 34.5° S, 56°W.
The climate is mild, with average temperatures of approximately 13°C, achieving 40°C or more in summer.
18 de Julio, the city's main avenue and one of the finest of South America, extends from the Plaza Independencia, which is the junction between the Ciudad Vieja (the historical quarter) and the rest of the city, to the neighbourhood of Cordón
Population is 1.4 million, approximately 1/3 of which is of Italian descent, a large percentage of the remainder is other white European in origin, especially Spain and Portugal — totalling some 88% of the demographic. Montevideo's population makes up roughly 44% of the entire country of Uruguay, and the surrounding province of Canelones, essentially Montevideo's suburbs and direct rural area, makes up another 12%. Uruguay's indigenous population was wiped out during the colonization period and there are virtually no descendants remaining. There is a small (8%) mestizo (mixed indigenous and European) and (4%) African population, who are, for the most part, marginalized by the rest of the community. While the dominant portion of the population is Catholic, there is also a well assimilated, but active Jewish population numbering in the 40,000s.