Montevideo, the capital of the republic of Uruguay, is situated on the north shore of the La Plata estuary, about 125 miles E. by S. of Buenos Ayres. It was built originally on a low promontory between the ocean and a horseshoe-shaped bay, 2 miles across; but its extensive suburbs now stretch far into the flat country behind, and have crept round the bay to the landmark which gives the city its name—the Cerro, a smooth, isolated cone, 505 feet high, crowned with a lighthouse and an old fort. At its base there are nearly a score of great saladros, or beef-salting establishments, where 200,000 cattle yearly are killed; and here, too, is the largest of the city's dry-docks. The city proper covers an area of about 5 square miles, the old town, on the little peninsula occupying nearly one square mile; and the sea-breezes make its climate both pleasant and healthy. Montevideo is an attractive town, with broad streets exceptionally well paved—Mulhall declares the Calle 18 de Julio, which is 85 feet wide, 'incomparably the finest street in South America.' The houses are flat-roofed, mostly of two or three stories, and often crowned with small square belvideres. High above these rises the cathedral (133 feet), with two side towers and a dome covered with green and blue and yellow tiles. The next most prominent building is the large opera-house; and others are the town-hall, the custom-house, the exchange, the Cabildo (law-courts and parliament house), the school of arts and trades, the university, the museum, the English and Basque churches, two convents, the Hospital de Caridad (330 beds) and the British hospital (60 beds), the extensive public markets, and several of the banks and hotels. Trams run in all directions—there are over 55 miles of lines; there are local electric lighting and telephone companies, and a submarine telephone to Buenos Ayres; and water is brought by a pumping-main from the river Santa Lucia, a distance of 34 miles.
The depth of water in the bay ranges from 9 to 15 feet, and vessels of heavy draught are compelled to anchor in the roadstead outside, which is exposed and often very rough. If a proper port had been constructed in the years before 1864, when the Buenos Ayres trade was diverted by the Paraguayan war, Montevideo might have permanently taken the place now occupied by the Argentine capital; as it is, possessing the advantage of a large natural harbour, it may even yet become again a dangerous rival, should the necessary harbour-works ever be constructed. It has communication by steamer with the United States and Europe, and on five days a week with Buenos Ayres. Its foreign trade is that of Uruguay (q.v.). The manufactures are more numerous than important, but have increased of late years nearly as fast as the population. In 1877 there were 110,167 inhabitants, in 1889 there were 214,682, in 1894, 225,680; of these nearly half were foreigners. This foreign element—mainly drawn from Italy, France, and Spain, and engaged principally in retail trade—is a very noticeable feature of Montevideo life.—A fort was built on the Cerro, by the Spaniards, in 1717, and the first settlement of the town made in 1726; a century later (1828) it became the capital of the newly-formed republic of Banda Oriental. Its later history will be found under URUGUAY. See books on the river Plate by Mulhall (5th ed. 1885) and Levey (2d ed. 1890), and Vincent's Around and About South America (1890).