Battle of Masoller

Last updated
Battle of Masoller
Part of the Revolution of 1904
DateSeptember 1, 1904
Location
Result Colorado victory
Belligerents
Flag of the National Party (Uruguay).svg Blancos Flag of Colorado Party (Uruguay).svg Colorados
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the National Party (Uruguay).svg Aparicio Saravia  (DOW) Flag of Colorado Party (Uruguay).svg José Batlle y Ordóñez
Flag of Colorado Party (Uruguay).svg Oscar Muñoz Caravia  

The Battle of Masoller, which occurred on September 1, 1904, was the final battle of the Aparicio Saravia revolt, resulting in the victory of the Colorado forces.

Contents

Location and historical background

Masoller is a village in northern Uruguay, close to the border with Brazil. The proximity of the Brazilian border proved significant for the outcome of the battle, because the defeated Blanco general, Aparicio Saravia, retired injured from the battle and fled to Brazil. The victorious Colorado forces were reluctant to pursue the injured leader of the Blanco forces because they resolved to keep the conflict within Uruguay's borders and avoid an incident with the Brazilian Government. Saravia died of wounds in Brazil on September 10, 1904.

The Battle of Masoller also marked the political consolidation of the Presidency of the liberal José Batlle y Ordóñez, and more broadly of the Colorado Party.

Feature in work by Jorge Luis Borges

This battle figures in La otra muerte, a short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, in his collection El Aleph . The story concerns a certain Pedro Damián, whose personal history initially appears to have been one of a coward who fled the cannon fire at the Battle of Masoller, to survive as a virtual hermit until his death nearly forty years later. During the course of the story, however, the narrator finds that this same history has somehow spontaneously converted into the tale of a hero who died at the head of the charge in the same Battle of Masoller in 1904: the underlying idea of Borges is that personal and historical memory is complex.

La otra muerte addresses the relationship between the present and history and the question of how a single event can change, or be perceived to change, an infinite number of destinies, Characteristically, Borges chose for this story a military event ubiquitously interpreted as determining the course of twentieth-century Uruguay. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

The history of Uruguay comprises different periods: the pre-Columbian time or early history, the Colonial Period (1516–1811), the Period of Nation-Building (1811–1830), and the history of Uruguay as an independent country (1830–present).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Party (Uruguay)</span> Political party in Uruguay

The National Party also known as the White Party, is a major political party in Uruguay. Founded in 1836 by General Manuel Oribe, it is the country's oldest active political party, and along with the Colorado Party, its origin dates back to the establishment of Uruguay as an independent state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fructuoso Rivera</span> 1st President of Uruguay (1830-34)

José Fructuoso Rivera y Toscana was an Uruguayan general and patriot who fought for the liberation of Banda Oriental from Brazilian rule, thrice served as President of Uruguay and was one of the instigators of the long Uruguayan Civil War. He is also considered to be the founder of the Colorado Party, which ruled Uruguay without interruption from 1865 until 1958. He made a controversial decision to almost completely eliminate the native Charrúa during the 1831 Massacre of Salsipuedes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cerro Largo Department</span> Department of Uruguay

Cerro Largo Department is a department of Uruguay. Its capital is Melo. It is located in the east of the country, bordering Brazil to its northeast with Yaguaron River as the natural border, Treinta y Tres Department to its south, Durazno Department to its west and the departments of Tacuarembó and Rivera to its northwest with Negro River as its natural border with them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Lindolfo Cuestas</span>

Juan Lindolfo de los Reyes Cuestas was a Uruguayan politician who served as the 18th President of Uruguay from 1897 until 1899 and for a second term from 1899 to 1903.

Masoller is a village or populated centre of the Rivera Department in northern Uruguay, next to the de facto border with Brazil, in an area where that border is disputed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julio Herrera y Obes</span>

Julio Herrera y Obes, was a Uruguayan political figure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uruguayan Civil War</span> 1839–51 armed conflict in Uruguay between the Colorado and Blanco factions

The Uruguayan Civil War, also known in Spanish as the Guerra Grande, was a series of armed conflicts between the leaders of Uruguayan independence. While officially the war lasted from 1839 until 1851, it was a part of armed conflicts that started in 1832 and continued until the final military defeat of the Blancos faction in 1904.

Luis Melián Lafinur was a Uruguayan jurist, essayist, professor and politician. He was the son of Bernardo Melián and Florencia Lafinur. His son was the Argentine poet Álvaro Melián Lafinur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aparicio Saravia</span>

Aparicio Saravia da Rosa was a Uruguayan politician and military leader. He was a member of the Uruguayan National Party and was a revolutionary leader against the Uruguayan government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eduardo Acevedo Díaz</span> Uruguayan writer, politician and journalist (1851–1921)

Eduardo Acevedo Díaz, was an Uruguayan writer, politician and journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazil–Uruguay relations</span> Bilateral relations

Brazil–Uruguay relations encompass many complex relations over the span of three centuries, beginning in 1680 with the establishment of the Colónia do Sacramento, to the present day, between the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. Brazil and Uruguay are neighbouring countries in South America, and share close political, economic and cultural ties. The singularity of the bilateral relationship between the two countries originates from a strong historical connection, as both countries having been territories of the Portuguese Empire and sharing the same language – marked by important events, such as the establishment of the Colónia do Sacramento in 1680, the invasion of the Banda Oriental by Brazil in 1815 and the subsequent creation of the Província Cisplatina, and Uruguay's independence from Brazil in 1828. The bilateral relationship was further defined by the Uruguayan Civil War (1839–1851) and the Paraguayan War (1864–1870).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villanueva Saravia</span> Uruguayan politician

Villanueva Saravia Pinto was a Uruguayan politician of the National Party, who served as intendant of Cerro Largo Department from 1995 to 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolution of the Lances</span> Civil War in Uruguay (1870-1872)

The Revolution of the Lances occurred in Uruguay from September 12, 1870 to April 6, 1872.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabelino Canaveris</span> Uruguayan patriot, military revolutionary and politician

Isabelino Canaveris was an Uruguayan patriot, military, revolutionary and politician, who served as president of the National Party in the Argentine Republic. He participated in most of the armed confrontations between the Blancos and Colorados.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1904 in Brazil</span>

Events in the year 1904 in Brazil.

Events in the year 1897 in Uruguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolution of 1904</span>

The Revolution of 1904 was a civic-military revolt led by Aparicio Saravia against the government of José Batlle y Ordóñez in Uruguay. It was the last military conflict between Blancos and Colorados.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Gregorio Suárez</span> Uruguayan Colorado general (1813–1879)

José Gregorio Suárez Moreira (1813-1879) was a Uruguayan lieutenant colonel and politician who participated in the Uruguayan Civil War, the Paraguayan War and other conflicts throughout the 19th century. He was known for his service during the Battle of Pedernal and the Battle of Estero Bellaco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enrique Castro (general)</span> Uruguayan general (1817–1888

Enrique Castro was an Uruguayan general who served the Colorados throughout the 19th century. He participated in the Argentine Civil Wars, the Uruguayan Civil War and the Paraguayan War and was known for organizing and starting the Quebracho Revolution.

References

  1. Ariel Dorfman, "Borges and American Violence," in Some Write to the Future: Essays on Contemporary Latin American Fiction (orig. 1968) (Durham NC: Duke University Press, 1991), 25-40. ISBN   9780822312697