About Fructuoso Rivera
José Fructuoso Rivera y Toscana was a 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. When Banda Oriental was occupied by the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves and the defeated Artigas forced into exile in 1820, Rivera stayed in the newly created Cisplatina province. Rivera first met with Juan Antonio Lavalleja in 1825, during an event that would become known as the Abrazo del Monzón (Embrace of the Monsoon). After President Juan Francisco Giró was overthrown, a ruling triumvirate was created on 25 September 1853 consisting of Venancio Flores, Juan Antonio Lavalleja and Rivera. After Uruguayan independence was proclaimed in 1828 as a result of the Treaty of Montevideo, arguments between Rivera and Lavalleja turned into fighting, and Argentine general José Rondeau became the first provisional Governor.
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