page_title: Uruguayan Civil War
section_title: Rivera vs. Lavalleja
hierarchical_section_title: Uruguayan Civil War / Rivera vs. Lavalleja
caption_attribution_description: General Fructuoso Rivera, President of Uruguay
context_page_description: 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. Out of supporters of presidents Rivera and Oribe grew the Colorado Party and the National Party, both of which received backing and support from foreign sources, including neighboring Empire of Brazil, the Argentine Confederation, Buenos Aires Province as well as European powers, primarily the British Empire and the Kingdom of France, but also a legion of Italian volunteers including Giuseppe Garibaldi. The great diversity of nationalities among the military forces supporting the Colorado Party posed a difficulty when comming to express their struggle in terms of a "national liberation", instead the National Party side put forward a rhethoric on them defending "humanity" and "civilization" against "tyranny".
context_section_description: After the proclamation of Uruguayan Independence in 1828 a conflict for primacy arose between the leader of the Thirty-Three Orientals Juan Lavalleja and veteran military commander Fructuoso Rivera, who on November 6, 1830 was chosen as the first President of Uruguay. In June 1832 Lavalleja's supporters attempted to kill Rivera and on July 3 the Montevideo garrison revolted, calling for Lavalleja to be made Commander-in-Chief. Rivera, with the help of Argentine Unitarians defeated Lavalleja on September 18, 1832 at Tupambaé, forcing Lavalleja to flee to the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul. There Lavalleja organized a new force with the support of Buenos Aires strongman Juan Manuel de Rosas and in March 1834 invaded Uruguay, only to be defeated by Rivera once again.
caption: The first Uruguayan president Fructuoso Rivera.
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