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Uruguay's 1830s were dominated by the confrontation between Manuel Oribe and Fructuoso Rivera, the two revolutionary leaders who had fought against the Empire of Brazil under the command of Lavalleja, each of whom had become the caudillo of their respective faction. Politics were divided between Oribe's Blancos ("whites"), represented by the National Party, and Rivera's Colorados ("reds"), represented by the Colorado Party, with each party's name taken from the colour of its emblems. In 1838, Oribe was forced to resign the presidency; he established a rebel army and began a long civil war, the Guerra Grande, which lasted until 1851.
The city of Montevideo suffered a siege of eight years between 1843 and 1851, during which it was supplied by sea with British and French support. Oribe, with the support of the then conservative Governor of Buenos Aires Province Juan Manuel de Rosas, besieged the Colorados in Montevideo, where the latter were supported by the French Legion, the Italian Legion, the Basque Legion and battalions from Brazil. Finally, in 1851, with the additional support of Argentine rebels who opposed Rosas, the Colorados defeated Oribe. The fighting, however, resumed in 1855, when the Blancos came to power, which they maintained until 1865. Thereafter, the Colorado Party regained power, which they retained until past the middle of the 20th century.
After the end of hostilities, a period of growth and expansion started for the city. In 1853 a stagecoach bus line was established joining Montevideo with the newly formed settlement of Unión and the first natural gas street lights were inaugurated.[citation needed] From 1854 to 1861 the first public sanitation facilities were constructed. In 1856 the Teatro Solís was inaugurated, 15 years after the beginning of its construction. By Decree, on December 1861 the areas of Aguada and Cordón were incorporated to the growing Ciudad Nueva (New City). In 1866, an underwater telegraph line connected the city with Buenos Aires. The statue of Peace, La Paz, was erected on a column in Plaza Cagancha and the building of the Postal Service as well as the bridge of Paso Molino were inaugurated in 1867.
In 1868, the horse-drawn tram company Compañía de Tranvías al Paso del Molino y Cerro created the first lines connecting Montevideo with Unión, the beach resort of Capurro and the industrialized and economically independent Villa del Cerro, at the time called Cosmopolis. In the same year, the Mercado del Puerto was inaugurated. In 1869, the first railway line of the company Ferrocarril Central del Uruguay was inaugurated connecting Bella Vista with the town of Las Piedras. During the same year and the next, the neighbourhoods Colón, Nuevo París and La Comercial were founded. The famous to our days Sunday market of Tristán Narvaja Street was established in Cordón in 1870. Public water supply was established in 1871. In 1878, Bulevar Circunvalación was constructed, a boulevard starting from Punta Carretas, going up to the north end of the city and then turning west to end at the beach of Capurro. It was renamed to Artigas Boulevard (its current name) in 1885. By Decree, on 8 January 1881, the area Los Pocitos was incorporated to the Novísima Ciudad (Most New City).
The first telephone lines were installed in 1882 and electric street lights took the place of the gas operated ones in 1886. The Hipódromo de Maroñas started operating in 1888, and the neighbourhoods of Reus del Sur, Reus del Norte and Conciliación were inaugurated in 1889. The new building of the School of Arts and Trades, as well as Zabala Square in Ciudad Vieja were inaugurated in 1890, followed by the Italian Hospital in 1891. In the same year, the village of Peñarol was founded. Other neighbourhoods that were founded were Belgrano and Belvedere in 1892, Jacinto Vera in 1895 and Trouville in 1897. In 1894 the new port was constructed, and in 1897, the Central Railway Station of Montevideo was inaugurated.
In the early 20th century, many Europeans (particularly Spaniards and Italians but also thousands from Central Europe) immigrated to the city. In 1908, 30% of the city's population of 300,000 was foreign-born. In that decade the city expanded quickly: new neighbourhoods were created and many separate settlements were annexed to the city, among which were the Villa del Cerro, Pocitos, the Prado and Villa Colón. The Rodó Park and the Estadio Gran Parque Central were also established, which served as poles of urban development.
During World War II, a famous incident involving the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee took place in Punta del Este, 200 kilometers (120 mi) from Montevideo. After the Battle of the River Plate with the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy on 13 December 1939, the Graf Spee retreated to Montevideo's port, which was considered neutral at the time. To avoid risking the crew in what he thought would be a losing battle, Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttled the ship on 17 December. Langsdorff committed suicide two days later.[citation needed] The eagle figurehead of the Graf Spee was salvaged on 10 February 2006; to protect the feelings of those still sensitive to Nazi Germany, the swastika on the figurehead was covered as it was pulled from the water.
Montevideo is situated on the north shore of the Río de la Plata, the arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the south coast of Uruguay from the north coast of Argentina; Buenos Aires lies 230 kilometres (140 mi) west on the Argentine side. The Santa Lucía River forms a natural border between Montevideo and San José Department to its west. To the city's north and east is Canelones Department, with the stream of Carrasco forming the eastern natural border. The coastline forming the city's southern border is interspersed with rocky protrusions and sandy beaches. The Bay of Montevideo forms a natural harbour, the nation's largest and one of the largest in the Southern Cone, and the finest natural port in the region, functioning as a crucial component of the Uruguayan economy and foreign trade. Various streams criss-cross the town and empty into the Bay of Montevideo. The coastline and rivers are heavily polluted and of high salinity.
The city has an average elevation of 43 metres (141 ft). Its highest elevations are two hills: the Cerro de Montevideo and the Cerro de la Victoria, with the highest point, the peak of Cerro de Montevideo, crowned by a fortress, the Fortaleza del Cerro at a height of 134 metres (440 ft). Closest cities by road are Las Piedras to the north and the so-called Ciudad de la Costa (a conglomeration of coastal towns) to the east, both in the range of 20 to 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the city center. The approximate distances to the neighbouring department capitals by road are, 90 kilometres (56 mi) to San Jose de Mayo (San Jose Department) and 46 kilometres (29 mi) to Canelones (Canelones Department).
The Municipality of Montevideo was first created by a legal act of 18 December 1908. The municipality's first mayor (1909–1911) was Daniel Muñoz. Municipalities were abolished by the Uruguayan Constitution of 1918, effectively restored during the 1933 military coup of Gabriel Terra, and formally restored by the 1934 Constitution. The 1952 Constitution again decided to abolish the municipalities; it came into effect in February 1955. Municipalities were replaced by departmental councils, which consisted of a collegiate executive board with 7 members from Montevideo and 5 from the interior region. However, municipalities were revived under the 1967 Constitution and have operated continuously since that time.
As of 2010[update], the city of Montevideo has been divided into 8 political municipalities (Municipios), referred to with the letters from A to G, including CH, each presided over by a mayor elected by the citizens registered in the constituency. This division, according to the Municipality of Montevideo, "aims to advance political and administrative decentralization in the department of Montevideo, with the aim of deepening the democratic participation of citizens in governance." The head of each Municipio is called an alcalde or (if female) alcaldesa.
Of much greater importance is the division of the city into 62 barrios: neighbourhoods or wards. Many of the city's barrios—such as Sayago, Ituzaingó and Pocitos—were previously geographically separate settlements, later absorbed by the growth of the city. Others grew up around certain industrial sites, including the salt-curing works of Villa del Cerro and the tanneries in Nuevo París. Each barrio has its own identity, geographic location and socio-cultural activities. A neighbourhood of great significance is Ciudad Vieja, that was surrounded by a protective wall until 1829. This area contains most important buildings of the colonial era and early decades of independence.
In 1860, Montevideo had 57,913 inhabitants including a number of people of African origin who had been brought as slaves and had gained their freedom around the middle of the century. By 1880, the population had quadrupled, mainly because of the great European immigration. In 1908, its population had grown massively to 309,331 inhabitants. In the course of the 20th century the city continued to receive large numbers of European immigrants, especially Spanish and Italian, followed by French, Germans or Dutch, English or Irish, Polish, Greek, Hungarians, Russians, Croats, Lebanese, Armenians, and Jews of various origins. The last wave of immigrants occurred between 1945 and 1955.
According to the census survey carried out between 15 June and 31 July 2004, Montevideo had a population of 1,325,968 persons, compared to Uruguay's total population of 3,241,003. The female population was 707,697 (53.4%) while the male population accounted for 618,271 (46.6%). The population had declined since the previous census carried out in 1996, with an average annual growth rate of −1.5 per thousand. Continual decline has been documented since the census period of 1975–1985, which showed a rate of −5.6 per thousand. The decrease is due in large part to lowered fertility, partly offset by mortality, and to a smaller degree in migration. The birth rate declined by 19% from 1996 (17 per thousand) to 2004 (13.8 per thousand). Similarly, the total fertility rate (TFR) declined from 2.24 in 1996 to 1.79 in 2004. However, mortality continued to fall with life expectancy at birth for both sexes increasing by 1.73 years.
As the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo is the economic and political centre of the country. Most of the largest and wealthiest businesses in Uruguay have their headquarters in the city. Since the 1990s the city has undergone rapid economic development and modernization, including two of Uruguay's most important buildings—the World Trade Center Montevideo (1998), and Telecommunications Tower (2000), the headquarters of Uruguay's government-owned telecommunications company ANTEL, increasing the city's integration into the global marketplace.
The most important state-owned companies headquartered in Montevideo are: AFE (railways), ANCAP (Energy), Administracion Nacional de Puertos (Ports), ANTEL (telecommunications), BHU (savings and loan), BROU (bank), BSE (insurance), OSE (water & sewage), UTE (electricity). These companies operate under public law, using a legal entity defined in the Uruguayan Constitution called Ente Autonomo ("autonomous entity"). The government also owns part of other companies operating under private law, such as those owned wholly or partially by the CND (National Development Corporation).
Banking has traditionally been one of the strongest service export sectors in Uruguay: the country was once dubbed "the Switzerland of America", mainly for its banking sector and stability, although that stability has been threatened in the 21st century by the recent global economic climate. The largest bank in Uruguay is Banco Republica (BROU), based in Montevideo. Almost 20 private banks, most of them branches of international banks, operate in the country (Banco Santander, ABN AMRO, Citibank, Lloyds TSB, among others). There are also a myriad of brokers and financial-services bureaus, among them Ficus Capital, Galfin Sociedad de Bolsa, Europa Sociedad de Bolsa, Darío Cukier, GBU, Hordeñana & Asociados Sociedad de Bolsa, etc.
Tourism accounts for much of Uruguay's economy. Tourism in Montevideo is centered in the Ciudad Vieja area, which includes the city's oldest buildings, several museums, art galleries, and nightclubs, with Sarandí Street and the Mercado del Puerto being the most frequented venues of the old city. On the edge of Ciudad Vieja, Plaza Independencia is surrounded by many sights, including the Solís Theatre and the Palacio Salvo; the plaza also constitutes one end of 18 de Julio Avenue, the city's most important tourist destination outside of Ciudad Vieja. Apart from being a shopping street, the avenue is noted for its Art Deco buildings, three important public squares, the Gaucho Museum, the Palacio Municipal and many other sights. The avenue leads to the Obelisk of Montevideo; beyond that is Parque Batlle, which along with the Parque Prado is another important tourist destination. Along the coast, the Fortaleza del Cerro, the Rambla (the coastal avenue), 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) of sandy beaches, and Punta Gorda attract many tourists, as do the Barrio Sur and Palermo barrios.
Montevideo has over 50 hotels, mostly located within the downtown area or along the beachfront of the Rambla de Montevideo. Many of the hotels are in the modern, western style, such as the Sheraton Montevideo, the Radisson Montevideo Victoria Plaza Hotel located on the central Plaza Independencia, and the Plaza Fuerte Hotel on the waterfront. The Sheraton has 207 guest rooms and 10 suites and is luxuriously furnished with imported furniture. The Radisson Montevideo has 232 rooms and contains a casino and is served by the Restaurante Arcadia.
Montevideo is the heartland of retailing in Uruguay. The city has become the principal centre of business and real estate, including many expensive buildings and modern towers for residences and offices, surrounded by extensive green spaces. In 1985, the first shopping centre in Rio de la Plata, Montevideo Shopping was built. In 1994, with building of three more shopping complexes such as the Shopping Tres Cruces, Portones Shopping, and Punta Carretas Shopping, the business map of the city changed dramatically. The creation of shopping complexes brought a major change in the habits of the people of Montevideo. Global firms such as McDonald's and Burger King etc. are firmly established in Montevideo.
The architecture of Montevideo ranges from Neoclassical buildings such as the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral to the Postmodern style of the World Trade Center Montevideo or the 158-metre (518 ft) ANTEL Telecommunication Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the country. The Along with the Telecommunications Tower, the Palacio Salvo dominates the skyline of the Bay of Montevideo. The building façades in the Old Town reflect the city's extensive European immigration, displaying the influence of old European architecture. Notable government buildings include the Legislative Palace, the City Hall, Estévez Palace and the Executive Tower. The most notable sports stadium is the Estadio Centenario within Parque Batlle. Parque Batlle, Parque Rodó and Parque Prado are Montevideo's three great parks.
The Pocitos district, near the beach of the same name, has many homes built by Bello and Reboratti between 1920 and 1940, with a mixture of styles. Other landmarks in Pocitos are the "Edificio Panamericano" designed by Raul Sichero, and the "Positano" and "El Pilar" designed by Adolfo Sommer Smith and Luis García Pardo in the 1950s and 1960s. However, the construction boom of the 1970s and 1980s transformed the face of this neighbourhood, with a cluster of modern apartment buildings for upper and upper middle class residents.[citation needed]
World Trade Center Montevideo officially opened in 1998, although work is still ongoing as of 2010[update]. The complex is composed of three towers, two three-story buildings called World Trade Center Plaza and World Trade Center Avenue and a large central square called Towers Square. World Trade Center 1 was the first building to be inaugurated, in 1998.[citation needed] It has 22 floors and 17,100 square metres of space. That same year the avenue and the auditorium were raised. World Trade Center 2 was inaugurated in 2002, a twin tower of World Trade Center 1. Finally, in 2009, World Trade Center 3 and the World Trade Center Plaza and the Towers Square were inaugurated. It is located between the avenues Luis Alberto de Herrera and 26 de Marzo and has 19 floors and 27,000 square metres (290,000 sq ft) of space. The 6,300-square-metre (68,000 sq ft)[citation needed] World Trade Center Plaza is designed to be a centre of gastronomy opposite Towers Square and Bonavita St. Among the establishments on the plaza are Burger King, Walrus, Bamboo, Asia de Cuba, Gardenia Mvd, and La Claraboya Cafe.
The Towers Square, is an area of remarkable aesthetic design, intended to be a platform for the development of business activities, art exhibitions, dance and music performances and social place. This square connects the different buildings and towers which comprise the WTC Complex and it is the main access to the complex. The square contains various works of art, notably a sculpture by renowned Uruguayan sculptor Pablo Atchugarry. World Trade Center 4, with 40 floors and 53,500 square metres (576,000 sq ft) of space is under construction as of 2010[update].[citation needed]
The Solís Theatre is Uruguay's oldest theatre. It was built in 1856 and is currently owned by the government of Montevideo. In 1998, the government of Montevideo started a major reconstruction of the theatre, which included two US$110,000 columns designed by Philippe Starck. The reconstruction was completed in 2004, and the theatre reopened in August of that year. The plaza is also the site of the offices of the President of Uruguay (both the Estévez Palace and the Executive Tower). The Artigas Mausoleum is located at the centre of the plaza. Statues include that of José Gervasio Artigas, hero of Uruguay's independence movement; an honour guard keeps vigil at the Mausoleum.
Palacio Salvo, at the intersection of 18 de Julio Avenue and Plaza Independencia, was designed by the architect Mario Palanti and completed in 1925. Palanti, an Italian immigrant living in Buenos Aires, used a similar design for his Palacio Barolo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Palacio Salvo stands 100 metres (330 ft) high, including its antenna. It is built on the former site of the Confitería La Giralda, renowned for being where Gerardo Matos Rodríguez wrote his tango "La Cumparsita" (1917.) Palacio Salvo was originally intended to function as a hotel but is now a mixture of offices and private residences.
Also of major note in Ciudad Vieja is the Plaza de la Constitución (or Plaza Matriz). During the first decades of Uruguayan independence this square was the main hub of city life. On the square are the Cabildo—the seat of colonial government—and the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral. The cathedral is the burial place of Fructuoso Rivera, Juan Antonio Lavalleja and Venancio Flores. Another notable square is Plaza Zabala with the equestrian statue of Bruno Mauricio de Zabala. On its south side, Palacio Taranco, once residence of the Ortiz Taranco brothers, is now the Museum of Decorative Arts. A few blocks northwest of Plaza Zabala is the Mercado del Puerto, another major tourist destination.
Parque Batlle (formerly: Parque de los Aliados, translation: "Park of the Allies") is a major public central park, located south of Avenida Italia and north of Avenue Rivera. Along with Parque Prado and Parque Rodó it is one of three large parks that dominate Montevideo. The park and surrounding area constitute one of the 62 neighbourhoods (barrios) of the city. The barrio of Parque Batlle is one of seven coastal barrios, the others being Buceo, Carrasco, Malvin, Pocitos, Punta Carretas, and Punta Gorda. The current barrio of Parque Battle includes four former districts: Belgrano, Italiano, Villa Dolores and Batlle Park itself and borders the neighbourhoods of La Blanqueada, Tres Cruces, Pocitos and Buceo. It has a high population density and most of its households are of medium-high- or high-income. Villa Dolores, a subdistrict of Parque Batlle, took its name from the original villa of Don Alejo Rossell y Rius and of Doña Dolores Pereira de Rossel. On their grounds, they started a private collection of animals that became a zoological garden and was passed to the city in 1919; in 1955 the Planetarium of Montevideo was built within its premises.
Parque Batlle is named in honour of José Batlle y Ordóñez, President of Uruguay from 1911 to 1915. The park was originally proposed by an Act of March 1907, which also projected wide boulevards and avenues. French landscape architect, Carlos Thays, began the plantings in 1911. In 1918, the park was named Parque de los Aliados, following the victory of the Allies of World War I. On 5 May 1930, after significant expansion, it was again renamed as Parque Batlle y Ordóñez, in memory of the prominent politician and president, who had died in 1929. The park was designated a National Historic Monument Park in 1975. As of 2010[update], the park covers an area of 60 hectares (150 acres) and is considered the "lung" of the Montevideo city due to the large variety of trees planted here.
Parque Rodó is both a barrio (neighbourhood) of Montevideo and a park which lies mostly outside the limits of the neighbourhood itself and belongs to Punta Carretas. The name "Rodó" commemorates José Enrique Rodó, an important Uruguayan writer whose monument is in the southern side of the main park. The park was conceived as a French-style city park. Apart from the main park area which is delimited by Sarmiento Avenue to the south, Parque Rodó includes an amusement park; the Estadio Luis Franzini, belonging to Defensor Sporting; the front lawn of the Faculty of Engineering and a strip west of the Club de Golf de Punta Carretas that includes the Canteras ("quarry") del Parque Rodó, the Teatro de Verano ("summer theatre") and the Lago ("lake") del Parque Rodó.
On the east side of the main park area is the National Museum of Visual Arts. On this side, a very popular street market takes place every Sunday. On the north side is an artificial lake with a little castle housing a municipal library for children. An area to its west is used as an open-air exhibition of photography. West of the park, across the coastal avenue Rambla Presidente Wilson, stretches Ramirez Beach. Directly west of the main park are, and belonging to Parque Rodó barrio, is the former Parque Hotel, now called Edifício Mercosur, seat of the parliament of the members countries of the Mercosur. During the guerilla war the Tupamaros frequently attacked buildings in this area, including the old hotel.
The first set of subsidiary forts were planned by the Portuguese at Montevideo in 1701 to establish a front line base to stop frequent insurrections by the Spaniards emanating from Buenos Aires. These fortifications were planned within the River Plate estuary at Colonia del Sacramento. However, this plan came to fruition only in November 1723, when Captain Manuel Henriques de Noronha reached the shores of Montevideo with soldiers, guns and colonists on his warship Nossa Senhora de Oliveara. They built a small square fortification. However, under siege from forces from Buenos Aires, the Portuguese withdrew from Montevideo Bay in January 1724, after signing an agreement with the Spaniards.
Fortaleza del Cerro overlooks the bay of Montevideo. An observation post at this location was first built by the Spanish in the late 18th century. In 1802, a beacon replaced the observation post; construction of the fortress began in 1809 and was completed in 1839. It has been involved in many historical developments and has been repeatedly taken over by various sides. In 1907, the old beacon was replaced with a stronger electric one. It has been a National Monument since 1931 and has housed a military museum since 1916. Today it is one of the tourist attractions of Montevideo.
The Rambla is an avenue that goes along the entire coastline of Montevideo. The literal meaning of the Spanish word rambla is "avenue" or "watercourse", but in the Americas it is mostly used as "coastal avenue", and since all the southern departments of Uruguay border either the Río de la Plata or the Atlantic Ocean, they all have ramblas as well. As an integral part of Montevidean identity, the Rambla has been included by Uruguay in the Indicative List of World Heritage sites, though it has not received this status. Previously, the entire Rambla was called Rambla Naciones Unidas ("United Nations"), but in recent times different names have been given to specific parts of it.
The largest cemetery is the Cementerio del Norte, located in the northern-central part of the city. The Central Cemetery (Spanish: Cementerio central), located in Barrio Sur in the southern area of the city, is one of Uruguay's main cemeteries. It was one of the first cemeteries (in contrast to church graveyards) in the country, founded in 1835 in a time where burials were still carried out by the Catholic Church. It is the burial place of many of the most famous Uruguayans, such as Eduardo Acevedo, Delmira Agustini, Luis Batlle Berres, José Batlle y Ordóñez, Juan Manuel Blanes, François Ducasse, father of Comte de Lautréamont (Isidore Ducasse), Luis Alberto de Herrera, Benito Nardone, José Enrique Rodó, and Juan Zorrilla de San Martín.
The other large cemeteries are the Cementerio del Buceo, Cementerio del Cerro, and Cementerio Paso Molino. The British Cemetery Montevideo (Cementerio Británico) is another of the oldest cemeteries in Uruguay, located in the Buceo neighborhood. Many noblemen and eminent persons are buried there. The cemetery originated when the Englishman Mr. Thomas Samuel Hood purchased a plot of land in the name of the English residents in 1828. However, in 1884 the government compensated the British by moving the cemetery to Buceo to accommodate city growth. A section of the cemetery, known as British Cemetery Montevideo Soldiers and Sailors, contains the graves of quite a number of sailors of different nationalities, although the majority are of British descent. One United States Marine, Henry de Costa, is buried here.
Montevideo has a very rich architectural heritage and an impressive number of writers, artists, and musicians. Uruguayan tango is a unique form of dance that originated in the neighbourhoods of Montevideo towards the end of the 1800s. Tango, candombe and murga are the three main styles of music in this city. The city is also the centre of the cinema of Uruguay, which includes commercial, documentary and experimental films. There are two movie theatre companies running seven cinemas, around ten independent ones and four art film cinemas in the city. The theatre of Uruguay is admired inside and outside Uruguayan borders. The Solís Theatre is the most prominent theatre in Uruguay and the oldest in South America. There are several notable theatrical companies and thousands of professional actors and amateurs. Montevideo playwrights produce dozens of works each year; of major note are Mauricio Rosencof, Ana Magnabosco and Ricardo Prieto.
The first public library in Montevideo was formed by the initial donation of the private library of Father José Manuel Pérez Castellano, who died in 1815. Its promoter, director and organizer was Father Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga, who also made a considerable donation along with donations from José Raimundo Guerra, as well as others from the Convent of San Francisco in Salta. In 1816 its stock was 5,000 volumes.[citation needed] The current building of the National Library of Uruguay (Biblioteca Pública de Uruguay) was designed by Luis Crespi in the Neoclassical style and occupies an area of 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft). Construction began in 1926 and it was finally inaugurated in 1964. Its current collection amounts to roughly 900,000 volumes.
In Montevideo, as throughout the Rio de Plata region, the most popular forms of music are tango, milonga and vals criollo. Many notable songs originated in Montevideo including "El Tango supremo", La Cumparsita", La Milonga", "La Puñalada" and "Desde el Alma", composed by notable Montevideo musicians such as Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, Pintín Castellanos and Rosita Melo. Tango is deeply ingrained in the cultural life of the city and is the theme for many of the bars and restaurants in the city. Fun Fun' Bar, established in 1935, is one of the most important places for tango in Uruguay as is El Farolito, located in the old part of the city and Joventango, Café Las Musas, Garufa and Vieja Viola. The city is also home to the Montevideo Jazz Festival and has the Bancaria Jazz Club bar catering for jazz enthusiasts.
In the early 1970s (1973, to be particular) when the military junta took over power in Uruguay, art suffered in Montevideo. The art studios went into protest mode, with Rimer Cardillo, one of the country's leading artists, making the National Institute of Fine Arts, Montevideo a "hotbed of resistance". This resulted in the military junta coming down heavily on artists by closing the Fine Art Institute and carting away all the presses and other studio equipment. Consequently, the learning of fine arts was only in private studios run by people who had been let out of jail, in works of printing and on paper and also painting and sculpture. It resumed much later.
The Montevideo Cabildo was the seat of government during the colonial times of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. It is located in front of Constitution Square, in Ciudad Vieja. Built between 1804 and 1869 in Neoclassical style, with a series of Doric and Ionic columns, it became a National Heritage Site in 1975. In 1958, the Municipal Historic Museum and Archive was inaugurated here. It features three permanent city museum exhibitions, as well as temporary art exhibitions, cultural events, seminars, symposiums and forums.
The Palacio Taranco is located in front of the Plaza Zabala, in the heart of Ciudad Vieja. It was erected in the early 20th century as the residence of the Ortiz Taranco brothers on the ruins of Montevideo's first theatre (of 1793), during a period in which the architectural style was influenced by French architecture. The palace was designed by French architects Charles Louis Girault and Jules Chifflot León who also designed the Petit Palais and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It passed to the city from the heirs of the Tarancos in 1943, along with its precious collection of Uruguayan furniture and draperies and was deemed by the city as an ideal place for a museum; in 1972 it became the Museum of Decorative Arts of Montevideo and in 1975 it became a National Heritage Site. The Decorative Arts Museum has an important collection of European paintings and decorative arts, ancient Greek and Roman art and Islamic ceramics of the 10th–18th century from the area of present-day Iran. The palace is often used as a meeting place by the Uruguayan government.
The National History Museum of Montevideo is located in the historical residence of General Fructuoso Rivera. It exhibits artifacts related to the history of Uruguay. In a process begun in 1998, the National Museum of Natural History (1837) and the National Museum of Anthropology (1981), merged in 2001, becoming the National Museum of Natural History and Anthropology. In July 2009, the two institutions again became independent. The Historical Museum has annexed eight historical houses in the city, five of which are located in the Ciudad Vieja. One of them, on the same block with the main building, is the historic residence of Antonio Montero, which houses the Museo Romantico.
The Museo Torres García is located in the Old Town, and exhibits Joaquín Torres García's unusual portraits of historical icons and cubist paintings akin to those of Picasso and Braque. The museum was established by Manolita Piña Torres, the widow of Torres Garcia, after his death in 1949. She also set up the García Torres Foundation, a private non-profit organization that organizes the paintings, drawings, original writings, archives, objects and furniture designed by the painter as well as the photographs, magazines and publications related to him.
There are several other important art museums in Montevideo. The National Museum of Visual Arts in Parque Rodó has Uruguay's largest collection of paintings. The Juan Manuel Blanes Museum was founded in 1930, the 100th anniversary of the first Constitution of Uruguay, significant with regard to the fact that Juan Manuel Blanes painted Uruguayan patriotic themes. In back of the museum is a beautiful Japanese Garden with a pond where there are over a hundred carp. The Museo de Historia del Arte, located in the Palacio Municipal, features replicas of ancient monuments and exhibits a varied collection of artifacts from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Greece, Rome and Native American cultures including local finds of the pre-Columbian period. The Museo Municipal Precolombino y Colonial, in the Ciudad Vieja, has preserved collections of the archaeological finds from excavations carried out by Uruguayan archaeologist Antonio Taddei. These antiquaries are exhibits of pre-Columbian art of Latin America, painting and sculpture from the 17th and 18th century mostly from Mexico, Peru and Brazil. The Museo de Arte Contempo has small but impressive exhibits of modern Uruguayan painting and sculpture.
There are also other types of museums in the city. The Museo del Gaucho y de la Moneda, located in the Centro, has distinctive displays of the historical culture of Uruguay's gauchos, their horse gear, silver work and mate (tea), gourds, and bombillas (drinking straws) in odd designs. The Museo Naval, is located on the eastern waterfront in Buceo and offers exhibits depicting the maritime history of Uruguay. The Museo del Automóvil, belonging to the Automobile Club of Uruguay, has a rich collection of vintage cars which includes a 1910 Hupmobile. The Museo y Parque Fernando García in Carrasco, a transport and automobile museum, includes old horse carriages and some early automobiles. The Castillo Pittamiglio, with an unusual façade, highlights the eccentric legacy of Humberto Pittamiglio, local alchemist and architect.
The center of traditional Uruguayan food and beverage in Montevideo is the Mercado del Puerto ("Port Market"). A torta frita is a pan-fried cake consumed in Montevideo and throughout Uruguay. It is generally circular, with a small cut in the centre for cooking, and is made from wheat flour, yeast, water and sugar or salt. Beef is very important in Uruguayan cuisine and an essential part of many dishes. Montevideo has a variety of restaurants, from traditional Uruguayan cuisine to Japanese cuisine such as sushi. Notable restaurants in Montevideo include Arcadia atop the Plaza Victoria, widely regarded to be the finest restaurant in the city. Arcadia is set in a classic Italian-inspired dining room and serves lavish dishes such as terrine of pheasant marinated in cognac, grilled lamb glazed with mint and garlic, and duck confit on thin strudel pastry with red cabbage. El Fogon is more popular with the late-night diners of the city. Its interior is brightly lit and the walls covered with big mirrors. Officially a barbecue and seafood restaurant, it serves grilled meat dishes, as well as salmon, shrimp and calamari. Also of note is the Cru. Numerous restaurants are located along the Rambla of Montevideo. There is an Irish pub in the eastern part of the Old District named Shannon Irish pub, another testament to the European heritage of the city.
As the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo is home to a number of festivals and carnivals including a Gaucho festival when people ride through the streets on horseback in traditional gaucho gear. The major annual festival is the annual Montevideo Carnaval which is part of the national festival of Carnival Week, celebrated throughout Uruguay, with central activities in the capital, Montevideo. Officially, the public holiday lasts for two days on Carnival Monday and Shrove Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday, but due to the prominence of the festival, most shops and businesses close for the entire week. During carnival there are many open-air stage performances and competitions and the streets and houses are vibrantly decorated. "Tablados" or popular scenes, both fixed and movable, are erected in the whole city. Notable displays include "Desfile de las Llamadas" ("Parade of the Calls"), which is a grand united parade held on the south part of downtown, where it used to be a common ritual back in the early 20th century. Due to the scale of the festival, preparation begins as early as December with an election of the "zonal beauty queens" to appear in the carnival.
Church and state are officially separated since 1916 in Uruguay. The religion with most followers in Montevideo is Roman Catholicism and has been so since the foundation of the city. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montevideo was created as the Apostolic Vicariate of Montevideo in 1830. The vicariate was promoted to the Diocese of Montevideo on 13 July 1878. Pope Leo XIII elevated it to the rank of a metropolitan archdiocese on 14 April 1897. The new archdiocese became the Metropolitan of the suffragan sees of Canelones, Florida, Maldonado–Punta del Este, Melo, Mercedes, Minas, Salto, San José de Mayo, Tacuarembó.
Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Corazón ("Our Lady of the Sacred Heart"), also known as Iglesia Punta Carretas ("Punta Carretas Church"), was built between 1917 and 1927 in the Romanesque Revival style. The church was originally part of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, but is presently in the parish of the Ecclesiastic Curia. Its location is at the corner of Solano García and José Ellauri. It has a nave and aisles. The roof has many vaults. During the construction of the Punta Carretas Shopping complex, major cracks developed in the structure of the church as a result of differential foundation settlement.
The University of the Republic is the country's largest and most important university, with a student body of 81,774, according to the census of 2007. It was founded on 18 July 1849 in Montevideo, where most of its buildings and facilities are still located. Its current Rector is Dr. Rodrigo Arocena. The university houses 14 faculties (departments) and various institutes and schools. Many eminent Uruguayans have graduated from this university, including Carlos Vaz Ferreira, José Luis Massera, Gabriel Paternain, Mario Wschebor, Roman Fresnedo Siri, Carlos Ott and Eladio Dieste
The process of founding the country's public university began on 11 June 1833 with the passage of a law proposed by Senator Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga. It called for the creation of nine academic departments; the President of the Republic would pass a decree formally creating the departments once the majority of them were in operation. In 1836, the House of General Studies was formed, housing the departments of Latin, philosophy, mathematics, theology and jurisprudence. On 27 May 1838, Manuel Oribe passed a decree establishing the Greater University of the Republic. That decree had few practical effects, given the institutional instability of the Oriental Republic of the Uruguay at that time.
The largest private university in Uruguay, is also located in Montevideo. ORT Uruguay was first established as a non-profit organization in 1942, and was officially certified as a private university in September 1996, becoming the second private educational institution in the country to achieve that status.[citation needed] It is a member of World ORT, an international educational network founded in 1880 by the Jewish community in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The university has about 8,000 students, distributed among 5 faculties and institutes, mainly geared towards the sciences and technology/engineering. Its current rector as of 2010[update] is Dr. Jorge A. Grünberg.
The Montevideo Crandon Institute is an American School of missionary origin and the main Methodist educational institution in Uruguay. Founded in 1879 and supported by the Women's Society of the Methodist Church of the United States, it is one of the most traditional and emblematic institutions in the city inculcating John Wesley's values. Its alumni include presidents, senators, ambassadors and Nobel Prize winners, along with musicians, scientists, and others. The Montevideo Crandon Institute boasts of being the first academic institution in South America where a home economics course was taught.
The Christian Brothers of Ireland Stella Maris College is a private, co-educational, not-for-profit Catholic school located in the wealthy residential southeastern neighbourhood of Carrasco. Established in 1955, it is regarded as one of the best high schools in the country, blending a rigorous curriculum with strong extracurricular activities. The school's headmaster, history professor Juan Pedro Toni, is a member of the Stella Maris Board of Governors and the school is a member of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). Its long list of distinguished former pupils includes economists, engineers, architects, lawyers, politicians and even F1 champions. The school has also played an important part in the development of rugby union in Uruguay, with the creation of Old Christians Club, the school's alumni club.
Also in Carrasco is The British Schools of Montevideo, one of the oldest educational institutions in the country, established in 1908.[citation needed] Its original purpose was to give Uruguayan children a complete education, on par with the best schools of the United Kingdom and to establish strong bonds between the British and Uruguayan children living in the country. The School is governed by the Board of Governors, elected by the British Schools Society in Uruguay, whose honorary president is the British Ambassador to Uruguay. Prominent alumni include former government ministers Pedro Bordaberry Herrán and Gabriel Gurméndez Armand-Ugon.
Located in Cordon, St.Brendan´s school, before named St.Catherine´s is a non-profit civil association, which has a solid institutional culture with a clear vision of the future. It is knowned for being one of the best schools in the country, joining students from the wealthiest parts of Montevideo, such us, Punta Carretas, Pocitos, Malvin and Carrasco. St. Brendan’s School is a bilingual, non-denominational school that promotes a pedagogical constructivist approach focused on the child as a whole. In this approach, understanding is built from the connections children make between their own prior knowledge and the learning experiences, thus developing critical thinking skills. It is also the only school in the country implementing the three International Baccalaureate Programmes. These are:
Estadio Centenario, the national football stadium in Parque Batlle, was opened in 1930 for the first World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centennial of Uruguay's first constitution. In this World Cup, Uruguay won the title game against Argentina by 4 goals to 2. The stadium has 70,000 seats. It is listed by FIFA as one of the football world's classic stadiums, along with Maracanã, Wembley Stadium, San Siro, Estadio Azteca, and Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. A museum located within the football stadium has exhibits of memorabilia from Uruguay's 1930 and 1950 World Cup championships. Museum tickets give access to the stadium, stands, locker rooms and playing field.
The Uruguayan Basketball League is headquartered in Montevideo and most of its teams are from the city, including Defensor Sporting, Biguá, Aguada, Goes, Malvín, Unión Atlética, and Trouville. Montevideo is also a centre of rugby; equestrianism, which regained importance in Montevideo after the Maroñas Racecourse reopened; golf, with the Club de Punta Carretas; and yachting, with the Puerto del Buceo, an ideal place to moor yachts. The Golf Club of Punta Carretas was founded in 1894 covers all the area encircled by the west side of Bulevar Artigas, the Rambla (Montevideo's promenade) and the Parque Rodó (Fun Fair).
The Dirección Nacional de Transporte (DNT), part of the national Ministry of Transport and Public Works, is responsible for the organization and development of Montevideo's transport infrastructure. A bus service network covers the entire city. An international bus station, the Tres Cruces Bus Terminal, is located on the lower level of the Tres Cruces Shopping Center, on the side of Artigas Boulevard. This terminal, along with the Baltazar Brum Bus Terminal (or Rio Branco Terminal) by the Port of Montevideo, handles the long distance and intercity bus routes connecting to destinations within Uruguay.
The State Railways Administration of Uruguay (AFE) operates three commuter rail lines, namely the Empalme Olmos, San Jose and Florida. These lines operate to major suburban areas of Canelones, San José and Florida. Within the Montevideo city limits, local trains stop at Lorenzo Carnelli, Yatai (Step Mill), Sayago, Columbus (line to San Jose and Florida), Peñarol and Manga (line Empalme Olmos) stations. The historic 19th century General Artigas Central Station located in the neighbourhood of Aguada, six blocks from the central business district, was abandoned 1 March 2003 and remains closed. A new station, 500 metres (1,600 ft) north of the old one and part of the Tower of Communications modern complex, has taken over the rail traffic.
The port on Montevideo Bay is one of the reasons the city was founded. It gives natural protection to ships, although two jetties now further protect the harbour entrance from waves. This natural port is competitive with the other great port of Río de la Plata, Buenos Aires. The main engineering work on the port occurred between the years 1870 and 1930. These six decades saw the construction of the port's first wooden pier, several warehouses in La Aguada, the north and south Rambla, a river port, a new pier, the dredged river basin and the La Teja refinery. A major storm in 1923 necessitated repairs to many of the city's engineering works. Since the second half of the 20th century, physical changes have ceased, and since that time the area has degraded due to national economic stagnation.
Hospital Maciel is one of the oldest hospitals in Uruguay and stands on the block bounded by the streets Maciel, 25 de Mayo, Guaraní and Washington, with the main entrance at 25 de Mayo, 172. The land was originally donated in Spanish colonial times by philanthropist Francisco Antonio Maciel, who teamed up with Mateo Vidal to establish a hospital and charity. The first building was constructed between 1781 and 1788 and later expanded upon. The present building stems from the 1825 plans of José Toribio (son of Tomás Toribio) and later Bernardo Poncini (wing on the Guaraní street, 1859), Eduardo Canstatt (corner of Guaraní and 25 de Mayo) and Julián Masquelez (1889). The hospital has a chapel built in Greek style by Miguel Estévez in 1798.
Hospital Vilardebó is the only psychiatric hospital in Montevideo. Named after the physician and naturalist Teodoro Vilardebó Matuliche, it opened 21 May 1880. The hospital was originally one of the best of Latin America and in 1915 grew to 1,500 inpatients. Today the hospital is very deteriorated, with broken walls and floors, lack of medicines, beds, and rooms for the personnel. It has an emergency service, outpatient, clinic and inpatient rooms and employs approximately 610 staff, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, administrators, guards, among others. The average patient age is 30 years; more than half of the patients arrive by court order; 42% suffer from schizophrenia, 18% from depression and mania, and there are also a high percentage of drug addicted patients.
Poultry (/ˌpoʊltriː/) are domesticated birds kept by humans for the eggs they produce, their meat, their feathers, or sometimes as pets. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails and turkeys) and the family Anatidae, in order Anseriformes, commonly known as "waterfowl" and including domestic ducks and domestic geese. Poultry also includes other birds that are killed for their meat, such as the young of pigeons (known as squabs) but does not include similar wild birds hunted for sport or food and known as game. The word "poultry" comes from the French/Norman word poule, itself derived from the Latin word pullus, which means small animal.
The domestication of poultry took place several thousand years ago. This may have originally been as a result of people hatching and rearing young birds from eggs collected from the wild, but later involved keeping the birds permanently in captivity. Domesticated chickens may have been used for cockfighting at first and quail kept for their songs, but soon it was realised how useful it was having a captive-bred source of food. Selective breeding for fast growth, egg-laying ability, conformation, plumage and docility took place over the centuries, and modern breeds often look very different from their wild ancestors. Although some birds are still kept in small flocks in extensive systems, most birds available in the market today are reared in intensive commercial enterprises. Poultry is the second most widely eaten type of meat globally and, along with eggs, provides nutritionally beneficial food containing high-quality protein accompanied by a low proportion of fat. All poultry meat should be properly handled and sufficiently cooked in order to reduce the risk of food poisoning.
"Poultry" is a term used for any kind of domesticated bird, captive-raised for its utility, and traditionally the word has been used to refer to wildfowl (Galliformes) and waterfowl (Anseriformes). "Poultry" can be defined as domestic fowls, including chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks, raised for the production of meat or eggs and the word is also used for the flesh of these birds used as food. The Encyclopædia Britannica lists the same bird groups but also includes guinea fowl and squabs (young pigeons). In R. D. Crawford's Poultry breeding and genetics, squabs are omitted but Japanese quail and common pheasant are added to the list, the latter frequently being bred in captivity and released into the wild. In his 1848 classic book on poultry, Ornamental and Domestic Poultry: Their History, and Management, Edmund Dixon included chapters on the peafowl, guinea fowl, mute swan, turkey, various types of geese, the muscovy duck, other ducks and all types of chickens including bantams. In colloquial speech, the term "fowl" is often used near-synonymously with "domesticated chicken" (Gallus gallus), or with "poultry" or even just "bird", and many languages do not distinguish between "poultry" and "fowl". Both words are also used for the flesh of these birds. Poultry can be distinguished from "game", defined as wild birds or mammals hunted for food or sport, a word also used to describe the flesh of these when eaten.
Chickens are medium-sized, chunky birds with an upright stance and characterised by fleshy red combs and wattles on their heads. Males, known as cocks, are usually larger, more boldly coloured, and have more exaggerated plumage than females (hens). Chickens are gregarious, omnivorous, ground-dwelling birds that in their natural surroundings search among the leaf litter for seeds, invertebrates, and other small animals. They seldom fly except as a result of perceived danger, preferring to run into the undergrowth if approached. Today's domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is mainly descended from the wild red junglefowl of Asia, with some additional input from grey junglefowl. Domestication is believed to have taken place between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago, and what are thought to be fossilized chicken bones have been found in northeastern China dated to around 5,400 BC. Archaeologists believe domestication was originally for the purpose of cockfighting, the male bird being a doughty fighter. By 4,000 years ago, chickens seem to have reached the Indus Valley and 250 years later, they arrived in Egypt. They were still used for fighting and were regarded as symbols of fertility. The Romans used them in divination, and the Egyptians made a breakthrough when they learned the difficult technique of artificial incubation. Since then, the keeping of chickens has spread around the world for the production of food with the domestic fowl being a valuable source of both eggs and meat.
Since their domestication, a large number of breeds of chickens have been established, but with the exception of the white Leghorn, most commercial birds are of hybrid origin. In about 1800, chickens began to be kept on a larger scale, and modern high-output poultry farms were present in the United Kingdom from around 1920 and became established in the United States soon after the Second World War. By the mid-20th century, the poultry meat-producing industry was of greater importance than the egg-laying industry. Poultry breeding has produced breeds and strains to fulfil different needs; light-framed, egg-laying birds that can produce 300 eggs a year; fast-growing, fleshy birds destined for consumption at a young age, and utility birds which produce both an acceptable number of eggs and a well-fleshed carcase. Male birds are unwanted in the egg-laying industry and can often be identified as soon as they are hatch for subsequent culling. In meat breeds, these birds are sometimes castrated (often chemically) to prevent aggression. The resulting bird, called a capon, has more tender and flavorful meat, as well.
A bantam is a small variety of domestic chicken, either a miniature version of a member of a standard breed, or a "true bantam" with no larger counterpart. The name derives from the town of Bantam in Java where European sailors bought the local small chickens for their shipboard supplies. Bantams may be a quarter to a third of the size of standard birds and lay similarly small eggs. They are kept by small-holders and hobbyists for egg production, use as broody hens, ornamental purposes, and showing.
Cockfighting is said to be the world's oldest spectator sport and may have originated in Persia 6,000 years ago. Two mature males (cocks or roosters) are set to fight each other, and will do so with great vigour until one is critically injured or killed. Breeds such as the Aseel were developed in the Indian subcontinent for their aggressive behaviour. The sport formed part of the culture of the ancient Indians, Chinese, Greeks, and Romans, and large sums were won or lost depending on the outcome of an encounter. Cockfighting has been banned in many countries during the last century on the grounds of cruelty to animals.
Ducks are medium-sized aquatic birds with broad bills, eyes on the side of the head, fairly long necks, short legs set far back on the body, and webbed feet. Males, known as drakes, are often larger than females (simply known as ducks) and are differently coloured in some breeds. Domestic ducks are omnivores, eating a variety of animal and plant materials such as aquatic insects, molluscs, worms, small amphibians, waterweeds, and grasses. They feed in shallow water by dabbling, with their heads underwater and their tails upended. Most domestic ducks are too heavy to fly, and they are social birds, preferring to live and move around together in groups. They keep their plumage waterproof by preening, a process that spreads the secretions of the preen gland over their feathers.
Clay models of ducks found in China dating back to 4000 BC may indicate the domestication of ducks took place there during the Yangshao culture. Even if this is not the case, domestication of the duck took place in the Far East at least 1500 years earlier than in the West. Lucius Columella, writing in the first century BC, advised those who sought to rear ducks to collect wildfowl eggs and put them under a broody hen, because when raised in this way, the ducks "lay aside their wild nature and without hesitation breed when shut up in the bird pen". Despite this, ducks did not appear in agricultural texts in Western Europe until about 810 AD, when they began to be mentioned alongside geese, chickens, and peafowl as being used for rental payments made by tenants to landowners.
It is widely agreed that the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is the ancestor of all breeds of domestic duck (with the exception of the Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata), which is not closely related to other ducks). Ducks are farmed mainly for their meat, eggs, and down. As is the case with chickens, various breeds have been developed, selected for egg-laying ability, fast growth, and a well-covered carcase. The most common commercial breed in the United Kingdom and the United States is the Pekin duck, which can lay 200 eggs a year and can reach a weight of 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) in 44 days. In the Western world, ducks are not as popular as chickens, because the latter produce larger quantities of white, lean meat and are easier to keep intensively, making the price of chicken meat lower than that of duck meat. While popular in haute cuisine, duck appears less frequently in the mass-market food industry. However, things are different in the East. Ducks are more popular there than chickens and are mostly still herded in the traditional way and selected for their ability to find sufficient food in harvested rice fields and other wet environments.
The greylag goose (Anser anser) was domesticated by the Egyptians at least 3000 years ago, and a different wild species, the swan goose (Anser cygnoides), domesticated in Siberia about a thousand years later, is known as a Chinese goose. The two hybridise with each other and the large knob at the base of the beak, a noticeable feature of the Chinese goose, is present to a varying extent in these hybrids. The hybrids are fertile and have resulted in several of the modern breeds. Despite their early domestication, geese have never gained the commercial importance of chickens and ducks.
Domestic geese are much larger than their wild counterparts and tend to have thick necks, an upright posture, and large bodies with broad rear ends. The greylag-derived birds are large and fleshy and used for meat, while the Chinese geese have smaller frames and are mainly used for egg production. The fine down of both is valued for use in pillows and padded garments. They forage on grass and weeds, supplementing this with small invertebrates, and one of the attractions of rearing geese is their ability to grow and thrive on a grass-based system. They are very gregarious and have good memories and can be allowed to roam widely in the knowledge that they will return home by dusk. The Chinese goose is more aggressive and noisy than other geese and can be used as a guard animal to warn of intruders. The flesh of meat geese is dark-coloured and high in protein, but they deposit fat subcutaneously, although this fat contains mostly monounsaturated fatty acids. The birds are killed either around 10 or about 24 weeks. Between these ages, problems with dressing the carcase occur because of the presence of developing pin feathers.
The modern domesticated turkey is descended from one of six subspecies of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) found in the present Mexican states of Jalisco, Guerrero and Veracruz. Pre-Aztec tribes in south-central Mexico first domesticated the bird around 800 BC, and Pueblo Indians inhabiting the Colorado Plateau in the United States did likewise around 200 BC. They used the feathers for robes, blankets, and ceremonial purposes. More than 1,000 years later, they became an important food source. The first Europeans to encounter the bird misidentified it as a guineafowl, a bird known as a "turkey fowl" at that time because it had been introduced into Europe via Turkey.
Commercial turkeys are usually reared indoors under controlled conditions. These are often large buildings, purpose-built to provide ventilation and low light intensities (this reduces the birds' activity and thereby increases the rate of weight gain). The lights can be switched on for 24-hrs/day, or a range of step-wise light regimens to encourage the birds to feed often and therefore grow rapidly. Females achieve slaughter weight at about 15 weeks of age and males at about 19. Mature commercial birds may be twice as heavy as their wild counterparts. Many different breeds have been developed, but the majority of commercial birds are white, as this improves the appearance of the dressed carcass, the pin feathers being less visible. Turkeys were at one time mainly consumed on special occasions such as Christmas (10 million birds in the United Kingdom) or Thanksgiving (60 million birds in the United States). However, they are increasingly becoming part of the everyday diet in many parts of the world.
The quail is a small to medium-sized, cryptically coloured bird. In its natural environment, it is found in bushy places, in rough grassland, among agricultural crops, and in other places with dense cover. It feeds on seeds, insects, and other small invertebrates. Being a largely ground-dwelling, gregarious bird, domestication of the quail was not difficult, although many of its wild instincts are retained in captivity. It was known to the Egyptians long before the arrival of chickens and was depicted in hieroglyphs from 2575 BC. It migrated across Egypt in vast flocks and the birds could sometimes be picked up off the ground by hand. These were the common quail (Coturnix coturnix), but modern domesticated flocks are mostly of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) which was probably domesticated as early as the 11th century AD in Japan. They were originally kept as songbirds, and they are thought to have been regularly used in song contests.
In the early 20th century, Japanese breeders began to selectively breed for increased egg production. By 1940, the quail egg industry was flourishing, but the events of World War II led to the complete loss of quail lines bred for their song type, as well as almost all of those bred for egg production. After the war, the few surviving domesticated quail were used to rebuild the industry, and all current commercial and laboratory lines are considered to have originated from this population. Modern birds can lay upward of 300 eggs a year and countries such as Japan, India, China, Italy, Russia, and the United States have established commercial Japanese quail farming industries. Japanese quail are also used in biomedical research in fields such as genetics, embryology, nutrition, physiology, pathology, and toxicity studies. These quail are closely related to the common quail, and many young hybrid birds are released into the wild each year to replenish dwindling wild populations.
Guinea fowl originated in southern Africa, and the species most often kept as poultry is the helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris). It is a medium-sized grey or speckled bird with a small naked head with colourful wattles and a knob on top, and was domesticated by the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Guinea fowl are hardy, sociable birds that subsist mainly on insects, but also consume grasses and seeds. They will keep a vegetable garden clear of pests and will eat the ticks that carry Lyme disease. They happily roost in trees and give a loud vocal warning of the approach of predators. Their flesh and eggs can be eaten in the same way as chickens, young birds being ready for the table at the age of about four months.
A squab is the name given to the young of domestic pigeons that are destined for the table. Like other domesticated pigeons, birds used for this purpose are descended from the rock pigeon (Columba livia). Special utility breeds with desirable characteristics are used. Two eggs are laid and incubated for about 17 days. When they hatch, the squabs are fed by both parents on "pigeon's milk", a thick secretion high in protein produced by the crop. Squabs grow rapidly, but are slow to fledge and are ready to leave the nest at 26 to 30 days weighing about 500 g (18 oz). By this time, the adult pigeons will have laid and be incubating another pair of eggs and a prolific pair should produce two squabs every four weeks during a breeding season lasting several months.
Worldwide, more chickens are kept than any other type of poultry, with over 50 billion birds being raised each year as a source of meat and eggs. Traditionally, such birds would have been kept extensively in small flocks, foraging during the day and housed at night. This is still the case in developing countries, where the women often make important contributions to family livelihoods through keeping poultry. However, rising world populations and urbanization have led to the bulk of production being in larger, more intensive specialist units. These are often situated close to where the feed is grown or near to where the meat is needed, and result in cheap, safe food being made available for urban communities. Profitability of production depends very much on the price of feed, which has been rising. High feed costs could limit further development of poultry production.
In free-range husbandry, the birds can roam freely outdoors for at least part of the day. Often, this is in large enclosures, but the birds have access to natural conditions and can exhibit their normal behaviours. A more intensive system is yarding, in which the birds have access to a fenced yard and poultry house at a higher stocking rate. Poultry can also be kept in a barn system, with no access to the open air, but with the ability to move around freely inside the building. The most intensive system for egg-laying chickens is battery cages, often set in multiple tiers. In these, several birds share a small cage which restricts their ability to move around and behave in a normal manner. The eggs are laid on the floor of the cage and roll into troughs outside for ease of collection. Battery cages for hens have been illegal in the EU since January 1, 2012.
Chickens raised intensively for their meat are known as "broilers". Breeds have been developed that can grow to an acceptable carcass size (2 kg (4.4 lb)) in six weeks or less. Broilers grow so fast, their legs cannot always support their weight and their hearts and respiratory systems may not be able to supply enough oxygen to their developing muscles. Mortality rates at 1% are much higher than for less-intensively reared laying birds which take 18 weeks to reach similar weights. Processing the birds is done automatically with conveyor-belt efficiency. They are hung by their feet, stunned, killed, bled, scalded, plucked, have their heads and feet removed, eviscerated, washed, chilled, drained, weighed, and packed, all within the course of little over two hours.
Both intensive and free-range farming have animal welfare concerns. In intensive systems, cannibalism, feather pecking and vent pecking can be common, with some farmers using beak trimming as a preventative measure. Diseases can also be common and spread rapidly through the flock. In extensive systems, the birds are exposed to adverse weather conditions and are vulnerable to predators and disease-carrying wild birds. Barn systems have been found to have the worst bird welfare. In Southeast Asia, a lack of disease control in free-range farming has been associated with outbreaks of avian influenza.
In many countries, national and regional poultry shows are held where enthusiasts exhibit their birds which are judged on certain phenotypical breed traits as specified by their respective breed standards. The idea of poultry exhibition may have originated after cockfighting was made illegal, as a way of maintaining a competitive element in poultry husbandry. Breed standards were drawn up for egg-laying, meat-type, and purely ornamental birds, aiming for uniformity. Sometimes, poultry shows are part of general livestock shows, and sometimes they are separate events such as the annual "National Championship Show" in the United Kingdom organised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain.
Poultry is the second most widely eaten type of meat in the world, accounting for about 30% of total meat production worldwide compared to pork at 38%. Sixteen billion birds are raised annually for consumption, more than half of these in industrialised, factory-like production units. Global broiler meat production rose to 84.6 million tonnes in 2013. The largest producers were the United States (20%), China (16.6%), Brazil (15.1%) and the European Union (11.3%). There are two distinct models of production; the European Union supply chain model seeks to supply products which can be traced back to the farm of origin. This model faces the increasing costs of implementing additional food safety requirements, welfare issues and environmental regulations. In contrast, the United States model turns the product into a commodity.
World production of duck meat was about 4.2 million tonnes in 2011 with China producing two thirds of the total, some 1.7 billion birds. Other notable duck-producing countries in the Far East include Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia and South Korea (12% in total). France (3.5%) is the largest producer in the West, followed by other EU nations (3%) and North America (1.7%). China was also by far the largest producer of goose and guinea fowl meat, with a 94% share of the 2.6 million tonne global market.
Poultry is available fresh or frozen, as whole birds or as joints (cuts), bone-in or deboned, seasoned in various ways, raw or ready cooked. The meatiest parts of a bird are the flight muscles on its chest, called "breast" meat, and the walking muscles on the legs, called the "thigh" and "drumstick". The wings are also eaten (Buffalo wings are a popular example in the United States) and may be split into three segments, the meatier "drumette", the "wingette" (also called the "flat"), and the wing tip (also called the "flapper"). In Japan, the wing is frequently separated, and these parts are referred to as 手羽元 (teba-moto "wing base") and 手羽先 (teba-saki "wing tip").
Dark meat, which avian myologists refer to as "red muscle", is used for sustained activity—chiefly walking, in the case of a chicken. The dark colour comes from the protein myoglobin, which plays a key role in oxygen uptake and storage within cells. White muscle, in contrast, is suitable only for short bursts of activity such as, for chickens, flying. Thus, the chicken's leg and thigh meat are dark, while its breast meat (which makes up the primary flight muscles) is white. Other birds with breast muscle more suitable for sustained flight, such as ducks and geese, have red muscle (and therefore dark meat) throughout. Some cuts of meat including poultry expose the microscopic regular structure of intracellular muscle fibrils which can diffract light and produce iridescent colours, an optical phenomenon sometimes called structural colouration.
A 2011 study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute showed that 47% of the meat and poultry sold in United States grocery stores was contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, and 52% of the bacteria concerned showed resistance to at least three groups of antibiotics. Thorough cooking of the product would kill these bacteria, but a risk of cross-contamination from improper handling of the raw product is still present. Also, some risk is present for consumers of poultry meat and eggs to bacterial infections such as Salmonella and Campylobacter. Poultry products may become contaminated by these bacteria during handling, processing, marketing, or storage, resulting in food-borne illness if the product is improperly cooked or handled.
In general, avian influenza is a disease of birds caused by bird-specific influenza A virus that is not normally transferred to people; however, people in contact with live poultry are at the greatest risk of becoming infected with the virus and this is of particular concern in areas such as Southeast Asia, where the disease is endemic in the wild bird population and domestic poultry can become infected. The virus possibly could mutate to become highly virulent and infectious in humans and cause an influenza pandemic.
Bacteria can be grown in the laboratory on nutrient culture media, but viruses need living cells in which to replicate. Many vaccines to infectious diseases can be grown in fertilised chicken eggs. Millions of eggs are used each year to generate the annual flu vaccine requirements, a complex process that takes about six months after the decision is made as to what strains of virus to include in the new vaccine. A problem with using eggs for this purpose is that people with egg allergies are unable to be immunised, but this disadvantage may be overcome as new techniques for cell-based rather than egg-based culture become available. Cell-based culture will also be useful in a pandemic when it may be difficult to acquire a sufficiently large quantity of suitable sterile, fertile eggs.
Poultry meat and eggs provide nutritionally beneficial food containing protein of high quality. This is accompanied by low levels of fat which have a favourable mix of fatty acids. Chicken meat contains about two to three times as much polyunsaturated fat as most types of red meat when measured by weight. However, for boneless, skinless chicken breast, the amount is much lower. A 100-g serving of baked chicken breast contains 4 g of fat and 31 g of protein, compared to 10 g of fat and 27 g of protein for the same portion of broiled, lean skirt steak.
Arsenal was the first club from the south of England to join The Football League, in 1893. They entered the First Division in 1904, and have since accumulated the second most points. Relegated only once, in 1913, they continue the longest streak in the top division. In the 1930s, Arsenal won five League Championships and two FA Cups, and another FA Cup and two Championships after the war. In 1970–71, they won their first League and FA Cup Double. Between 1988 and 2005, they won five League titles and five FA Cups, including two more Doubles. They completed the 20th century with the highest average league position.
In 1886, Woolwich munitions workers founded the club as Dial Square. In 1913, the club crossed the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury. They became Tottenham Hotspur's nearest club, commencing the North London derby. In 2006, they moved to the Emirates Stadium in nearby Holloway. Arsenal earned €435.5m in 2014–15, with the Emirates Stadium generating the highest revenue in world football. Based on social media activity from 2014–15, Arsenal's fanbase is the fifth largest in the world. Forbes estimates the club was worth $1.3 billion in 2015.
Arsenal Football Club was formed as Dial Square in 1886 by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, south-east London, and were renamed Royal Arsenal shortly afterwards. The club was renamed again to Woolwich Arsenal after becoming a limited company in 1893. The club became the first southern member of the Football League in 1893, starting out in the Second Division, and won promotion to the First Division in 1904. The club's relative geographic isolation resulted in lower attendances than those of other clubs, which led to the club becoming mired in financial problems and effectively bankrupt by 1910, when they were taken over by businessmen Henry Norris and William Hall. Norris sought to move the club elsewhere, and in 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, north London; they dropped "Woolwich" from their name the following year. Arsenal only finished in fifth place in the second division during the last pre-war competitive season of 1914–15, but were nevertheless elected to rejoin the First Division when competitive football resumed in 1919–20, at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Some books have reported that this election to division 1 was achieved by dubious means.
Arsenal appointed Herbert Chapman as manager in 1925. Having already won the league twice with Huddersfield Town in 1923–24 and 1924–25 (see Seasons in English football), Chapman brought Arsenal their first period of major success. His revolutionary tactics and training, along with the signings of star players such as Alex James and Cliff Bastin, laid the foundations of the club's domination of English football in the 1930s. Under his guidance Arsenal won their first major trophies – victory in the 1930 FA Cup Final preceded two League Championships, in 1930–31 and 1932–33. In addition, Chapman was behind the 1932 renaming of the local London Underground station from "Gillespie Road" to "Arsenal", making it the only Tube station to be named specifically after a football club.
Arsenal began winning silverware again with the surprise appointment of club physiotherapist Bertie Mee as manager in 1966. After losing two League Cup finals, they won their first European trophy, the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. This was followed by an even greater triumph: their first League and FA Cup double in 1970–71. This marked a premature high point of the decade; the Double-winning side was soon broken up and the following decade was characterised by a series of near misses, starting with Arsenal finishing as FA Cup runners up in 1972, and First Division runners-up in 1972–73.

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