Municipal Governor: Ricardo Ehrlich

Surface: 530 km2 (source: Enciclopedia gráfica del Uruguay; Montevideo Comm)

Population: 1,325,968 habitants (source: 2004 census)

Capital City: Montevideo

History

Early history
In 1776, Spain made Montevideo its main naval base (Real Apostadero de Marina) for the South Atlantic, with authority over the Argentine coast, Fernando Po, and the Falklands.

The city fell under heavy British influence from the early 19th century until the early 20th century as a way to circumvent Argentine and Brazilian commercial control.It was briefly occupied by Britain in 1807, and it was repeatedly besieged by Blanco leader Manuel Oribe and Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas between 1838 and 1851. Between 1878 and 1911, British-owned railway companies built an extensive railway network linking the city and its port to the countryside.

20th century
During World War II, a famous incident involving the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee took place in Punta del Este, 200 kilometres (120 mi) from Montevideo. After the Battle of the River Plate with the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy on December 13, 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 December 17. Langsdorff committed suicide two days later.

On 10 February 2006, the eagle figurehead of the Admiral Graf Spee was salvaged.[5] 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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montevideo_Department