ent to turn patriotic resentment to his own
advantage.

Meanwhile matters in Uruguay had come to such a pass that Rosas saw an
opportunity to extend his control in that direction also. Placed
between Brazil and the Argentine Confederation and so often a bone of
contention, the little country was hardly free from the rule of the
former state when it came near falling under the domination of the
latter. Only a few years of relative tranquillity had elapsed when two
parties sprang up in Uruguay: the "Reds" (Colorados) and the "Whites"
(Blancos). Of these, the one was supposed to represent the liberal and
the other the conservative element. In fact, they were the followings
of partisan chieftains, whose struggles for the presidency during many
years to come retarded the advancement of a country to which nature had
been generous.

When Fructuoso Rivera, the President up to 1835, thought of choosing
some one to be elected in constitutional fashion as his successor, he
unwisely singled out Manuel Oribe, one of the famous "Thirty-three" who
had raised the cry of independence a decade before. But instead of a
henchman he found a rival. Both of them straightway adopted the colors
and bid for the support of one of the local factions; and both appealed
to the factions of the Argentine Confederation for aid, Rivera to the
Unitaries and Oribe to the Federalists. In 1843, Oribe, at the head of
an army of Blancos and Federalists and with the moral support of Rosas,
laid siege to Montevideo. Defended by Colorados, Unitaries, and numerous
foreigners, including Giuseppe Garibaldi, the town held out valiantly
for eight years--a feat that earned for it the title of the "New Troy."
Anxious to stop the slaughter and destruction that were injuring their
nationals, France, Great Britain, and Brazil offered their mediation;
but Rosas would have none of it. What the antagonists did he cared
little, so long as they enfeebled the country and increased his
chances of dominating it. At length, in 1845, the two European powers
established a blockade of Argentine ports, which was not lifted
until the dictator grudgingly agreed to withdraw his troops from the
neighboring republic.

More than any other single factor, this intervention of France and Great
Britain administered a blow to Rosas from which he could not recover.
The operations of their fleets and the resistance of Montevideo had
lowered the prestige of the dictator and had raised the hopes