An kafa Montevideo ne ta Mutanen Espanya a farkon karni na 18 a matsayin sansanin soja a kasar. Tashar tashar jiragen ruwa ta halitta ba da daɗewa ba ta zama wani yanki na kasuwanci da ke gasa da babban birnin Río de la Plata, Buenos Aires. Tarihin Uruguay na farkon karni na 19 ya kasance ne ta hanyar gwagwarmayar da ake yi don rinjaye a yankin Platine, tsakanin Birtaniya, Mutanen Espanya, Portuguese da sauran sojojin mulkin mallaka. A cikin 1806 da 1807, sojojin Birtaniya sun yi ƙoƙari su kama Buenos Aires da Montevideo a matsayin wani ɓangare na Napoleonic Wars.
farkon karni na 18