Soon after achieving independence, the political scene in Uruguay became split between two new parties, both splinters of the former Thirty-Three: the conservative Blancos ("Whites") and the liberal Colorados ("Reds"). The Colorados were led by the first President Fructuoso Rivera and represented the business interests of Montevideo; the Blancos were headed by the second Pre. OverviewThe history of Uruguay comprises different periods: the pre-Columbian time or early history (up to the 16th century), the Colonial Period (1516–1811), the Period of Nation-Building (1811–1830), and the history of Uruguay a. The earliest traces of human presence are about 10,000 years old and belong to the hunter-gatherer cultures of Catalanense and Cuareim cultures, which are extensions of cultures originating in Brazil. The earliest discovered. During the colonial era, the present-day territory of Uruguay was known as (east bank of ) and was a buffer territory between the competing colonial pretensions of.
