Background
Manuel Oribe was born into a leading Montevideo family on 26 August 1792.
Manuel Oribe was born into a leading Montevideo family on 26 August 1792.
He joined the independence struggle when it began in 1811.
In 1821 Oribe returned to Montevideo to join the Portuguese forces there, but when they withdrew three years later, he returned to Buenos Aires. He was a leading figure in the Thirty-Three, led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja, who went from Buenos Aires to Montevideo to launch the struggle for Uruguayan independence.
Oribe succeeded Rivera in March 1835 but soon fell out with Rivera, who began a revolt in 1836. Oribe organized his followers during the conflict into the Blanco Party, and insisted that all government employees wear the White (Blanco) insignia.
Oribe was finally forced to resign in 1838 and went to Buenos Aires. There he participated in various campaigns launched by Juan Manuel de Rosas against his opponents. As a consequence of success in those struggles, he was able to return to Uruguay in 1843 at the head of a force that soon gained control of most of the countryside. However, a nine-year siege of Montevideo, during which he presided over a Blanco government in Restauración, was ultimately unsuccessful. Oribe ostensibly retired to private life in 1851 and subsequently went to Europe. He returned to Uruguay in 1855 and, although continuing to be active in national politics, was unable to return to power. He died two years later, of natural causes.
He was first against the federalists who, under José Gervâsio Artigas, opposed the Buenos Aires authorities, but subsequently joined forces with Artigas and became a captain. However, after the Portuguese seized Montevideo in 1817, Oribe went to Buenos Aires, where he was given a captain’s commission.
Oribe supported the first Uruguayan president, Fructuoso Rivera, opposed Lavalleja’s attempts to challenge him, and became minister of war and navy.