Caballeros Orientales

Caballeros Orientales, the name of a Masonic lodge that existed in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1823. The territory was occupied by the Portuguese, who in 1820 had finalized their invasion with the rout of José Artigas. The 1822 Grito de Ypiranga declaring Brazilian independence from Portugal divided Portuguese and Brazilians and created an atmosphere of reaction in which residents of the Banda Oriental sought to return to the sanctuary of the United Provinces of the Río De La Plata—the principal objective of the Caballeros Orientales. Their attempts failed, however, because of lack of support from the rural caudillos and fear of Brazilian reprisals in the provinces that are now part of Argentina. Members of the group included Manuel and Ignacio Oribe, Santiago Vázquez, Antonio Díaz, and Juan Francisco Giró, all of whom became outstanding figures in the following years. The secret society produced various underground publications in Montevideo and practically dominated the town council in 1823. On withdrawal of the Portuguese and the beginning of Brazilian domination, the Caballeros Orientales ceased their activities, many of them going into exile in Buenos Aires.

See alsoBrazil, Independence Movements; Masonic Orders; Orientales.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

John Street, Artigas and the Emancipation of Uruguay (1959).

Alfredo Castellanos, La Cisplatina: La independencia y la república caudillesca, 1820–1838 (1974).

Additional Bibliography

Golletti Wilkinson, Augusto. Guerra contra el imperio del Brasil: A la luz de sus protagonistas. Buenos Aires: Editorial Dunken, 2003.

Narancio, Edmundo M. La independencia de Uruguay. Madrid, Spain: Editorial MAPFRE, 1992.

                             JosÉ De Torres Wilson