Uruguayan Carnival (Part One)

I bet you have already heard about the vibrant and colorful Brazilian Carnival, but have you ever heard about its Uruguayan counterpart? If you haven't, I would like to introduce it to you and explain what makes Uruguay's carnival so unique.

1.140 miles [If possible, try to avoid beginning a sentence with a number that isn't written out. Suggestion: Uruguay's capital and biggest cities lies 1.140 miles south of Rio.] south of Rio lies Uruguay's capital and biggest city (big by Uruguayan standards because of its population of about 1.3 million, in China that would be a small city [suggestion: ...1.3 million, which would be considered a small city in China]). Montevideo began its life as a walled outpost in 1724, due to the threat that belligerent Native Americans tribes and Portuguese "Bandeirantes" (they were organized militias whose duty was to explore and claim territory for Portugal) posed to it. At that time, Spain and Portugal had ardent disputes over who should rule over the territory of modern day Uruguay, which was known as "Banda Oriental" (Eastern Bank) at that time. Hence, this is why we call each other "Orientales" among ourselves rather than Uruguayans.
The Spanish Empire, like many other colonial powers around the world at that time, was no stranger to slavery and the slave trade. Spaniards brought slaves to places where they could not enslave the natives, that which was the case with Uruguay. Besides their few small numbers and scattered settlements, the Charrúas (the name of the major Native American tribe in Uruguay, which is now extinct) where were deemed too aggressive to enslave, so at some point in history, the colonial government of Montevideo decided to bring in slaves to do domestic labor. This These were the humble origins of Uruguayan Carnival.

[Hello Felipe- this was extremely written and interesting to read. I look forward to Part 2!]