Portugal organized and dispatched the Division of Royal Volunteers under Carlos Frederico Lecor to Brazil as the main expeditionary force intended to invade and occupy the Banda Oriental (present-day Uruguay).
Artigas’s forces were defeated at Carumbé, a major setback that disrupted Artiguist plans to carry the war into Portuguese-held territory and helped secure the northern frontier for the invading army.
Portuguese-Brazilian troops under Sebastião Pinto de Araújo Correia defeated Fructuoso Rivera at India Muerta, further weakening Artiguist resistance in the eastern sector of the Banda Oriental.
With Montevideo held and campaigning continuing in the countryside, the occupied territory began to be administered as Cisplatina (Cisplatina Province), reflecting Portugal’s intent to integrate the Banda Oriental into its imperial structure.
At Arapey, Luso-Brazilian forces under José de Abreu Mena Barreto defeated troops led by José Gervasio Artigas, contributing to the collapse of organized Artiguist field resistance in the north.
A major Luso-Brazilian victory at Catalán over Artiguist forces under Andrés Latorre accelerated Portuguese control of the interior approaches and undermined Artigas’s ability to defend the province.
Carlos Frederico Lecor’s expedition entered and occupied Montevideo, establishing the main base for Portuguese administration and military operations in the Banda Oriental.
Artiguist forces fought Lecor’s troops at Paso Cuello; although the Luso-Brazilian army took the position, the engagement served as a delaying action during the continuing rural resistance after Montevideo’s occupation.
Luso-Brazilian forces defeated Fructuoso Rivera at Arroyo Grande, encouraging further defections from the Artiguist side and weakening remaining organized opposition.
At Tacuarembó, Luso-Brazilian troops under the Count of Figueira crushed Artiguist forces led by Andrés Latorre, a decisive defeat that effectively ended large-scale Artiguist military capacity in the Banda Oriental.
After the collapse of his coalition and defeats by Portuguese forces, José Gervasio Artigas withdrew into exile in Paraguay, marking the end of his direct leadership of resistance to the occupation.
An assembly of local notables (often called the Cisplatine Congress) proclaimed the formal incorporation of the territory into the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, completing the political-legal step that followed the military occupation.
Portuguese invasion and occupation of the Banda Oriental (1816–1820)
