1900 Méliton Gonzalez Wall Map of Uruguay

This is a spectacular, four sheet chromolithograph map of the Republic of Uruguay, published in 1900 in Montevideo by Melitón Gonzalez, Uruguay's Director of Public Works. This grand work captures Uruguay's push for modernization that characterized the end of the 19th century.

A Closer Look

This monumental work presents a central map of the Republic, divided into departments detailed with topography, settlements, and roads. Completed railroads are marked, indicating those of standard gauge and those of narrow gauge. Diagrams along the bottom illustrate elevations along Uruguay's nine railway lines; a diagram at the upper left details railroad junctions. The modernization of Uruguay's waterways is also alluded to: lighthouses and illuminated buoys are marked along the coasts, detailing their height and their effective range. A detailed inset map focuses on Montevideo's port, still in its planning stages - the plan is entitled 'Definitive Plan of the Port Under Construction' (It was a long project, not actually completed until 1930).

Historical Context

By the late 19th century, Uruguay was undergoing a nationwide transformation, moving on from its tumultuous early years into a period of consolidation and development. The political landscape, dominated by the Colorado party with the Nacional (Blanco) party as the only effective minority opposition, began to stabilize after decades of civil war, paving the way for social, economic, and infrastructure development. Even so, the era was characterized by authoritarianism. Nonetheless, this regime's focus on expanded agriculture and livestock farming, the construction of railroads, immigration, and urbanization led to sustained economic growth. Montevideo, the capital, became a cultural and commercial hub, reflecting the broader changes sweeping the nation. This period laid the groundwork for Uruguay's emergence as a modern state in the early 20th century.

Agricultural Colonies

As part of the overall push for centralized development of the country, the government took the authority to create agricultural colonies organized from expropriated lands. Thus, public lands, occupied by tenants, could be used for the formation of agricultural colonies. Such colonies are here identified, with their borders distinctively marked. That the map employs a particular nomenclature and symbol for these expropriated lands indicates their importance: this is the first large scale map of the Republic we have seen to do so. We see one of these northwest of Montevideo: the Centro Agricola Supervielle near Libertad; nine colonies are concentrated in the area between Sauce and Santa Ecilda in southeastern Colonia province; and Colonia Díaz west of Mercedes. Another appears at the German immigrant settlement of Nuevo Berlin in the Rio Negro province, and the Islas de la Paloma in Tacuary province. Near San Eugenio in the North are the Colonias General Rivera, and Del Pintado.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography, sometimes called oleography, is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Oftentimes, the process would start with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors were layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired product. Chromolithograph color could also be effectively blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it emerged as the dominant method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography produced made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda imagery.

Publication History and Census

This map is dated 1900, and was printed by Talleres La Razon in Montevideo on behalf of its author. The map is very rare: we see a single example recorded in OCLC, located in the British Library. This is the only example we are aware of in private hands.