The Uruguayan War (10 August 1864 – 20 February 1865) was fought
between Uruguay's governing Blanco Party and an alliance consisting of
the Empire of Brazil and the Uruguayan Colorado Party. In 1863, with
covert support from Argentina, the Colorado leader Venancio Flores
launched a rebellion aimed at toppling president Bernardo Berro. The
Blanco government received support from dissident Argentines and made
overtures to Paraguayan dictator, Francisco Solano López, who was
suspicious of Argentina's motives and keen to form an alliance. Fearing
for its interests in the region, the Empire of Brazil intervened, first
trying diplomacy and then, when talks stalled, issuing an ultimatum; the
Blanco government rejected the Brazilians' conditions, and Brazil's
military were ordered to begin exacting reprisals, marking the beginning
of the war. In a combined offensive against Blanco strongholds, the
Brazilian–Colorado troops advanced through Uruguayan territory, taking
one town after another (storming of Paysandú pictured). Eventually, the
Blancos were left isolated in Montevideo, the national capital. Faced
with certain defeat, the Blanco government capitulated.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguayan_War>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
955:
Forces under Otto I were victorious at the Battle of Lechfeld
near present-day Augsburg, Germany, holding off the incursions of the
Magyars into Central Europe.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lechfeld_(955)>
1628:
The Swedish warship Vasa (salvaged wreck pictured) sank after
sailing less than a nautical mile into her maiden voyage from Stockholm
on her way to fight in the Thirty Years' War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship)>
1755:
The first wave of the Expulsion of the Acadians from the
present-day Canadian Maritime provinces by the British began with the
Bay of Fundy Campaign at Chignecto.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Fundy_Campaign_(1755)>
1901:
The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers
organized an ultimately unsuccessful strike to reverse its declining
fortunes and organize large numbers of new members.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Steel_Recognition_Strike_of_1901>
1990:
NASA's Magellan space probe reached Venus on a mission to map
its surface, fifteen months after its launch.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellan_(spacecraft)>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
leeward:
Away from the direction from which the wind is blowing. Downwind.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leeward>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Words without actions are the assassins of idealism.
--Herbert Hoover
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Herbert_Hoover>