During the
Guarani War the governor of Rio de la Plata,
José de Andonaegui, and the Marquis of Valdelirios pleaded with Governor
José Joaquín de Viana to move north with an army of 400 men and enforce the terms of the
Treaty of Madrid. In October 1756 Viana built several barracks for his army located in the area who had to survive on hunting and fishing. The sheds he built were called San Antonio del Salto Chico. Thus, the short-lived first settlement in the present city of Salto dates from 8 November 1756, which remains as its date of foundation. Some people say it was "by chance", such as the writer
Francisco Bauza in his book
Dominación española en Uruguay. In 1757, Viana and the superior Governor of Buenos Aires,
Pedro de Cevallos, built a strong fort called San Antonio. The fort had a chapel, which was under the patronage of San Antonio de Padua. Also in that period, Spanish troops captured the Portuguese colony at
Colonia del Sacramento and used its facilities for seven years before abandoning it in 1763. On 16 June 1768, the buildings in Salto were occupied by
Francisco de Paula Bucareli with 1,500 soldiers seeking to expel the Jesuits from all Spanish territory, as ordered by
Carlos III. The fort of San Antonio served as an arms depot and later as a prison for most of the priests, who were later taken to Buenos Aires or deported overseas. While the Jesuits were imprisoned Lieutenant Nicolás García took care of the fort and three boats. A big flood of the
Yapeyú River caused considerable damage and the fort was rebuilt at a nearby site, this time on the western side of the
Uruguay River in the current
Concordia area, in order to act as a river-road junction. In early 1782 the settlement already had permanent residents. On 12 February 1811
Francisco Javier de Elío declared war on the Board of Buenos Aires.
Montevideo was besieged by
José Rondeau and
José Gervasio Artigas, so Elío asked for help from Portugal. Later the Spanish and the Board of Buenos Aires had to sign an agreement, because Buenos Aires was blockaded by sea. In an armistice agreement it decided to lift the siege of Montevideo and the blockade of the Rio de la Plata. However, General Artigas had to withdraw to the north in what became known at the Exodus of the Western People. Among the members of the Exodus of the Western People were a considerable number of important people in Uruguayan history, including some 6,000 military personnel and 4,500 civilians. In December 1811 they camped for one month on the Uruguay River very close to Salto. In that place the Board of Buenos Aires awarded the title of Lieutenant Governor, Chief Justice and Captain of the Department to Artigas who "guided the revolutionaries in a ten-year crusade to liberate the people from Imperial Spanish rule." After the
Battle of Las Piedras on 18 May 1811, Artigas was named "Chief of the Orientales". On 8 February 1846 Garibaldi defeated Gomez's army, killing several hundred at San Antonio Chico Creek outside Salto. ==Population==