evidence: In the early part of the 1810s, Uruguay – then known as the Banda Oriental – was closely aligned with the Argentine independence movement. Artigas fought in support of that independence. He believed in federalism a la Thomas Paine (whose books he had and are on display at the museum) and broke with the independent government in Buenos Aires over that issue. His forces ultimately captured Montevideo in 1815, though his triumph was short lived as the Portuguese invaded the following year from Brazil, conquering and annexing the Banda Oriental and driving Artigas into exile in Paraguay, where he would die in 1850. [...] Given Artigas living to see Uruguayan statehood, I am not sure why he did not return to the country that would come to celebrate him extensively. But he didn’t, and his remains weren’t even moved here until well after his death, with the current mausoleum being completed in 1977. However, it is probably safe to say he would be proud to be associated with modern-day Uruguay, the most stable democracy in Latin America. [...] For many, if not most, Americans, Uruguay can’t even be found on a map. And if it can, we know little of it beyond its place as a splotch between Brazil and Argentina. But it is a fascinating country with a complex history, one that a visit to the old city can help to explain. And we can learn of Artigas, the father of Uruguayan statehood, without whom none of this would be possible.