19 April is the anniversary of the Landing of the 33 Patriots in Uruguay, also known as the Thirty-Three Orientals, called 'Orientals' because Uruguay was known as the Banda Oriental, or the "Eastern Bank" of the Río de la Plata, the western shore being Argentina. In a span of less than ten years—1807 to 1816—the Banda Oriental and its capital city of Montevideo were occupied by the English, retaken by the Spanish, and invaded by the Portuguese.