50  SELLING  LATIN  AMERICA

still  persisted  in  claiming  this  province  and
when  Dom  Pedro  made  an  Empire  of  Brazil,
he  also  attempted  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over
Uruguay  as  well.  This  ultimately  resulted  in
a  war  between  Brazil  and  Argentine,  in  which
the  Uruguayans  rallied  to  the  aid  of  the
Argentinians,  defeating  the  Brazilians.  A
treaty  of  peace  in  which  the  mediation  of  England ­
  was  asked,  was  signed  August  27,  1828,
giving  Uruguay  its  independence.
The  present  government  is  based  upon  that
of  the  United  States  and  comprises  executives
in  the  persons  of  a  President  and  a  Vice-President, ­
  elected  for  four  years,  and  a  legislative
body,  consisting  of  a  House  of  Representatives
and  a  Senate.
Uruguay  occupies  an  area  of  72,210  square
miles,  or  is  about  as  large  as  all  of  the  New
England  States.  It  is  virtually  an  extensive
undulating  plain,  having  in  its  northern  section ­
  a  series  of  mountain  ranges  but  few
of  which  are  higher  than  2000  feet.  It  is
bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Atlantic  Ocean
and  on  the  north  by  Brazil,  the  Rio  Cuareim