Paysandú

Paysandú (pīsändū'), city (1996 pop. 84,172), capital of Paysandú dept., W Uruguay, a port on the Uruguay River. It is Uruguay's third largest city and the commercial center for a rich stock-raising and farming district. In the city are meatpacking plants, breweries, flour mills, and textile plants. The harbor, one of the last navigable points on the river, is a major loading station. Paysandú was settled in 1772 by a missionary and his Christianized Native American followers.