From that time many more towns and important settlements went on being founded. In 1762, Villa de San Carlos, in 1763, the town of Maldonado, in 1778, Villa de San Juan Bautista, now Santa Lucia, 1782, the settlement of Paysandu, in 1783, Minas and in 1793, Rocha. Early in the nineteenth century, the question of dominion was finally settled in favor of the Spaniards; and in the mean time, in spite of wars, the Banda Oriental was being peopled and civilization continued to advance. In the central districts, as well as on the coasts of the Atlantic and of the large rivers, the Spaniards had founded many small towns and ports, the most important of which was Montevideo. In the early days of the Spanish settlements in these regions, the whole of the River Plate district was included in the Viceroyalty of Peru. Subsequently a separate viceroyalty was created in Buenos Ayres and the Banda Oriental, which had been subject to the Colonial Government of Paraguay, was transferred to that of Buenos Ayres. At the beginning of the century, Montevideo was ruled by a military and political governor appointed by the Crown of Spain. Since the year 1730, Montevideo had a _Cabildo_ or Municipality. Soriano, Maldonado, Colonia and other places were subject to military commands and also had their own cabildos. The population of Montevideo was then about 15,000 inhabitants; the same number of people existed in the interior of the province. At the beginning of the century Montevideo already possessed a gratuitous school, paid by private persons, and also primary schools, under the care of friars of the Order of St. Francis; it had a comedy hall, had finished giving names to all its streets, and established the light service in the principal ones; and its cabildo or municipality, listening to the proposals made by the Governor Bustamante y Guerra, was already thinking of providing the town with a good hygiene service, with pavement, with causeways, with a regular drinkable water service, with a public washing place, with a complete service for the cleaning and conservation of the port, with the building of bridges over the Miguelete, Paso del Molino and Arroyo Seco, designing for the public municipal service the amount of $47,600, which would be taken from the product of the cattle outbidding sales for the slaughterhouses during the years 5th and 6th. Undoubtedly the administration of the Governors Bustamante y Guerra and Ruiz Huidobio was an era of prosperity for Montevideo (1797 to 1807). Uruguay had lived under despotism until those governors came and raised it to the very rank it deserved by its topographical position and natural riches. Such was the situation of Montevideo when took place the English invasions in the River Plate. On the 27th of June, 1806, Buenos Ayres fell to the power of the expedition commanded by Berresford and Popham.