Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the
Eastern Republic of Uruguay or the
Republic East of the Uruguay (River) (
Spanish:
República Oriental del Uruguay;
pron. IPA ), is a country located in southern
South America. It is bordered by
Brazil to the north, the
Uruguay River to the west, the
estuary of the
Río de la Plata (literally "River of Silver", but commonly known in English as "River Plate") to the southwest, with
Argentina on the other bank of both, and finally the South
Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. About half of its people live in the capital and largest city,
Montevideo. The nation is the second smallest independent country in South America, larger than only
Suriname (it is also larger than
French Guiana, which is not independent), and is one of the most politically and economically stable.
Main article: History of Uruguay
The name "Uruguay" comes from
Guaraní, the original language of the native people of the region. It has many possible meanings since Guaraní is a highly
agglutinative language. Two of them are "river of the urus" (uru is a kind of bird) and "river of colorful or 'painted' birds."
The first
Europeans arrived in the area in the early
16th century. Both
Spain and
Portugal pursued the
colonization of the Uruguayan territory, with the Spanish eventually gaining control. The future capital,
Montevideo, was founded in the early
18th century and became a rival to
Buenos Aires across the Río de la Plata. Montevideo, however, was thought of as a military center for the Spanish empire, while Buenos Aires was a commercial center.
The Uruguayan territory was part of the Spanish
Virreinato del Río de la Plata (
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata). The first name given to this land was
Banda Oriental ('Eastern Shore') and then Uruguayans were known as "
Orientales." This name is not really related to the Uruguay River (as many people may think) but to the Río de la Plata, because from Buenos Aires, the Uruguayan shore is seen as it were at the East of the Río de la Plata (and not at the North as it really is.)
The administration of the Banda Oriental was divided in two: Montevideo controlled the areas near the city and Buenos Aires had control over the rest of the territory. Later on, the Banda Oriental, including part of the southern region of the
Misiones Jesuíticas (
Jesuit Reductions), became the
Provincia Oriental. In
1816 Portugal invaded the Provincia Oriental and finally annexed it in
1820 under the name of
"Província Cisplatina" as a new province for Brazil.
In the early
19th century, independence movements sprung up across
South America, including Uruguay. A group of Oriental patriots, the
Treinta y Tres Orientales, began a revolt on April, 1825 in the Uruguayan territory and finally on
August 25,
1825, the Provincia Oriental declared its independence
"from the King of Portugal, the Emperor of Brazil, and from any other in the universe."Being free now, the province decided to be reunited with the other provinces of the Virreinato that had formed the
Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata (later known as Argentina.) It was finally accepted by the Provincias Unidas, but this started a war with Brazil. After the war was over, the Provincia Oriental became an independent country (
Treaty of Montevideo in
1828) under the name of
"Estado Oriental" which was changed later to
República Oriental del Uruguay.
It is clear that the name of the territory was changed to become
"Uruguay", but it is hard to know whether the word
"Oriental" refers to the people (the
Orientales in plural,
Oriental in singular) or the geographical location of the country (at the east of the Uruguay River.) Then "República Oriental del Uruguay" could mean
"the Republic of the Oriental people who leaves in the territory of Uruguay," or
"the Republic that is at the eastern shore of the Uruguay River." Even when the second option may be the easiest way to understand this official name, the first option may be more logical for Uruguayans still use the word "Oriental" as a synonym for "Uruguayo" (Uruguayan) and the 'official' translation into English that appears eg in Uruguayan passports is "
Oriental Republic of Uruguay" and not "'Eastern' Republic of Uruguay".
The original population of
Charrúa Indians was gradually decimated over three centuries, culminating on 11 April 1831 in a mass killing at
Salsipuedes, which was led by General
Fructuoso Rivera, Uruguay's first president. After that date the few remaining Charrúas were dispersed and a viable Charrúa culture was a thing of the past, although Charrúa blood still runs in the veins of many Uruguayans today as a result of extensive Charrúa-Spanish intermixing during colonial times. Four Charrúas — Senaqué, the leader Vaimaca Pirú, the warrior Tacuabé and his wife Guyunusa — were taken to Paris in 1833 to be displayed as circus attractions.
In the latter part of the 19th century, Uruguay participated in the
War of the Triple Alliance against
Paraguay.
 |
General Fructuoso Rivera |
Uruguay then experienced a series of elected and appointed presidents and saw conflicts with neighboring states, political and economic fluctuations and modernization, and large inflows of immigrants, mostly from Europe. The work of
President José Batlle y Ordóñez made Uruguay an advanced nation with a complex
welfare system; for most of the 20th century Uruguay was on par with European nations. Due to its advanced social system and its stable democracy, Uruguay came to be known as "the
Switzerland of
the Americas".
The Uruguayan economy relies largely on agricultural exports. The world wars brought prosperity as Uruguayan beef and grain went to feed a war-ravaged Europe. World food prices dropped precipitously following the end of
WWII, which triggered years of decline for the Uruguayan economy. By the 1960's, the stable social system began to break down as the economy spiralled.The government started losing popular support as students, workers and lower-class families felt the pain of an economy unable to adapt to a post-agricultural world economy. The
Tupamaros, a radical group, responded to the crisis with violence, which triggered government repression that ended with the suspension of individual rights by the president,
Jorge Pacheco Areco, and his successor,
Juan María Bordaberry. Finally, in
1973, the army seized power, ushering in 11 years of military dictatorship in what was once one of the most stable democracies in the region. In
1984, democracy was finally restored and
Julio María Sanguinetti was elected.
Uruguay received enormous publicity in
1972 due to the crash of
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 whose passengers were the alumni rugby team of
Stella Maris College (Montevideo). Sixteen survivors were rescued in the
Andes mountains when
Nando Parrado and
Roberto Canessa climbed over the mountains in search of help. The story was first told in the
1974 book,
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors and more recently in the
2006 book,
Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home.
Politics of Uruguay takes place in a framework of a
presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the
President of Uruguay is both
head of state and
head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system.
Executive power is exercised by the government.
Legislative power is vested in both the
government and the two chambers of the
General Assembly of Uruguay. The
Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
 |
Map of Uruguay |
Main article: Departments of Uruguay
Uruguay consists of 19
departments (
departamentos, singular -
departamento):
| Department | Area (km²) | Population (2004) | Capital |
|---|
| Artigas | 11,928 | 78,019 | Artigas |
| Canelones | 4,536 | 485,028 | Canelones |
| Cerro Largo | 13,648 | 86,564 | Melo |
| Colonia | 6,106 | 119,266 | Colonia |
| Durazno | 11,643 | 58,859 | Durazno |
| Flores | 5,144 | 25,104 | Trinidad |
| Florida | 10,417 | 68,181 | Florida |
| Lavalleja | 10,016 | 60,925 | Minas |
| Maldonado | 4,793 | 140,192 | Maldonado |
| Montevideo | 530 | 1,326,064 | Montevideo |
| Paysandú | 13,922 | 113,244 | Paysandú |
| Río Negro | 9,282 | 53,989 | Fray Bentos |
| Rivera | 9,370 | 104,921 | Rivera |
| Rocha | 10,551 | 69,937 | Rocha |
| Salto | 14,163 | 123,120 | Salto |
| San José | 4,992 | 103,104 | San José |
| Soriano | 9,008 | 84,563 | Mercedes |
| Tacuarembó | 15,438 | 90,489 | Tacuarembó |
| Treinta y Tres | 9,676 | 49,318 | Treinta y Tres |
|
Satellite photo of Uruguay |
|
Lighthouse at Colonia de Sacramento |
Main article: Geography of Uruguay
Uruguay is the third smallest country in
South America, after
Suriname. The landscape features mostly rolling plains and low hill ranges (
cuchillas) with a fertile coastal lowland, most of it grassland, ideal for
cattle and
sheep raising. The highest point in the country is the Cerro Catedral at 514 metres (1,686
ft). To the southwest is the
Río de la Plata (River of Silver), the estuary of the
Uruguay River, which forms the western border, and the
Paraná River, that does not run through Uruguay itself. The only other major river is the
Río Negro. Several lagoons are found along the
Atlantic coast.
The
climate in Uruguay is
temperate, but fairly warm, as freezing temperatures are almost unknown. The predominantly flat landscape is also somewhat vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts, as well as to the
pampero, a chilly and occasionally violent wind blowing north from the
pampas plains in
Argentina.
Enclaves and exclaves
There is one Argentine
enclave within Uruguayan territory: the island of
Martín García (co-ordinates ). It is situated near the confluence of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, a mere kilometre (1,100
yd) inside Uruguayan waters, about 3.5 kilometres (2.2
mi) from the Uruguayan coastline, near the small city of
Martín Chico (itself about halfway between
Nueva Palmira and
Colonia).
An agreement reached by Argentina and Uruguay in
1973 reaffirmed Argentine jurisdiction over the island, ending a century-old dispute between the two countries. According to the terms of the agreement, Martín García is to be devoted exclusively to a natural preserve. Its area is about 2 square kilometres (500
acres), and the population about 200 persons. In addition, Gloria Recoda has exclusive land rights on a quarter of the island.
Main article: Economy of Uruguay
Uruguay's economy is characterised by an export-oriented
agricultural sector, a well-educated workforce, and high levels of social spending, as well as a developed industrial sector. After averaging growth of 5% annually in
1996-
1998, in
1999-
2001 the economy suffered from lower demand in
Argentina and
Brazil, which together account for nearly half of Uruguay's exports. Despite the severity of the trade shocks, Uruguay's financial indicators remained more stable than those of its neighbours, a reflection of its solid reputation among investors and its investment-grade sovereign bond rating — one of only two in South America. In recent years Uruguay has shifted most of its energy into developing the commercial use of IT technologies and has become an important exporter of software in Latin America.
While some parts of the economy appeared to be resilient, the downturn had a far more severe impact on Uruguayan citizens, as unemployment levels rose to more than twenty percent,
real wages fell, the
peso was devalued, and the percentage of Uruguayans in poverty reached almost 40%. These worsening economic conditions played a part in turning public opinion against the
free market economic policies adopted by the previous administrations in the 1990s, leading to popular rejection of proposals for
privatization of the state petroleum company in 2003 and of the state water company in 2004. The newly elected
Frente Amplio government, while pledging to continue payments on Uruguay's external debt, has also promised to undertake a crash jobs programs to attack the widespread problems of poverty and unemployment.
Main article: Agriculture of Uruguay
Agriculture played such an important part in Uruguayan history and national identity until the middle of the 20th century that the entire country was then sometimes likened to a single huge estancia (agricultural estate) with Montevideo, where the wealth generated in the hinterland was spent, as its
casco or administrative head. As another saying went,
"Uruguay es la vaca y el puerto" ("Uruguay is the cow and the port"). When world market prices for Uruguay's main export commodities like beef and wool fell drastically in the 1950s, the country's prosperous golden era came to an end.
|
A heartland of historic estancias : Estancia San Eugenio, Casupá, southern department of Florida |
Today, agriculture still contributes roughly 10% to the country's GDP and is the main foreign exchange earner, putting Uruguay in line with other agricultural exporters like Brazil, Canada and New Zealand. Uruguay is a member of the
Cairns Group of exporters of agricultural products. Uruguay's agriculture has relatively low inputs of labour, technology and capital in comparison with other such countries, which results in comparatively lower yields per hectare but also open the door for Uruguay to market its products as "natural" or "ecological."
Campaigns like "Uruguayan grass-fed beef" and "Uruguay Natural" aim to establish Uruguay as a premium brand in beef, wine and other food products.
Recently, an industry has arisen around
estancia tourism that capitalizes on the traditional or folkloristic connotations associated with gaucho culture and the remaining resources of the historic
estancias of Uruguay's golden era.
Main article: Demographics of Uruguay
As a
Spanish-speaking country of
Latin America, most Uruguayans share a
Spanish cultural background, though about half of the population is of
Italian origin. Some 88% of the population is of European descent, with
mestizos (8%) and Afro-Uruguayans (4%) forming the only significant ethnic minorities. Church and state are officially separated. Most Uruguayans adhere to the
Roman Catholic faith (66%), with smaller
Protestant (2%) and
Jewish and
Armenian (1%) communities, as well as a large nonprofessing group (31%).
Uruguay is distinguished by its high
literacy rate (98%), large urban middle class, and relatively even income distribution. During the 1970s and 1980s two decades, an estimated 500,000 Uruguayans emigrated, principally to
Europe. As a result of the low birth rate, high
life expectancy, and relatively high rate of emigration of younger people, Uruguay's population is quite mature.
The country has the lowest birth rate of the
Americas, an oddity among the region characterized for birth rates in double digits per a thousand persons.
Main article: Culture of Uruguay
*
Music of Uruguay*
List of UruguayansUruguayan writers
*
Eduardo Galeano, writer and social commentator renowned throughout Latin America
*
Mario Benedetti, left-wing author
*
Jorge Majfud*
Juan Carlos Onetti*
Horacio Quiroga, Uruguayan best known author
*
Juana de Ibarbourou*
Maria Eugenia Vaz Ferreira*
Delmira Agustini*
Isidore Lucien Ducasse, born in Montevideo though French by nationality
*
José Enrique Rodó* Idea Vilariño (poet)
* Mario Levrero
Main article: Sports in Uruguay
The most popular sport in Uruguay is
association football (called
fútbol in Spanish). The country has earned many honours in that sport, including:
*gold medals at the
1924 and
1928 Olympic Games and
*two
World Cups:
**in 1930, when the first football world championship was celebrated in Montevideo; and
**in 1950 in Brazil.
Rugby union (see
Rugby union in Uruguay) is also popular with the
national team having qualified for both the
1999 Rugby World Cup and the subsequent
2003 world cup. The team are currently the second highest ranked in South America.[
1]
basketball and
diving are also popular.
*
Communications in Uruguay*
Foreign relations of Uruguay*
Military of Uruguay*
Movimiento Scout del Uruguay*
Reporters without borders World-wide press freedom index 2002: Rank 21 out of 139 countries (3 way tie)
*
Transportation in Uruguay*
Wikipedia:WikiProject Uruguay*
University of Uruguay*
University of the Republic, Uruguay*
Stella Maris College (Montevideo)Please help improve Wikipedia by providing Government resources
*
INE - National Statistics Institute (in Spanish)
*
MEF - Official site of the Uruguayan Ministry of Finance (in Spanish)
*
Poder Judicial - Official site of the Uruguayan Judiciary (in Spanish)
*
Poder Legislativo - Official site of the Uruguayan Parliament (in Spanish)
*
Portal del Estado Uruguayo - Uruguayan State portal (in Spanish)
*
Presidencia de la República Oriental del Uruguay - Official presidential site (in Spanish)
General information
*
Uruguay Total - Uruguayan portal (in Spanish)
*
Portal Paysandu - Los inocentes de Siempre - Uruguayan portal (in Spanish)
*
Uruguay.com - Uruguayan portal (in Spanish, with English links)
*
Open Directory Project - Uruguay directory category (multiple languages)
*
From Uruguay - Uruguayan blog (in English)
*
Love,ani xo travel blog and information on Uruguay (in English)
*
Sociedad Alemana-Uruguaya - German Uruguayan society (in Spanish and German)
*
Wine Uruguay - Uruguayan Wine Guide (in English, Spanish, German)
*
Studio Stonek - Uruguayan photography studio and image bank (in Spanish and English)
*
Estancias - historic colonial architecture estates and cattle ranches in the Pampa
*
The Uruguay Page - a Uruguay metadirectory (in English)
*
Uruguay cities satellite viewsMedia
*
El País - Montevideo daily newspaper
*
La República - Montevideo daily newspaper
*
El Observador - Montevideo daily newspaper
*
El Espectador - Montevideo radio station
*
Radio Sarandí - Montevideo radio station
*
Montevideo.com - Montevideo news web site.
*
Infolatam - Information and news of Uruguay
Travel and commerce
*
Ministerio de Turismo del Uruguay - Government tourism information site (in Spanish, Portuguese and English)
*
Uruguay XXI - Investment and Export Promotion (in Spanish and English)
*
Traveltouruguay.com - Touristic information and promotion
*
PuntaOnline.com Real Estate Portal for Punta del Este in Spanish and German.
*
Farm land and historic Estancias for sale in Uruguay.
Sports
*
Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol - Uruguayan Football Association (in Spanish)
*
Federación Uruguaya de Basketball - Uruguayan Basketball Federation (in Spanish)
*
Unión de Rugby del Uruguay - Uruguayan Rugby Union (in Spanish)
*
Asociación Uruguaya de Golf - Uruguayan Golf Association (in Spanish)
fiu-vro:Uruguay
