Uruguay - "River of Colorful Birds"
Anyone who travels to the "República Oriental del Uruguay", i.e. the "Republic
east of the (river) Uruguay", will get to know a Spanish-speaking country that
has an area of 176,215 km², in which Hungary and Austria would find a joint
place.
Uruguay becomes bounded by its huge neighbors Brazil and Argentina that have left
their cultural and linguistic influences here. The east of the country meets the
Atlantic Ocean. The famous Río de la Plata, the “river of silver” as the
Spaniards called it, cuts deep into the southern interior of the country in the
vain hope of finding immense treasures here. For the "river of colorful birds",
as the Guarani translate the word "Uruguay", the horses and cattle should rather
form the economic wealth, which were released here by the Spanish conquistadores
and which increased into large herds over time. Even today the main part of the
South American Republic is pure pastureland for the thousands of cattle and
sheep.

Like so many countries on this fascinating continent, Uruguay also combines
scenic contrasts: the flat south, which is a kind of foothills of the Argentine
pampas, is contrasted by the extensive swamp plains on the Río Uruguay and the
ranges of hills in the central land area and in the north. The highest of them,
such as the “Cuchilla de Haedo” or the “Cuchilla Grande”, however, reach a
height of just over 500 meters. The Uruguayos subject the generally fertile soil
to primarily agricultural use.
The poverty of the country in forest areas contrasts with an enormous wealth
of water, with the largest river in the country also giving its name and being
around 1,815 km long. It acts as a border river with Argentina. In addition, the
country is determined by the Río de la Plata, which flows into the Atlantic
Ocean and at this point forms the largest estuary on earth.
In addition to these bodies of water and many magnificent lakes, Uruguay also
has one of the largest groundwater reserves in the world with the subterranean
sandstone deposit Botucatu (together with parts of Paraguay, northern Argentina
and southern Brazil). Despite this enormous amount of water, the Uruguayos did
not underestimate the importance of wet gold, as they ensured in a referendum in
2004 that the right to water was constitutionally anchored and therefore
everyone had access to it - something that had never been seen anywhere in the
world Event.
The capital of the country is Montevideo, one of the safest cities in the
world, where a little less than half of the country's residents have
settled. The immense importance of this port city for industry and trade in the
South American Republic, as well as the concentration of residents there, are so
obvious that jokers of Uruguay speak of a "city with a few farms in the
hinterland". This is of course an exaggeration, even if it remains true that
Montevideo has remained the untouched center of life of the state.
Every year, Uruguay is visited by millions of tourists, who are an important
economic source for the country and mainly from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and
the USA. The seaside resorts on the coast are particularly popular. These
include in particular Punta del Este, where in the months of high summer between
December and February the population increases almost tenfold and international
sporting events are celebrated. The coast of the place offers countless pearly
white beaches where the sun never seems to set. But Piriápolis or Atlántida in
the south of the country as well as the fishing port of Paloma should not be
forgotten. Those who care more about the architecture than the physical culture
will hardly get past the city of Minas, because the most impressive colonial
buildings in the country are lined up there.
Incidentally
addition to the Spaniards and Italians who make German the third largest group
of immigrants is to Uruguay. Currently, about 10,000 live "Alemanes" in the
country and about 40,000 with German ancestry.
Note
Since July 2017, cannabis can be legally purchased in the country. You have to
be a citizen of the country and have previously registered.
The drug can then be purchased without a prescription in selected pharmacies in
five gram packets.
Name of the country |
República Oriental del Uruguay |
Name in German |
Republic of East Uruguay |
Form of government |
Presidential Republic |
National anthem |
Orientales la Patria o la Tumba! |
National holiday |
August 25 (independence 1825 - internationally recognized 1828) |
Population |
3.5 million (Credit:
Countryaah:
Uruguay Population) |
Ethnicities |
85% Caucasians (of European descent),
3% mulattos and 5% mestizos and about 50,000 people of German origin |
Religion |
46% Catholics, 9% Protestants and other Christian faiths,
30% non-denominational believers, 14% unbelievers and agnostics and 1%
Jews |
Languages |
Spanish
In the border area with Brazil there is Portunol, a Spanish-Portuguese
dialect. |
Capital |
Montevideo with about 1.4 million residents |
Surface |
176,215 km² |
Highest mountain |
Cerro de las Animas with 514 m |
Longest river |
Río Negro 804 km |
Largest lake |
Embalse del Río Negro with 10359 km² |
International license plate |
ROU |
National currency |
Uruguan peso (urug $) UYU |
Time difference to CET |
- 4 h |
International phone code |
+ 598 |
Mains voltage, frequency |
220 volts, 50 hertz |
Internet TLD (Top Level Domain) |
.uy |
Uruguay: history
From prehistoric times to 1516
Uruguay has probably been around since about 11,000 BC. Settled. Semi-settled
Indians and some nomadic tribes inhabited the country at the time of the
invading Spaniards in the 16th century. The Charrua were the largest and best
known group. They lived as hunters and gatherers and also practiced agriculture
to a small extent.

Colonial period from 1516 to 1810
According to
Abbreviationfinder website, Juan Díaz de Solís set foot on the north bank of the Río de la Plata in 1516
as the first European. He and most of the other participants in the expedition
were killed by the Charruas that same year. The warlike Charrua successfully
prevented an occupation of the country by the Spaniards. Fernando Magelhães
explored the country three years later before venturing into the Pacific Ocean
in 1520. He too could not cope with the strong resistance of the Indians and his
planned trip around the world was delayed. Uruguay had no mineral resources, so
the region was economically uninteresting for the colonial powers.
It was not until 1603 that cattle breeders were settled here. As a result of
the rivalry between Spain and Portugal in the 17th century, the country between
Paraná and Uruguay came back into the focus of the colonial powers. The
Portuguese founded Fort Colonia del Sacramento in 1680 to compete with the
Spanish in Buenos Aires. The Spaniards founded Montevideo in 1724 and had to
wait until 1777 for the Portuguese to leave. The country was called Banda
Oriental de Uruguay and became part of the viceroyalty Río de la Plata.
Independence from 1810 to 1903
Under their leader José Gervasio Artigas (1764 - 1850) the residents of
Uruguay rose against Spain in 1810. In the same year, independence was
proclaimed in Argentina. Argentinians supported the Uruguayans in their
fight. In 1811 Montevideo was besieged. In 1814 the Spanish governor had to flee
the capital. The country came into conflict with Brazil and Argentina, both of
which claimed the Banda Oriental. In 1817 Brazil occupied the area until 1825
freedom fighters expelled the Brazilians. In 1828 Uruguay was recognized as a
state by Brazil. In 1830 a republican constitution was passed.
The political conflict between the representatives of the large estates
(Blancos) and the representatives of free trade (Colorades) led to a civil war
in 1837. Argentina intervened in this conflict on the side of the conservative
large farmers, Brazil intervened on the side of liberal trade capital. The
Liberals won the war and were in government from 1865 to 1958. As a three-way
alliance, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay waged war against Paraguay from 1865 to
1870. The Indian tribes were almost exterminated during the first half of the
19th century.
Reform and heyday from 1903 to 1973
In 1903 the reform policy of the government of José Batlle y Ordonez
began. He had the infrastructure and the banks nationalized. Its social policy
brought citizens the eight-hour day, social security and free school and
university education. In contrast to the other states in South America, the
constitution was changed and the presidential system was converted into a
collegial system. In this system, the president shares power with the National
Council. The country's economic success was based on animal husbandry and
export. At the beginning of the 1930s, the global economic crisis hit Uruguay
and President Luis Alberto Herrera dissolved the National Council and Parliament
and established a dictatorship.
When the economy recovered during and after World War II, the National
Council and Parliament were convened again. The office of president was then
abolished from 1952 to 1966. In 1967 a presidential constitution was passed
again. Another economic crisis led to a change of government in the elections in
1958. The new conservative government did not solve the economic problems, but
came into conflict with the urban guerrilla "Tupamaros" in Montevideo. Their
terrorist actions and the government's military operations brought Uruguay to
the brink of civil war.
Uruguay received worldwide attention when, at the beginning of the Second
World War, the German armored cruiser " Admiral Graf Spee ",
which was sailing in the South Atlantic, sought refuge in the neutral port of
Montevideo after a battle with British warships on December 13, 1939, badly
damaged. The government gave the crew an ultimatum to leave the port or to be
interned. Unaware of the true strength of the British fleet in front of the port
area, the captain Hans Langsdorf decided on December 17, 1939 to sink the ship
in the Rio de la Plata, about 3 nautical miles from the port. He shot himself on
December 19, 1939 in Buenos Aires, where the crew members had gone and were
interned.
Dictatorship and Democratization from 1973 to the Present
In 1973 the parliament was dissolved by the president. In 1976 the military
staged a coup and took power until 1984. The parties and unions were banned. The
permanent economic crisis could not be resolved, however, and in 1980 the
population refused to follow the military in a referendum on constitutional
changes. In 1985 demonstrations and strikes resulted in the junta's
abdication. The following governments followed neoliberal policies. Uruguay has
been a member of the Mercosur free trade area since 1995. In 2002, Uruguay got
caught up in the Argentine currency crisis.
Many Argentines had deposited money in banks in Uruguay and
after Argentina s economic collapse liquidated their assets in Uruguay. The
result was the closure of the banks in Uruguay, with which the government in
Montevideo wanted to get the crisis under control. Furthermore, the important
export market collapsed by 23%. Unemployment rose to 17%. The well-developed
welfare state, which enabled the country to achieve democratic stability, came
under fire. Since then, high inflation, high foreign debt and the banking crisis
have burdened the economy of Uruguay. Nevertheless, the middle class in Uruguay
is relatively wealthy and the extreme differences between rich and poor, as is
usual in South America, are unknown.
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