Spanish settlement in Uruguay, that is the arrival of Spanish emigrants in the country known today as

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, took place firstly in the period before independence from Spain and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, resulting in a large proportion of Uruguayans are of Spanish ancestral origin.

History

Settlement

Between the 15th and early 19th centuries, the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

was the sole colonial power in the

Banda Oriental Banda Oriental (Eastern Bank), or more fully Banda Oriental del Río Uruguay, was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay, the modern state of Ri ...

. Thus, before 1811, a great part of the European settlers in Uruguay were from Spain and they carried the

Spanish colonial The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. These ...

administration, including religious affairs, government and commercial business. A substantial Spanish-descended

Criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...

population gradually built up in the new cities, while some mixed with the indigenous populations (''

mestizos ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to ...

''), with the Black slave population (''

mulattoes ( , ) is a racial classification that refers to people of mixed African and European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the word is (). The use of this term began in the United States shortly ...

'') or with other European immigrants. Spanish settlement along with the Italians, formed the backbone of today's Uruguayan society. Like its neighbour country

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, the culture of Uruguay exhibits significant connections to Spanish culture; in terms of language, customs and traditions. Many

Uruguayans Uruguayans () are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizen ...

who have a Spanish lineage include those of post-independence

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

immigrant descent, as long as they have retained a Spanish cultural identity. Large proportions are of Galician descent. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, thousands of Spaniards fled from Spain to Uruguay. The

Spanish republicans The Republican faction (), also known as the Loyalist faction () or the Government faction (), was the side in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939 that supported the government of the Second Spanish Republic against the Nationalist faction of t ...

fled

Franco's regime Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of History of Spain, Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . ...

as well, seeking to escape retribution from the new government.

Origin of settlers

The Spanish immigrants who arrived between 18th and 20th century have different origins, but a significant number of them came from Galicia, the Basque Country, and

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

; with smaller but notable numbers from

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

and the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Present

The 2011 Uruguayan census revealed 12,776 people who declared Spain as their country of birth. Thousands of Uruguayan nationals are holders of Spanish passports.Censo electoral de españoles residentes en el extranjero 2009

Bibliography

* Goebel, Michael. "Gauchos, Gringos and Gallegos: The Assimilation of Italian and Spanish Immigrants in the Making of Modern Uruguay 1880–1930," ''Past and Present'' (August 2010) 208(1): 191–229

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Spain, Uruguay * *