Swiss Uruguayans are
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 ...
an citizens of full or partial
Swiss ancestry, who remain culturally connected to Switzerland, or Swiss-born people permanently residing in Uruguay. They are estimated to be around 60,000.
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History
In 1860, the
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
bank of Siegrist und Fender purchased farm land in Uruguay. It was not long before the first Swiss citizens moved to Uruguay with the goal of working the land as farmers, where they founded the colony of
Nueva Helvecia around 1862.
As of 2008, there were 956 people with Swiss passports residing in Uruguay.
Notable Swiss Uruguayans
;Past
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José Belloni (1882–1965), sculptor
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Roque Gastón Máspoli (1917–2004), football player and coach
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Juan José Morosoli (1899–1959), writer
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Bernardo Poncini (1814–1874), architect
;Present
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Rodrigo Bentancur (born 1997), footballer
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Julián Schweizer (born 1998), surfer
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Matías Vitkieviez (born 1985), footballer
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Walter Zimmer (born 1945), physician and politician
See also
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Nueva Helvecia
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Switzerland–Uruguay relations
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Austrian Uruguayans
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French Uruguayans
French Uruguayans (; ) are Uruguayan citizens of full or partial French ancestry. French Uruguayans form the third largest ancestry group after Spanish Uruguayans and Italian Uruguayans. Until 1853, France constituted the main source of imm ...
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German Uruguayans
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Italian Uruguayans
Bibliography
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References
External links
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