| Revision as of 16:55, 15 August 2006 edit67.173.13.253 (talk) →History← Previous edit | Revision as of 18:02, 16 August 2006 edit undoVolksgeist (talk | contribs)180 editsm →DemographicsNext edit → | ||
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| Uruguay is distinguished by its high ] 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 ]. As a result of the low birth rate, high ], and relatively high rate of emigration of younger people, Uruguay's population is quite mature. | Uruguay is distinguished by its high ] 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 ]. As a result of the low birth rate, high ], and relatively high rate of emigration of younger people, Uruguay's population is quite mature. | ||
| The country has the lowest birth rate of the ],{{Fact}} an oddity among the region characterized for birth rates in double digits per a thousand persons. | The country has the lowest birth rate of the ],{{Fact}} an oddity among the region characterized for birth rates in double digits per a thousand persons although the racial characteristics of the nation may account for this. | ||
| == Culture == | == Culture == | ||
Revision as of 18:02, 16 August 2006
| Eastern Republic of UruguayRepública Oriental del Uruguay | |
|---|---|
Flag
Coat of Arms
| |
| Motto: Libertad o Muerte (Liberty or Death) | |
| Anthem: National Anthem of Uruguay | |
 | |
| Capitaland largest city | Montevideo |
| Official languages | Spanish *2 |
| Government | Democratic Republic |
| • President | Tabaré Vázquez |
| Independence from Brazil | |
| • Declared | August 25, 1825 |
| • Recognised | August 28, 1828 |
| • Water (%) | 1.5 |
| Population | |
| • July 2005 estimate | 3,463,000 (130th ) |
| • 2002 census | 3,399,237 |
| GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate |
| • Total | $32.96 billion (90th) |
| • Per capita | $9,600 (65th) |
| HDI (2003) | 0.840 very high (46th) |
| Currency | Uruguayan Peso (UYU) |
| Time zone | UTC-3 |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-2 |
| Calling code | 598 |
| ISO 3166 code | UY |
| Internet TLD | .uy |
| 1.) Rank based on 2005 figures 2.) Close to the border with Brazil, people speak a dialect known as Portuñol or Portunhol, a mixture of both Spanish and Portuguese. Italian is equally spoken by a few people. | |
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.
History
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. From 1811 to 1816, Jose Artigas, who was born in the province and wasformer captain in the Spanish army, lead the patriots against Spain, Portugal and the attempts made for the aristocratic government whic took the power in Buenos Aires to centralized all the authority in the region. Artigas , who has advanced social ideas taken from the French and American Revolutions and the free-mason ideology, wanted a federation of the provinces and proclamed progressive law about the property of the land, freedom for blacks and indians, promoted democracy and popular education. Artigas' ideas are comparable with a few other Latin American leaders, the Argentine Mariano Moreno and in particular the Mexicans Bartolome Hidalgo and -later- Benito Juarez and Emiliano Zapata. Artigas was betrayed and defeated in 1816 by the agreement between Spain, Portugal and the authorities of Buenos Aires. He went to exile to Paraguay and died there in 1850. A group of Oriental patriots, former Artigas' lieutentans, 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. The British diplomacy pretty much "invented" Uruguay as an independent country, for 2 reasons:, number 1, to solve the conflict between the Provincias Unidas (Argentina) and the Empire Of Brazil, and, number 2, to create a smaller country easy to control for the British and gifted with the best port in the whole region: Montevideo.
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.
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.
The other soource for Uruguayan notoriety is soccer (football, spelled "futbol"). Uruguay won 2 Olympic and 2 World Cup titles, several South American Cups and the Uruguayan soccer teams National and Penarol were crowned several times as the monarchs of the Intercontinental Cup. An amazing accomplishment for a nation of just 3 million people. In later years the economics have determined the decadence of the Uruguayan national teams and clubs, however, Uruguayan individual footballers play for most of the big clubs in Italy, Spain and England.
Politics
Template:Morepolitics 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.
Administrative divisions
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 del Sacramento |
| 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 de Mayo |
| Soriano | 9,008 | 84,563 | Mercedes |
| Tacuarembó | 15,438 | 90,489 | Tacuarembó |
| Treinta y Tres | 9,676 | 49,318 | Treinta y Tres |
Geography
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 34°11′S 58°15′W / 34.183°S 58.250°W / -34.183; -58.250). 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.
Economy
- 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.
Agriculture
- 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.
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.
Demographics
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 although the racial characteristics of the nation may account for this.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Uruguay
Uruguayan writers
- Eduardo Galeano, writer and social commentator renowned throughout Latin America
- Mario Benedetti,
- Jorge Majfud
- Juan Carlos Onetti, novelist
- Horacio Quiroga, short-story writer
- Juana de Ibarbourou, poet
- Maria Eugenia Vaz Ferreira, poet
- Delmira Agustini, poet
- Isidore Lucien Ducasse, French-Uruguayan Poet
- José Enrique Rodó, essayist and thinker
- Idea Vilariño, poet
- Mario Levrero
Sports
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 is currently the second highest ranked in South America.
basketball and diving are also popular.
Miscellaneous topics
- 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
- Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Uruguay
- University of Uruguay
- University of the Republic, Uruguay
- Stella Maris College (Montevideo)
External links
Please help improve Misplaced Pages by providing reputable, English-language sources
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 views
Media
- 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)
- Template:Wikitravel
- 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)
Template:Link FA Template:Link FA
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