Uruguay

Uruguay is located in South America, nestled in between Brazil and Argentina. Although Uruguay is not of the biggest countries, it still makes a big impact with it's commitment to democracy, social development, environmental sustainability, and its role as a leading contributor to the UN peacemaking missions. Uruguay has been through 2 civil wars, and was also part of WW ll, and it is still going strong.​

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Before the Europeans rolled up to Uruguay, there were indigenous tribes such as the Charrúa, which were South American indigenous people. These people lived just north of the Río de la Plata in an area slightly larger than modern day Uruguay. Little is known of their language, although it is known that the Yaró, Guenoa, Bohané, and Minuan, have been subsumed in the generic name Charrúa. Uruguay was colonized in 1516 when Juan Díaz de Solís discovered the Río de la Plata, but indigenous people such as the Charrúa were there 13,000 years before the Spanish found it. Since the colonial settlement of the grasslands, the Charrúa have ceased to exist as an independent society but their heritage still remains in modern day Uruguay. In 1500, Portugal colonized Brazil, and then, annexed Uruguay to Brazil, so that Brazil owned the land of Uruguay. Then, in 1825 Uruguay gained independence from spain. At that time Brazil still owned Uruguay, so the people in Uruguay still wanted full independence. In 1825, Uruguayan patriots, with support from Argentina, declared independence from Brazil. The war lasted for three years and ended in 1828 with the Treaty of Montevideo. However, this was not the only war Uruguay was a part of. In 1839, due to two political factions both wanting power, the Uruguayan Civil war started. The Uruguayan Civil war lasted for 12 years, spanning from 1839 to 1851. Another war that Uruguay was a part of was the Paraguayan War. This war started because of border disputes between Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, and the political instability of Uruguay(how stable the government is). The Paraguayan War lasted from 1864–1870. In 1973 Military coup d'état established a brutal dictatorship, marked by human rights abuses, lasting until 1985. The people of Uruguay are mostly of European descent, African descent, and indigenous people. Most Uruguayans are descendants of immigrants from Spain and Italy. The majority of Uruguayans identify as predominantly European, due to large waves of immigration from Spain and Italy during the 19th and early 20th centuries.