Hispanic Heritage: Uruguay

The second smallest nation in South America, Uruguay is home to more than three million people, the majority of whom live in the capital of Montevideo.

Though Uruguay was first visited by the Spanish in 1516, the people put up a fierce resistance to colonization and conquest. As a result, the natives of Uruguay were able to limit foreign settlement throughout much of the 16th and 17th centuries. That resistance, however, did not stop other countries from trying to establish settlements, and Spain and Portugal, among other colonial powers, would spend years fighting one another to colonize the region.

The Spaniards would become the first colonizer to settle in a permanent territory in present-day Uruguay, establishing Soriano on the Rio Negro in 1624. From 1669 to 1671, the Portuguese built a fort at Colonia del Sacramento, and a settlement bearing the same name was founded in 1680. Today, that town is renowned for its history.

It would be roughly a century after the city of Colonia del Sacramento was established that Spain would gain control of the country in 1778. However, Uruguay, led by Jose Gervasio Artigas, would revolt against the Spaniards in 1811 before ultimately being conquered by the Portuguese coming from Brazil in 1817.

Brazil would soon thereafter gain its independence from Portugal, and Uruguay's own fight for independence would begin anew shortly thereafter. A militant revolutionary group known as the Thirty-Three Orientals would lead the fight against Brazil, ultimately culminating in the foundation of modern-day Uruguay when the Treaty of Montevideo was signed in 1828.

Political struggles would occur in Uruguay throughout much of the 20th century. This included the establishment of a military regime in 1973. That regime would preside over the country for 12 years, taking thousands of political prisoners during that time. It would relinquish rule in 1985 after allowing the election of a civilian government near the end of 1984. By 1985, full political and civil rights were restored to the men and women of Uruguay.

Today, Uruguay is one of the most economically developed countries in the world. In 2009, Uruguay became the first nation in the world to provide every school child with a free laptop computer and Internet.