URUGUAY

Uruguay is a country located in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to 3.3 million people, of which 1.7 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area.

It is bordered by Brazil to the north, by Argentina across the bank of both the Uruguay River to the west and the estuary of Rio de la Plata to the southwest, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. It is the second smallest independent country in South America, larger only than Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana

MISSIONARIES:

Parnell, Jesse & Glenna

HISTORY:

The inhabitants of Uruguay before European colonization of the area were various tribes of hunter gatherer native Americans, the most well known being the Charrua Indians, a small tribe driven south by the Guarani Indians of Paraguay. Europeans arrived in the territory of present-day Uruguay in the year 1536, but the absence of gold and silver limited settlement in the region during the 16th and 17th centuries. Uruguay became a zone of contention between the Spanish and the Portuguese empires.

Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold; its natural harbor soon developed into a commercial center competing with Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires. Uruguay's early 19th century history was shaped by ongoing conflicts between the British, Spanish, Portuguese, and colonial forces for dominance in the Argentina-Brazil-Uruguay region. In 1806 and 1807, the British army attempted to seize Buenos Aires as part of their War with Spain. As a result, at the beginning of 1807, Montevideo was occupied by a 10,000-strong British force that held it until the middle of the year when they left to attack Buenos Aires.

Uruguay won its independence in 1828 following a three-way struggle between Spain, Argentina and Brazil. It is a constitutional democracy, where the president fulfills the roles of both head of state and head of government.

RELIGION:

Church and state are officially separated since approximately 1916. Most Uruguayans adhere to the Roman Catholic faith (62%), with smaller Protestant (4%) and Jewish (3%), as well as a large non-professing group (31%).

Although the majority of Uruguayans do not actively practice a religion, they are nominally church members in the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish communities. It is widely considered the most secular nation in Latin America.