Swiss Uruguayans

Swiss Uruguayans
Schweizuruguayer (German); Helvético-Uruguayens (French) ; Svizzero-uruguaiani (Italian)
	Monument to the founders of Nueva Helvecia, an early Swiss settlement in Uruguay.
Total population
	60,000 ; ~1.8% of the Uruguyan population (2014)
Regions with significant populations
	Throughout Uruguay, especially in settlements founded by Swiss immigrants.
Languages
	Spanish · French · German • Italian • Romansh
Religion
	Christianity (mainly Roman Catholicism and Protestantism);
Related ethnic groups
	Swiss · Other ethnic groups of Uruguay: French Uruguayans, German Uruguayans, Brazilian Uruguayans, British Uruguayans, Irish Uruguayans, Italian Uruguayans, Russian Uruguayans, Polish Uruguayans, Bulgarian Uruguayans, Hungarian Uruguayans, Ukrainian Uruguayans, Lithuanian Uruguayans, Austrian Uruguayans, Croatian Uruguayans, Greek Uruguayans · Other Swiss in other nations: Swiss Argentines, Swiss Brazilians, Swiss Chileans, Swiss Americans

Swiss Uruguayans are Uruguayan 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.^[1]

History

In 1860, the Basel 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.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

As of 2008, there were 956 people with Swiss passports residing in Uruguay.^[6]

Notable Swiss Uruguayans

Past

José Belloni (1882–1965), sculptor
Roque Gastón Máspoli (1917–2004), football player and coach
Juan José Morosoli (1899-1959), writer
Bernardo Poncini (1814-1874), architect

Present

Rodrigo Bentancur (born 1997), footballer
Julián Schweizer (born 1998), surfer
Matías Vitkieviez (born 1985), footballer
Walter Zimmer (born 1945), physician and politician

Bibliography

Caro, Marice Ettlin (2016). La Colonia Suiza que casi no lo fue: Nueva Helvecia (in Spanish). Marice Caro. ISBN 978-0-692-78715-1.
Sommer-Geiser, Jacob (1861). Lebens-Bilder aus dem Staate Uruguay in Süd-Amerika und seine Verhältnisse in agricoler, commerzieller und industrieller Beziehung für schweizerische Ansiedlungen. Basel.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

References

^ ^a ^b Felipe Arocena. "The contribution of immigrants to Uruguay" (PDF). multiculturalismoenuruguay.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014. (in Spanish)
^ "Uruguay and Switzerland — cultural and economic Benefits from new Market opportunities". Mercosur. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
^ "Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs about relations with Uruguay". Switzerland. Retrieved 14 May 2009. The independent Republic of Uruguay came into being in 1828 and became a popular destination for Swiss migrants. It was German-Swiss farmers who in 1862-63 founded the colony of Nueva Helvecia. They introduced cheese-making and other agricultural innovations. Immigrants from Ticino were successful as skilled builders, artists and also footballers.
^ "Uruguay to Honor the Swiss". New York Times. 4 June 1944.
^ "... a la que pusieron por nombre Nueva Helvecia". Swissinfo (in Spanish). 28 October 2005.
^ "Key data for the Oriental Republic of Uruguay". Switzerland Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 14 May 2009.

External links

Pi Hugarte, Renzo; Vidart, Daniel (1970). El legado de los inmigrantes (PDF). Montevideo: Nuestra Tierra. (in Spanish)

This Swiss history article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article about the history of Uruguay is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[multicult-1] Felipe Arocena. "The contribution of immigrants to Uruguay" (PDF). multiculturalismoenuruguay.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014. (in Spanish)

[blocher-2] "Uruguay and Switzerland — cultural and economic Benefits from new Market opportunities". Mercosur. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2009.

[bilat-3] "Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs about relations with Uruguay". Switzerland. Retrieved 14 May 2009. The independent Republic of Uruguay came into being in 1828 and became a popular destination for Swiss migrants. It was German-Swiss farmers who in 1862-63 founded the colony of Nueva Helvecia. They introduced cheese-making and other agricultural innovations. Immigrants from Ticino were successful as skilled builders, artists and also footballers.

[NYT-4] "Uruguay to Honor the Swiss". New York Times. 4 June 1944.

[5] "... a la que pusieron por nombre Nueva Helvecia". Swissinfo (in Spanish). 28 October 2005.

[exports-6] "Key data for the Oriental Republic of Uruguay". Switzerland Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 14 May 2009.

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v t e Swiss abroad
Some locations	Argentina Australia Brazil Canada Chile El Salvador Guatemala France Italy Mexico Russia United States (Pennsylvania Dutch) Uruguay Venezuela
Related	Austrians Abroad German diaspora

Schweizuruguayer (German) Helvético-Uruguayens (French) Svizzero-uruguaiani (Italian)
Monument to the founders of Nueva Helvecia, an early Swiss settlement in Uruguay.
Total population
60,000^[1] ~1.8% of the Uruguyan population (2014)
Regions with significant populations
Throughout Uruguay, especially in settlements founded by Swiss immigrants.
Languages
Spanish · French · German • Italian • Romansh
Religion
Christianity (mainly Roman Catholicism and Protestantism)
Related ethnic groups
Swiss · Other ethnic groups of Uruguay: French Uruguayans, German Uruguayans, Brazilian Uruguayans, British Uruguayans, Irish Uruguayans, Italian Uruguayans, Russian Uruguayans, Polish Uruguayans, Bulgarian Uruguayans, Hungarian Uruguayans, Ukrainian Uruguayans, Lithuanian Uruguayans, Austrian Uruguayans, Croatian Uruguayans, Greek Uruguayans · Other Swiss in other nations: Swiss Argentines, Swiss Brazilians, Swiss Chileans, Swiss Americans