July 18 – Constitution Day in Uruguay

Posted on July 18, 2016

The southeastern region of South America we now call Uruguay was occupied by Britain for a few years in the early 1800s, and then it was the site of fighting and sieges in a four-way struggle between Spain, Portugal, Argentina, and Brazil.

Enough was enough! Uruguay declared its independence from Brazil in 1825 and finally became a recognized independent nation in 1828.

The new nation had a legislative group that crafted a constitution based on the relatively new constitutions of the United States and France. Like the U.S., the government was divided into three branches (legislative branch making laws, executive branch enforcing laws, and judicial branch interpreting laws). Unlike the U.S., Uruguay had an official religion, Roman Catholicism. (Now the nation has no official religion. Like the U.S., church and state are officially separated, and religious freedom is guaranteed.)

Uruguay's constitution was put into use on this date in 1830.

Here are some cool things about Uruguay:

An artist named Carlos Páez Vilaró created a place that served as his home, his studio, and a hotel. Called Casapueblo, this building is billed as “livable sculpture,” and people visit it from all over the world. It now functions as a museum, art gallery, café, and hotel.