French Uruguayan
Encyclopedia
A French Uruguayan is an Uruguay
an citizen of full or partial French
ancestry. French Uruguayan form the third largest ancestry group after Spanish Uruguayans and Italian Uruguayan
s. Until 1853, France constituted the main source of immigrants to Uruguay. The country received the largest number of French immigrants to South America after Argentina
(239,000) and Brazil
(40,000), with almost 25,000 persons registered between 1833 and 1843.
received most of French immigrants to South America
. It constituted back then, the second receptor of French immigrants in the New World
after the United States
. Thus, while the United States
received 195,971 French immigrants between 1820 and 1855, 13,922 Frenchmen, most of them from the Basque Country
and Béarn
, left for Uruguay between 1833 and 1842. Then, after the fall of Rosas
in 1852, Argentina
overtook Uruguay and became the main pole of attraction for French immigrants in Latin America
.
Most of French immigrants who settled in Uruguay immigrated between 1838 and 1852, with a peak of 10,300 immigrants in 1843. Frenchmen made up 41.5% of immigrants to Uruguay between 1835 and 1842, representing the main source of immigration to the country. Until 1853, French Basques constituted the most numerous group among all immigrants in Uruguay, then they were surpassed in numbers by Spaniards and Italians. Another great wave of French immigration to Uruguay occurred during the War of the Triple Alliance
until the 1870s. 2,718 French immigrants settled in the country between 1866 and 1867, 10.1% of the immigration at the time.
The majority of immigrants were coming from the Basque Country
, Béarn
and Bigorre
.
The newspaper Le Patriote Français estimated the French colony in Montevideo
in 1841 was around 18,000 persons. Another source claims the French colony in Uruguay reached 14,000 in 1842, 10,000 of them living in Montevideo and 4,000 in the countryside.
15,000 Frenchmen were registered in the country in 1843, most of them living in Montevideo where they made up a third of the population. The figure decreased to 8,891 in 1860 (making up 11.5% of foreigners) as many of them relocated to Buenos Aires
but was as high as 17,900 in 1872. In 1866, French immigrants represented 16.5% of immigrants in the country (Spaniards 33.5% and Italians 33%). According to the census of 1884, there were 7,383 Frenchmen living in Montevideo, out of 164,028 inhabitants (i.e. 4.5% of the city population). In 1908, as previously established French immigrants had merged within the population and the country had received a large wave of immigration from Spain and Italy
, Frenchmen only made up 1% of the population (8,341 persons) and 4.6% of foreigners. It was estimated that 9,500 Frenchmen were living in Uruguay in 1912, 6% of the 149,400 Frenchmen living in Latin America.
During the siege of Montevideo, out of 5,800 men defending the city, 2,500 were French. Three French poets were born in Uruguay: Isidore Ducasse, Comte de Lautréamont, Jules Laforgue
and Jules Supervielle
.
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
an citizen of full or partial French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
ancestry. French Uruguayan form the third largest ancestry group after Spanish Uruguayans and Italian Uruguayan
Italian settlement in Uruguay
An Italian Uruguayan is an Uruguayan citizen of full or partial Italian ancestry. Almost half of the population is of Italian origin or has some degree of Italian descent...
s. Until 1853, France constituted the main source of immigrants to Uruguay. The country received the largest number of French immigrants to South America after Argentina
French Argentine
A French Argentine is an Argentine citizen of full or partial French ancestry. French Argentines form the third or fourth largest ancestry group after Italian Argentines, Spanish Argentines, and perhaps German Argentines...
(239,000) and Brazil
French Brazilian
A French Brazilian is a Brazilian citizen of full, partial, or predominantly French ancestry, or a French-born person residing in Brazil. Between 1850 and 1965 around 100,000 French people immigrated to Brazil. The country received the second largest number of French immigrants to South America...
(40,000), with almost 25,000 persons registered between 1833 and 1843.
French immigration to Uruguay
During the first half of the 19th century, UruguayUruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
received most of French immigrants to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. It constituted back then, the second receptor of French immigrants in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
after the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Thus, while the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
received 195,971 French immigrants between 1820 and 1855, 13,922 Frenchmen, most of them from the Basque Country
Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....
and Béarn
Béarn
Béarn is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre, and Labourd, the principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms in the...
, left for Uruguay between 1833 and 1842. Then, after the fall of Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
in 1852, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
overtook Uruguay and became the main pole of attraction for French immigrants in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
Most of French immigrants who settled in Uruguay immigrated between 1838 and 1852, with a peak of 10,300 immigrants in 1843. Frenchmen made up 41.5% of immigrants to Uruguay between 1835 and 1842, representing the main source of immigration to the country. Until 1853, French Basques constituted the most numerous group among all immigrants in Uruguay, then they were surpassed in numbers by Spaniards and Italians. Another great wave of French immigration to Uruguay occurred during the War of the Triple Alliance
War of the Triple Alliance
The Paraguayan War , also known as War of the Triple Alliance , was a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay...
until the 1870s. 2,718 French immigrants settled in the country between 1866 and 1867, 10.1% of the immigration at the time.
The majority of immigrants were coming from the Basque Country
Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....
, Béarn
Béarn
Béarn is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre, and Labourd, the principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms in the...
and Bigorre
Bigorre
Bigorre is region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region known as Gascony...
.
The newspaper Le Patriote Français estimated the French colony in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
in 1841 was around 18,000 persons. Another source claims the French colony in Uruguay reached 14,000 in 1842, 10,000 of them living in Montevideo and 4,000 in the countryside.
15,000 Frenchmen were registered in the country in 1843, most of them living in Montevideo where they made up a third of the population. The figure decreased to 8,891 in 1860 (making up 11.5% of foreigners) as many of them relocated to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
but was as high as 17,900 in 1872. In 1866, French immigrants represented 16.5% of immigrants in the country (Spaniards 33.5% and Italians 33%). According to the census of 1884, there were 7,383 Frenchmen living in Montevideo, out of 164,028 inhabitants (i.e. 4.5% of the city population). In 1908, as previously established French immigrants had merged within the population and the country had received a large wave of immigration from Spain and Italy
Italian settlement in Uruguay
An Italian Uruguayan is an Uruguayan citizen of full or partial Italian ancestry. Almost half of the population is of Italian origin or has some degree of Italian descent...
, Frenchmen only made up 1% of the population (8,341 persons) and 4.6% of foreigners. It was estimated that 9,500 Frenchmen were living in Uruguay in 1912, 6% of the 149,400 Frenchmen living in Latin America.
During the siege of Montevideo, out of 5,800 men defending the city, 2,500 were French. Three French poets were born in Uruguay: Isidore Ducasse, Comte de Lautréamont, Jules Laforgue
Jules Laforgue
Jules Laforgue was an innovative Franco-Uruguayan poet, often referred to as a Symbolist poet. Critics and commentators have also pointed to Impressionism as a direct influence and his poetry has been called "part-symbolist, part-impressionist".-Life:...
and Jules Supervielle
Jules Supervielle
Jules Supervielle was a French poet and writer born in Uruguay.Jules Supervielle always kept away from Surrealism which was dominant in the first half of the twentieth century...
.
Figures
| Yearly French immigration to Uruguay from 1835 to 1842 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | French immigrants | Total immigrants | % French immigrants |
| 1835 | 43 | 613 | 7% |
| 1836 | 998 | 3,146 | 31.7% |
| 1837 | 442 | 2,583 | 17.1% |
| 1838 | 2,071 | 5,424 | 38.2% |
| 1839 | 342 | 1,163 | 29.4% |
| 1840 | 835 | 2,475 | 33.7% |
| 1841 | 3,816 | 7,860 | 48.5% |
| 1842 | 5,218 | 9,874 | 52.8% |
| Total | 13,765 | 33,138 | 41.5% |
Prominent French Uruguayans
- Jorge AudeJorge AudeJorge Aude is a former Uruguayan football player and manager.-External links:*http://www.esmas.com/deportes/futbol/395138.html...
, soccer player and manager. - Luis BarbatLuis BarbatLuis Alberto Barbat Hudema is an Uruguayan football goalkeeper.-Club career:1997 - Barbat arrives to Deportes Tolima. His team classifies to Conmebol Cup...
, soccer player. - Juan María BordaberryJuan María BordaberryJuan María Bordaberry Arocena was a Uruguayan politician and cattle rancher, who first served as President from 1972 until 1976, including as a dictator from 1973 until his ouster in a 1976 coup...
, former President and dictator. - Marcel BouzoutMarcel BouzoutMarcel Bouzout Stefano is a retired male basketball player from Uruguay, who competed for the Uruguay national basketball team in the 1990s and the early 2000s. He won two continental titles with the men's national squad during his career.-References:...
, basketball player. - Armando CastaingdebatArmando Castaingdebat-Background:He is a member of the National Party . ....
, politician. - Gonzalo Castex, percutionnist from the band No Te Va GustarNo Te Va GustarNo Te Va Gustar, also known by its initials NTVG, is a rock band from Uruguay. The members are: Emiliano Brancciari , Guzmán Silveira , Diego Bartaburu , Gonzalo Castex , Martín Gíl , Denis Ramos , Mauricio Ortiz , Marcel Curuchet and Pablo Coniberti...
. - Nelson ChelleNelson ChelleNelson Chelle is a retired basketball player from Uruguay, who won the bronze medal with the men's national team at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Four years later he once again competed in the Olympics for his native country.-References:*...
, basketball player. - Javier ChevantonJavier ChevantónErnesto Javier Chevantón Espinosa is an Uruguayan footballer, who currently plays for Argentine club Colón de Santa Fe.He obtained a Spanish passport after playing a few years in Spain.-Lecce:...
, soccer player. - Luis Cluzeau MortetLuis Cluzeau MortetLuis Cluzeau Mortet ,was a Uruguayan composer and musician.-Life:Cluzeau Mortet was along with Alfonso Broqua, Eduardo Fabini and Vicente Ascone, a representative of the nationalist tendency that emerged in Uruguayan music in the 1910s and 20s.Among his output as a composer, highlights the music...
, composer. - Eduardo Juan CoutureEduardo Juan CoutureEduardo Juan Couture was an Uruguayan jurist whose works are fundamental to the teaching of procedural law in Latin America.-Background:Couture taught at the University of the Republic, Uruguay from 1931 on...
, jurist. - Marcel Curuchet, keyboardist from the band No Te Va GustarNo Te Va GustarNo Te Va Gustar, also known by its initials NTVG, is a rock band from Uruguay. The members are: Emiliano Brancciari , Guzmán Silveira , Diego Bartaburu , Gonzalo Castex , Martín Gíl , Denis Ramos , Mauricio Ortiz , Marcel Curuchet and Pablo Coniberti...
. - Fernando FadeuilleFernando FadeuilleFernando Fadeuille Carvallo is a retired French-Uruguayan footballer.-External links:*...
, soccer player. - Andrés Fleurquin, soccer player.
- Iván GuillaumaIván GuillaumaIván Marcos Guillauma Modernell is a Uruguayan midfielder who plays for San Marcos de Arica in Chile.-External links:* at Terra.cl...
, soccer player. - Osvaldo LaportOsvaldo LaportRubens Osvaldo Jesús Udaquiola Laport is an Argentine actor and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador born in Uruguay. In 2000, he earned Martín Fierro Award for his portrayal in television comedy Campeones de la Vida....
, actor. - Eduardo LarbanoisEduardo LarbanoisEduardo Larbanois is a guitarist, songwriter and singer Uruguayan of popular music, best known for integrating the duo Larbanois - Carrero.- The Eduardos :...
, singer. - Pablo LemoinePablo LemoinePablo Adrian Lemoine is a Uruguayan rugby union player. He plays as a prop.-Career:Lemoine was first noticed in is own country, but then moved to Bristol Shoguns, for the season of 1998/99, where he became a professional. He moved again to Stade français, which side he represented for the seasons...
, rugby player. - Nicolás Lieutier, bass guitarist from the band La Vela PuercaLa Vela PuercaLa Vela Puerca is a Uruguayan rock/ska band formed in Montevideo, Uruguay in December 1995. Its founders and current members are Sebastián Teysera , Nicolás Lieutier and Santiago Butler . The band's first appearance under the name La Vela Puerca was at a street party in Montevideo on December 24,...
. - Damián MalrrechaufeDamián MalrrechaufeDamián Malrechauffe Verdún is a Uruguayan footballer playing for Danubio F.C..-External links:*...
, soccer player. - Natalia OreiroNatalia OreiroNatalia Marisa Oreiro Iglesias is a Latin Grammy-nominated Uruguayan singer, actress and fashion designer of Galician ancestry, who developed most of her career in Argentina. Oreiro began her career in soap operas. Since 2008 she has switched to work primarily in films...
, actress and singer (her grandmother's maiden name is Bourié). - Ope PasquetOpe Pasquet- Background :He is a lawyer by profession. For many years he has been an activist for the Colorado Party .- Under-secretary for Foreign Affairs :...
, politician. - Gustavo PoyetGustavo PoyetGustavo Augusto Gus Poyet Domínguez is a former Uruguay international footballer and current manager of English side Brighton & Hove Albion.During his playing career, Poyet featured for teams including Real Zaragoza, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur....
, soccer player. - Luciano Supervielle, musician.
- Daisy TournéDaisy Tourné-Frente Amplio associations:She is aligned politically with the Frente Amplio movement, which has been in government office since 2005, headed by President of Uruguay Tabaré Vázquez....
, politician.