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Spanish settlement in Uruguay, that is the arrival of Spanish emigrants in the country known today as Uruguay, took place firstly in the period before independence from Spain and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, resulting in a large proportion of Uruguayans are of Spanish ancestral origin.

Between the 15th and early 19th centuries, the Spanish Empire was the sole colonial power in the Banda Oriental. Thus, before 1811, a great part of the European settlers in Uruguay were from Spain and they carried the Spanish colonial administration, including religious affairs, government and commercial business. A substantial Spanish-descended Criollo population gradually built up in the new cities, while some mixed with the indigenous populations (mestizos), with the Black slave population (mulattoes) or with other European immigrants.

Spanish settlement along with the Italians, formed the backbone of today's Uruguayan society. Like its neighbour country Argentina, the culture of Uruguay exhibits significant connections to Spanish culture; in terms of language, customs and traditions.

Many Uruguayans who have a Spanish lineage include those of post-independence Spanish immigrant descent, as long as they have retained a Spanish cultural identity. Large proportions are of Galician descent. During the Spanish Civil War, thousands of Spaniards fled from Spain to Uruguay. The Spanish republicans fled Franco's regime as well, seeking to escape retribution from the new government.

The Spanish immigrants who arrived between 18th and 20th century have different origins, but a significant number of them came from Galicia,^[1][2] the Basque Country,^[3] and Asturias;^[4] with smaller but notable numbers from Valencia^[5] and the Canary Islands.

The 2011 Uruguayan census revealed 12,776 people who declared Spain as their country of birth.^[6] Thousands of Uruguayan nationals are holders of Spanish passports.^[7]

• Uruguayan people
• Criollo people
• Spain-Uruguay relations
• White Latin Americans
• Spanish colonization of the Americas

• Goebel, Michael. "Gauchos, Gringos and Gallegos: The Assimilation of Italian and Spanish Immigrants in the Making of Modern Uruguay 1880–1930," Past and Present (August 2010) 208(1): 191–229 doi:10.1093/pastj/gtp037

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