Artigas Department

History

In Pre-Columbian times a local industry developed here, known as Hombre del Catalanense.

Owner region of a prehistoric past which later became "no man's land" between the Spanish and Portuguese empires. The initial indigenous predominance (chanás-charrúas-Guarani) was displaced by the native settlement and subsequent colonies of immigrants.

Artigas department was created by law on 1 October 1884, on territory previously belonged to the department of Salto; from that date it is designated to Villa de San Eugenio as capital, which in 1915 passed to the category of city with the name of Artigas, capital of the department with the same name in tribute to the national hero of Uruguay José Gervasio Artigas. He was linked to the fact Colonel Carlos Lecueder, first politician and police chief Artigas.

Its capital Artigas comes at the end of the "Guerra Grande" in order to consolidate the borders with Brazil, with the name of San Eugenio del Cuareim. It was founded on September 12, 1852 by Don Carlos Catala, choosing as the best site located on the banks of the Cuareim River opposite the Villa San Juan Bautista on the other side of the river, which was a military settlement that was then transformed into what is today the city of Quaraí.

A city named Santa Rosa del Cuareim, now known as Bella Unión, was founded by Fructuoso Rivera and Guarani refugees after the Eastern Missions campaign against Brazil in 1829 (see: Thirty-Three Orientals). After winning the allies Colorados Brazil national in 1852, territory north of Cuareim was yielded to Brazil which prompted an evacuation of the population. It was re-founded in 1853 under the name of Santa Rosa de la Bella Unión Quareim. In 1929, the national government to mark the centenary of the campaign of Missions, sent a bill to the Senate, which established the name Bella Unión, which for that time was a villa.

Geography

Two portions of the department's border with Brazil are disputed (Isla Brasilera or Brazilian Island near Bella Unión, and an area called Rincón de Artigas near Masoller), but unlike many border disputes between Latin American countries, this issue has not strained Uruguay's relations with Brazil, which remain friendly.

Two main geostructural regions can be found inside Artigas' limits:

• The central and eastern area, which includes a basaltic cuesta, and some sedimentary plains near the Cuareim River. Also found in the region are some hill ranges, such as Cuchilla de Belén.
• The western area, which consists of a narrow alluvial plain.

Artigas Department's average temperature is the highest in the whole country (over 19 °C or 66 °F, and may go as high as 47 °C or 116 °F during the summer months). So are its precipitation levels (up to an annual average of 1400 mm).

Economy

As of the census of 2011, the Artigas Department had a population of 73,378 (36,079 male and 37,299 female) and 26,231 households.

Demographic data for Artigas Department in 2010:

• Population growth rate: -0,006%
• Birth Rate: 15.48 births/1,000 people
• Death Rate: 7.05 deaths/1,000 people
• Average age: 28.2 (27.2 male, 29.2 female)
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 75.43 years
  • Male; 72.03 years
  • Female: 79.35 years
• Average per household income: 19,273 pesos/month
• Urban per capita income: 6,994 pesos/month 2010 Data Source:

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|} :Rural population According to the 2011 census, Artigas department has a rural population of 3,524.

Bibliography

References

References

1. (June 2, 2016). "Asombra al mundo la "Emperatriz de Uruguay"".
2. "Población por sexo y ascendencia étnico racial, según departamento.". National Institute of Statistics.
3. (2012). "Censos 2011 Artigas (needs flash plugin)". INE.
4. (2011). "Uruguay en cifras". INE.
5. (2012). "Censos 2011 Cuadros Artigas". INE.