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.
Spanish settlement along with the Italians, formed the backbone of today's Uruguayan society.
The Spanish republicans fled Franco's regime as well, seeking to escape retribution from the new government.
The 2011 Uruguayan census revealed 12,776 people who declared Spain as their country of birth.