Uruguay Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Uruguay appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 4 different states, among them Uruguay, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, Tekohá (Guarani).
UruguayExplore the history of Uruguay in the interactive map
Who ruled the land of Uruguay, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1492 | Tekohá (Guarani) 11% |
| 1783 | Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata 100% |
| 1800 | Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata 100% |
| 1815 | United Provinces of the Río de la Plata 100% |
| 1880 | Uruguay 100% |
| 1900 | Uruguay 100% |
| 1914 | Uruguay 100% |
| 1920 | Uruguay 100% |
| 1930 | Uruguay 100% |
| 1938 | Uruguay 100% |
| 1945 | Uruguay 100% |
| 1960 | Uruguay 100% |
| 1994 | Uruguay 100% |
| 2010 | Uruguay 100% |
Historic cities in Uruguay
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Uruguay?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Uruguay belonged to Uruguay, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, Tekohá (Guarani).
What was Uruguay part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Uruguay lay within Uruguay.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.