History
A populated centre was founded here in October 1861 and declared as "Pueblo" (village) by Decree of 26 May 1894. Its status was elevated to "Villa" (town) by the Act of Ley Nº 7.257 on 17 August 1920 and then to "Ciudad" (city) by the Act of Ley Nº 11.892 on 11 December 1952.
The date of its foundation is considered to be 24 April 1862. This year marked the time when a large number of immigrants, mostly from Switzerland, but with a significant number from Austria, Germany, Italy and France, settled in the area.
The Swiss Colony was established in the mid-nineteenth century. Many Swiss descendants live in this area of the department of Colonia in Uruguay. Nueva Helvecia, Colonia Valdense, La Paz, Rosario, Colonia Miguelete, as well as other cities and towns, are the result of immigration of Swiss, Germans, Austrians, French and Italians to Uruguay. In April 2012, the Swiss Colony is celebrating its 150th anniversary of its founding. Most of the history of the colony is found in Dr. Juan Carlos Wirth's five publications and the detailed resources in his books.
Since its foundation, agriculture has become one of the main sources of sustenance, in particular fruit and dairy products.
Read more about this topic: Nueva Helvecia
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Don’t you realize that this is a new empire? Why, folks, there’s never been anything like this since creation. Creation, huh, that took six days, this was done in one. History made in an hour. Why it’s a miracle out of the Old Testament!”
—Howard Estabrook (1884–1978)
“History does nothing; it does not possess immense riches, it does not fight battles. It is men, real, living, who do all this.... It is not “history” which uses men as a means of achieving—as if it were an individual person—its own ends. History is nothing but the activity of men in pursuit of their ends.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“History is the present. That’s why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth.”
—E.L. (Edgar Lawrence)