0890 URUGUAY - The map and the flag of the country

Crammed between the huge Brazil and Argentina, the tiny but prosperous Uruguay is home to 3.3 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Montevideo, founded as a military stronghold by the Spanish in the early 18th century. The country won its independence between 1811 and 1828, following a four-way struggle between Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Brazil. It remained subjected to foreign influence throughout the 19th century, with the military playing a recurring role in politics until the late 20th century.

Located entirely within a temperate zone, Uruguay consists mostly of rolling plains and low hill ranges (cuchillas) with a fertile coastal lowland. A dense fluvial network covers the country, consisting of four river basins, or deltas: the Río de la Plata, the Uruguay River, the Laguna Merín and the Río Negro. Uruguayans are of predominantly European origin, with an estimated 88% of the population claiming European descent, mainly from Italy (about one-quarter of the population is of Italian origin), Spain, France and Britain. On the other hand, from 1963 to 1985, an estimated 320,000 Uruguayans emigrated, mostly in Argentina, United States and Australia.The official language is Spanish (the dialect named Rioplatense Spanish), but many immigrants used to speak a mixture of Italian and Spanish known as cocoliche. Uruguayan culture is strongly European.

The national flag (Pabellón Nacional), designed by Joaquín Suárez, has a field of nine equal horizontal stripes alternating white and blue. The canton is white, charged with the Sun of May, from which 16 rays extend, alternating between triangular and wavy. It is a combination of the Argentine flag and the flag of the United States, and it was adopted on 1828, having 17 stripes until 1830. The stripes represent the nine original departments of Uruguay, and the Sun of May a new nation in the world. 

About the stamp
The stamp is one of the two which form the series Rights of the Rural Workers, designed by A. Muntz, and issued on March 6, 2013:
• arriero (0.30 UYU) - it's on the postcard
• tambera (0.50 UYU)

References
Uruguay - Wikipedia
Flag of Uruguay - Wikipedia

sender: smadera (direct swap)
sent from Montevideo (Uruguay), on 03.12.2013