Uruguay breaks off relations with Germany

On 7 October 1917, at half past two in the morning, after an all-night sitting, the parliament of Uruguay adopted a resolution in favour of breaking off diplomatic relations with Germany. In the Chamber of Representatives 74 deputies voted for it and 23 against; in the Senate, 13 senators for and 3 against. The law authorised the executive to break off diplomatic and commercial relations with the German Empire. That same day President Feliciano Viera signed the decree at a meeting of the full cabinet. In it he stated that he fully shared the reasoning of parliament, ordered passports to be handed to the German representative in Montevideo, guaranteeing his safety until his departure, and instructed Uruguayan officials in Germany to leave that country immediately. The day before, Peru had done the same.

Uruguay had been neutral since the beginning of the war, but its neutrality was described as Anglophile. The country had strong economic ties with Britain, and the foreign minister, Baltasar Brum, favoured close cooperation with the United States. In June 1917 Montevideo proclaimed the principle of American solidarity. A violation of the rights of one state of the continent was to be a wrong done to all and to provoke a common response. In accordance with this principle the president decreed on 18 June that no American state which, in defence of its rights, found itself at war with states of other continents would be treated as a belligerent. In practice this meant revoking neutrality towards the United States, and American warships could use Uruguayan ports without restriction. In the summer an American squadron under Admiral William Caperton paid a visit to Montevideo.

Towards the European powers Uruguay long set conditions. Brum wanted to conclude arbitration treaties with Britain, France and Italy which would protect his country against claims by European citizens and companies backed by their governments. As late as 2 October he told the American minister, Jeffery, that if the Allies refused, Uruguay would remain neutral and take part in the congress of the neutral states of America being convened by the President of Argentina, Hipólito Yrigoyen. The Italians refused, and the British agreed on condition that they received the German merchant ships which had lain in the port of Montevideo since the beginning of the war and were already under the supervision of the Uruguayan government. According to some studies there were eight of them. Brum proposed instead to place them at the disposal of the United States. The British minister thought his government would accept this, and on 3 October Jeffery cabled Washington that the diplomatic situation in Montevideo was “very favourable”. A few days later Uruguay broke with Germany.

After the break Uruguay took a further step. In mid-October the government revoked its decrees of neutrality towards France, Britain, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Japan, Serbia, Romania and Montenegro, which opened its ports to Allied warships. On 20 October Viera thanked President Woodrow Wilson by telegram for the second visit of Caperton’s squadron, which was meant to express the solidarity of the United States with a country joining the “league of honour” in defence of democratic ideals. The British, French and Americans continued to argue for many months over the use of the German ships. Uruguay did not declare war on Germany, but after the war it signed the Treaty of Versailles and was one of the founding members of the League of Nations.