The British Cemetery Montevideo
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1828 |
| Location | Montevideo |
| Country |
 Uruguay
|
| Type | private |
| Website | Website |
| Find a Grave | The British Cemetery Cementerio Británico |
The British Cemetery of Montevideo (Spanish: Cementerio Británico) is one of the oldest operating cemeteries in Uruguay.
This land, now on Central Avenue, was known as the Cementerio de los Ingleses as during the British Invasions of 1807 a battle took place there on 20 January 1807, known as , against forces of Vazquez Feijoo and where several British soldiers were killed. Their comrades buried their bodies on the land on which they had fallen. Shortly afterwards on 3 February, the Battle of Montevideo took place.
On 24 October 1818 a Portuguese resident of the Cordon area of Montevideo, Padre don Manuel Salinas took possession of a piece of “unoccupied” land situated in the centre of the city on the site of the present “Intendencia”, that was donated to him, during the occupation of Montevideo by the Portuguese Government, by the then Governor Lecor, Viscount of Laguna. On 30 September 1825 Padre Salinas sold and transferred the land to a British resident, Mr. John Hall for the sum of $400. On 14 April 1828 the British Consul in Montevideo, Mr Thomas Hood bought the land from John Hall in the name of the British government, and it is from this date that the British Cemetery became more formally recognised.
This cemetery initially was a Protestant Cemetery according to the first entrance books, that being the main reason why so many Germans were buried in the original cemetery. In 1835 a German citizen by the name of Enrique Jakobsen died in San Jose, and was denied burial there on account of being a freemason and a heretic. His body was brought to Montevideo, and was also initially denied burial for the same reason. At that time all cemeteries were under the sole management and control of the Catholic Church. After his burial in the Cementerio Central which had been inaugurated earlier the same year the First Bishop of Montevideo, Jacinto Vera declared that no other burial could take place in that Cemetery until the body was removed. Because of this the Government stepped in, and on 10 October 1835 passed a decree whereby all cemeteries in this country would come under the direct influence of the Jefatura de Policia. Subsequent to this decree, years later, by Government decree of 28 June 1858 the administration of all cemeteries of this country was conferred on the Juntas Economicas Administrativas who depended directly from the Municipios. On 3 October 1837 the title deeds were issued to Mr. Hood with the provision that the land should be used exclusively for the burial of British subjects. Within a context of religious intolerance the Uruguayan Government requested that Protestants of other nationalities should also be buried there, and as can be seen from the record books this has always been respected. The British Cemetery has no restrictions regarding religion or nationality.
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Wikipedia