District of South America, Southern Division – United Grand Lodge of England

Brethren,

 About 130 years ago, four military Lodges were warranted by the Grand Lodge of Ireland attached to four Regiments of the British Army. Lodge N° 227 was in the 46^th Regiment of Foot, Lodge N° 192 in the 47^th, Lodge N° 218 in the 48^th Regiment of Foot, and Lodge N° 895 in the 71^st Highlanders.

Irish Military Lodges were permitted to initiate civilians, a privilege denied to military Lodges warranted by the Grand Lodge of England, and these four Irish Lodges were responsible for the earliest Masonic activities of which we have any record in the countries of Uruguay, Argentina, and Australia.

Lodges N° 227 and 218 were stationed in Australia in the early part of the last century and initiated a few civilians during their stay in Sydney, NSW. In 1819 twelve of these civilians sent home a petition to the Grand Lodge of Ireland, recommended by Lodge N° 218, for a warrant to form a Lodge at Sydney. This petition was granted, and on the 12^{th of} August 1820 Lodge “Australia Social”, N° 260 on the Roll of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, was consecrated at Sydney. This Lodge is still in existence as “Australian Social Mother” Lodge No 0 on the register of the Grand Lodge of New South Wales.

Lodge N° 895, attached to the 71^st Highlanders, came out to Buenos Aires in 1806 with the ill-advised and unfortunate British Expeditionary Force sent to capture the Spanish Colonists in the River Plate. This Lodge initiated a few colonists in Buenos Aires. It is also reputed to have been instrumental in forming two Lodges in that city, the “Estrella del Sud” and the “Sons of Hiram”. These two Lodges do not appear to have had any lengthy existence. The regalia and several papers and certificates of Lodge No 895 were found in the Reconquista fort after the British troops had evacuated the place and were later found as ornaments on the altar of a local church and were purchased and returned to the regiment by a Brother who discovered them. This Lodge ceased to work in about 1835.

The Irish Lodge N° 192 in the 47^th Regiment of Foot was also with that expedition and landed at Montevideo in 1806. The Spanish garrisons of Montevideo were not too popular with the colonists, and while the regiment was encamped without the city walls, some of the Spanish colonists were initiated in the Craft by this Lodge. We have on the West wall (Today the South wall) of our Lodge room a record of such initiation in the form of a certificate issued by Lodge N° 192 to Bro. Miguel Furriol, initiated in the Lodge in 1807, which certificate was presented to “Acacia” Lodge N° 876 by his grandson.

This Lodge, N° 192, later went to Canada with the 47^th Regiment and eventually joined with other Lodges in forming the Provincial Grand Lodge of Quebec, with which it was absorbed.

The initiation of the colonists by this Lodge in 1807 is the earliest record we have of Masonic activities in Uruguay.

The next Masonic movement of any note in Uruguay appears to have been about the year 1827 when some French Masonic emigrés formed a Lodge in Montevideo named “Les Enfantes du Nouveau Mond” under a Warrant from the Grand Orient of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, a body which did not appear to have been accorded recognition by the existing regular Masonic authorities of the period. This lodge is reputed to have worked intermittently up to the year 1842. In that year it was reorganized and renamed “Les Amis de la Patrie”, and a petition was sent to the Grand Orient of France for the Lodge to be constituted under the Obedience of that Grand Orient. This petition was granted, and the Lodge was constituted under its new name in 1844. The famous General José Garibaldi is stated to have been a member of this Lodge at one time.

This French Lodge still exists, working under the Grand Orient of France. It is a vigorous entity and is the oldest existing Lodge in the Republic of Uruguay.

In 1828 a few Uruguayan Brethren, initiated in foreign Lodges, formed a lodge named “Asilo de la Virtud”, (Virtues Refuge), and worked without a charter until 1830, when they obtained a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. They worked in the York Rite but in 1832 passed to the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. This Lodge warranted other Lodges in the Republic from time to time, some of which lapsed, whilst others continued for a few years, one of them, “Constante Amistad” being in existence in 1856 when the Grand Orient of Uruguay was formed.

The Grand Orient of Brazil also formed some Lodges in Uruguay between 1835 and 1855, of which the “Sol Oriente”, “Union y Beneficencia”, and “Decretos de la Providencia” were in existence in 1856, and passed to the Grand Oriente of Uruguay at that time.

In 1855 some of the existing Lodges, under the leadership of Bro. José Gareda formed a Grand Orient of Montevideo, but this body did not receive recognition from the Grand Orient of Brazil, which was the principal Masonic Authority in South America at that period.

In 1856 Bro. Gabriel Perez, Uruguayan Consul in Rio de Janeiro, obtained a Constitutional Charter from the Supreme Council of 33° in Brazil to form a similar body in Uruguay. He came to Montevideo and founded the Grand Orient of Uruguay with its Supreme Council of 33°, and this Masonic Authority immediately began to warrant Lodges in various parts of the country.

This gave rise to friction between the Grand Orient of Uruguay and the Grand Orient of Montevideo, which resulted in the dissolution of the latter body, and most of its Lodges passed over to the Grand Orient of Uruguay, including the Lodge “Asilo de la Virtud”, which was thenceforth known as “Madre Asilo de la Virtud”, being the senior Lodge working under the national Masonic Authority.

The Grand Orient of Uruguay was accorded recognition by the leading Masonic Authorities of the period, and Bro. Gabriel Perez was the first Sovereign Grand Commander and Grand Master, and it has continued as the sole national Masonic Authority of Uruguay to the present date. It proved an active and progressive organization.

In 1856 it took over the Lodges “Asilo de la Virtud”, “Constante Amistad”, “Fé”, “Esperanza”, and “Caridad”, founded either by the Lodge Lodges “Asilo de la Virtud” or the Grand Orient of Montevideo, as well as the three Lodges “Sol Oriental”, “Union y Beneficencia”, and “Decretos de la Providencia”, founded by the Grand Orient of Brazil. In the same year, 1856, the new Grand Orient of Uruguay founded the Lodges “Cristobal Colon” in Paysandu, “Restauration” in Melo, Cerro Largo, and “Perseverencia” in Montevideo. In 1857-1858 it warranted the Lodges “Dupla Alianza” in San José, “Santa Rosa de Lima” (later renamed ”Union y Fraternidad”) in Tacuarembo, “Union” in Salto, and “Hiram” in Paysandu, as well as seven Lodges in Argentina, viz: the”Union del Plata” and “Cofraternidad Argentina” in Buenos Aires in 1856, “Union y Filantropia” in Guayleguacha in 1856, the “Jorge Washington” in conception del Uruguay, and “Fraternidad” in Buenos Aires, as well as the blue Lodge “San Juan de la Fé” in Parana, all in 1857, and the Lodge “Tolerancia” in Buenos Aires in 1858.

In that year, 1858, The Grand Orient of Uruguay issued a Charter of Constitution to the Brethren of the Lodges in Argentina, and the Grand Orient of Argentina was founded, the seven Lodges warranted by the Grand Orient of Uruguay during 1856-1858 passing over to the new Argentine Masonic Authority.

As an instance of the progressiveness of the young Grand Orient of Uruguay, it may be noted that, within two years of its foundation, it had 15 Lodges in Uruguay under it’s obedience, had founded 7 more in Argentina, and had constituted a new Grand Orient in that country.

The present senior Lodge of the Grand Orient of Paraguay, the Lodge “Aurora del Paraguay”, was also founded by the Grand Orient of Uruguay at Asuncion in 1887.

In 1858, while the Lodges in Argentina were still under the obedience of the Grand Lodge of Uruguay, it is recorded that a Spanish Lodge, the “Verdadera Iniciacion” of Barcelona, transferred from that city to Buenos Aires, and was admitted to the Grand Orient. However, its activities in this new sphere appear to have been negligible and it is reported to have returned to Barcelona in 1860.

The Grand Orient of Italy made efforts from time to time to establish Lodges in Uruguay and founded the Lodge “Verdad Masonica” in Montevideo, and “Esperanza” in Tacuarembo during the seventies, but these two Lodges were not recognized by the local Masonic bodies until they applied for, and obtained, admission to the Grand Orient of Uruguay, the former in 1879, and the latter in 1880. Another Lodge “Figli dell’ Unita Italiana” was warranted by the Grand Orient of Italy during the eighties and came under the Grand Orient of Uruguay in 1888.

English Freemasonry first commenced definite activities in the Republic in 1861. Eight Brethren from “Excelsior” Lodge N° 900 (now 617) and a brother from “Teutonia” Lodge N° 1092 (since closed 1870), petitioned the Grand Lodge of England for a Warrant to form a Lodge in Montevideo. This was granted in September 1861, and “Acacia” Lodge N° 1178 (now N° 876) was consecrated in February 1862. It was immediately accorded full official recognition by the Grand Orient of Uruguay and has continued to work in harmonious cooperation with that national Masonic Authority to the present day.

“Acacia” Lodge can also claim to have had some influence upon the birth of the Provincial Grand Lodge of the Argentine Republic, (now the District Grand Lodge of South America, Southern Division).

When the Grand Orient of Argentina was formed in 1858, the young Argentine Masonic Authority was naturally desirous of obtaining recognition from the established Masonic Powers of the world. At that time there were two Lodges in Buenos Aires warranted by the Grand Lodge of England, “Excelsior” N° 900 and “Teutonia” N° 1092. The Worshipful Master of “Excelsior” was approached in 1859 with a view to negotiating a Masonic Treaty between the Grand Lodge of England and the Argentine Grand Orient, and for the appointment of a Provincial Grand Master at Buenos Aires, The proposition was put before Grand Lodge in London, but Grand Lodge pointed out that a Provincial Grand Master could not be appointed to a Masonic Province of less than three Lodges. So the matter was held up, and it looked as if the golden opportunity for founding a Provincial Grand Lodge in Argentina would be lost.

Then the “Acacia” Lodge was formed in Montevideo, making three Lodges under the Grand Lodge of England in the River Plate area. This Lodge did not go under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Grand Lodge at Buenos Aires when that body was instituted, nor has it ever formed part of the English Masonic District in Argentine, but in 1861-62 the Grand Master in London appears to have taken an accommodating view of the matter and regarded the formation of “Acacia” Lodge as sufficient warrant for appointing a Provincial Grand Master. He was duly appointed and authorized to proceed with the negotiations, and the result is that today there is a large English Masonic Province of 26 Lodges in Argentina. As the next English Lodge in Argentina was not founded until 1864, and the Argentine Masonic viewpoint regarding the proposed Masonic Treaty is reputed to have altered within a few years of signing the Treaty, there is the possibility that the English Masonic Province may not have come into being had it not been for the foundation of the “Acacia” Lodge in 1861-62.

In 1875 a Masonic Conference of Supreme Councils of the Scottish Rite was held at Lausanne, Switzerland, at which a treaty was drawn up. One of the provisions of this treaty was that the National Masonic Authority of any country had sole jurisdiction over all that territory, and no other sovereign Masonic Authority had any right to warrant any Lodge within the territory of another sovereign Masonic Authority; also that, while Lodges already existing within the territory of one sovereign Masonic Power pertaining to other Masonic Authorities would continue to be recognized, no recognition would be accorded by any national Masonic Authority of any country to any Lodge formed within its territory without its consent in future by any other sovereign Masonic Authority. The Grand Orient of Uruguay subscribed to this treaty in 1877.

In 1893 a Royal Arch Chapter was formed in Montevideo and attached to “Acacia” Lodge N° 876.

In 1909 fourteen Brethren from “Acacia” Lodge N° 876 petitioned Grand Lodge for a warrant to found a new Lodge in Montevideo. The warrant was granted, and the new Lodge, “Silver River” Lodge N° 3389, was consecrated on the 9^th of October 1909.

However, the Grand Orient of Uruguay, bound by its obligations under the Treaty of Lausanne, declined to accord recognition to the “Silver River” Lodge, which had been formed within its territory without its consent. Apparently, the founders had either omitted or neglected this essential formality. The attitude of the Grand Orient was tolerant and even friendly to the new English Lodge, but official recognition was withheld. This was a matter of considerable concern to the English Brethren of both Lodges in Montevideo, but all the efforts to obtain official recognition were unsuccessful for many years.

Happily, the circumstances became known to Grand Lodge in London. The Most Worshipful, the Grand Master, sent the President of the Board of General Purposes, the late R.W. Sir Alfred Robbins, P.G.W., to South America on a Masonic Mission in 1927. There was a clause in the Treaty of Lausanne permitting sovereign Masonic Authorities to accord special concessions to other Masonic Authorities under treaties, if so desired for the benefit of the Craft, and thanks to the able diplomacy of this distinguished Brother, a satisfactory arrangement was reached, and the long-standing problem happily solved. The Grand Lodge of England undertook not to warrant any more Lodges in Uruguayan territory provided the Grand Orient accorded official recognition to the “Silver River” Lodge. An official representative of each of the two sovereign Masonic Authorities was duly accredited at the headquarters in due course, to maintain friendly intercourse between them in future.

In the following year, the Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Uruguay became an Honorary Member of the “Silver River” Lodge, and the official relations between the Grand Orient and that Lodge has ever since continued on a most cordial basis.

In 1911, a Lodge of Mark Master Masons, the “Silver River” Lodge N° 628 was consecrated at Buenos Aires under warrant from the Grand Mark Lodge of England and Wales and brought over to Montevideo. It was founded and consecrated in Buenos Aires simply because facilities for the consecration did not exist in Montevideo.

In 1917 the Emulation Lodge of Instruction attached to “Acacia” Lodge N° 876, (which had previously existed but had lapsed), was again opened under warrant from that Lodge and has since continued to function well. The late W.Bro. Adolphus Cozens P.D.G.W. South America, S.D. was preceptor from 1917 to 1921, and W.Bro. Newell E. Davis P.D.G.D. South America, S.D. from 1921 to 1937.

Freemasonry takes a leading position among the interests of the local British Community, with the percentage of men in the Community who are members of the English Lodges being about 60%.

In 1930 a split, unfortunately, developed among the brethren of the Grand Orient of Uruguay, and several Lodges seceded from the Grand Orient and set up a Masonic Authority of them in Calle Paysandú under the style of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Uruguay. The split was sharply defined, even dividing the members of a Lodge. Members of various Lodges remained loyal and carried on under the Grand Orient, while others belonging to the same Lodges formed Lodges of the same names with the seceders. For some time, the brethren of the two English Lodges held completely aloof, requesting Brethren of the Lodges of the same names still loyal to the Grand Orient to refrain from visiting the English Lodges until some form of official recognition could be established whereby a brother from a Lodge loyal to the Grand Orient could be distinguished from a member of a Lodge of the same name working with the seceders. To this, the brethren of the Grand Orient willingly agreed as a measure of protection against the admission of seceders to the English Lodges, but for some time the English Brethren had to forego the pleasure of the presence of the Uruguayan Brethren at their meetings. Sometime later the seceders again split, some four of their Lodges forming still another independent body with quarters in Calle Soriano, one of these being a Lodge named “Dr Julio Bastos” which had its own private Temple in the suburbs of Belvedere. However, in 1937 this Lodge applied for re-admission to the Grand Orient and was welcomed back, being now Lodge “Dr. Julio Bastos, 2^nd”, to distinguish it from the original Lodge which carried on under the Grand Orient.

Current reports give grounds for hope that negotiations may soon be opened for the return of the remaining seceding Lodges to the Authority of the Grand Orient, as the cause of the split no longer exists.

Of the existing Uruguayan Lodges, some have had a somewhat intermittent career. The “Caridad” Lodge is probably the oldest Lodge with the longest continuous existence. “Sol Oriental”, after being dormant for some time, was reopened in 1916. One of the oldest Lodges in the provinces, the “Hiram Union” at Salto, was formed in 1885 by the fusion of “Union” Lodge, founded in 1857 and “Hiram” Lodge founded in 1867, both at Salto. The “Dupla Alianza” was first founded in San José in 1857. Some years afterwards it was burned down by priests and re-established in 1879. It again became dormant but was reopened in 1925.

“Acacia” Lodge No 876 for some time shared a temple with the French Lodge “Les Amis de la Patrie”, but when the Grand Orient of France went atheist in 1878, the friendly relations between the two old Lodges in Montevideo had to cease, greatly to the regret of members of both.

Freemasonry in Uruguay has developed well for a small country with a small population and has had a lot to do with spreading the seeds of the Craft in the countries on it’s borders. This especially applies to the Argentine Republic, and the brethren of the Craft in Montevideo, both Latin and Anglo-Saxon, may well feel some pride in the knowledge that the extensive spread of Latin and English Freemasonry in Argentina is due to the activities of our Masonic ancestors, whose enthusiasm for the Craft overflowed the borders of the land of their adoption.

Note: The article was written and presented in open lodge in 1937, and posted here for its historical value. Some facts described and historical events, as well as a more comprehensive and up-to-date history of masonry in Uruguay, may be approached by reading Bro. Mario Dotta Ostria’s extensive investigations on the subject.-