Paraguayan War

Background to the conflict

Starting from the very appearance of the Portuguese in Brazil, border clashes continued between them and the Spaniards. There have been numerous attempts at settlement (Treaty of Utrecht, Treaty of Madrid, First Treaty of San Ildefonso), but the border has not been fully defined. The fact that the reference points specified in the agreements were often understood by the parties in different ways also played a role; So, the example of the Igurei River is very indicative. According to the Spanish (and later Paraguayan) side, it was she who was the border; the Portuguese called this river Vakaria in the upper reaches and Ivinheim in the lower, and the name Igurey, in their opinion, was borne by the river flowing much to the south. The Spaniards, for their part, called this river Karapa and did not consider it a border.

Thus, by the time Paraguay declared independence, the problem of territorial demarcation with Brazil had not been resolved. However, in fact, the disputed territories were under the control of Asuncion. As long as Brazilian-Paraguayan relations remained warm, this dispute did not play a big role. However, since the 1850s, after their deterioration, the issue of borders has become important. In the early 1860s, Brazil finally broke the status quo by building the Doradus fortress on the Igurei River.

It should be noted that the pre-war development of Paraguay differed significantly from the development of the neighboring states of South America. Under the rule of José Francia and Carlos Antonio López, the country developed almost in isolation from the rest of the region. The leadership of Paraguay supported the course of building a self-sufficient, autonomous economy. The Lopez regime (in 1862, Carlos Antonio Lopez was replaced as president by his son, Francisco Solano Lopez) was characterized by rigid centralization, leaving no room for the development of civil society.

Most of the land (about 98%) was in the hands of the state; the state also carried out a significant part of the production activity. There were so-called "estates of the Motherland" (Spanish: Estancias de la Patria) - 64 government-run farms. More than 200 foreign specialists invited to the country laid telegraph lines and railways, which contributed to the development of the steel, textile, paper, printing, shipbuilding and gunpowder industries.

The government completely controlled exports. The main goods exported from the country were valuable species of wood and mate. The policy of the state was rigidly protectionist; imports were actually blocked by high customs duties. Unlike neighboring states, Paraguay did not take external loans. Francisco Solano Lopez continued this policy of his predecessors.

At the same time, the government began to modernize the army. The foundry at Ibikui, built in 1850, made guns and mortars, as well as ammunition of all calibers; warships were built in the shipyards of Asuncion.

The growth of industrial production urgently required contact with the international market. However, Paraguay, located in the interior of the continent, had no access to the sea. To reach it, ships leaving the river ports of Paraguay had to go down the Parana and Paraguay rivers, reach La Plata, and only then go out into the ocean. Lopez's plans were to acquire a port on the Atlantic coast, which was possible only with the capture of part of the Brazilian territory.

In preparation for the implementation of these goals, the development of the military industry was continued. A significant number of soldiers were called up for compulsory military service in the army; they were intensively trained. Fortifications were built at the mouth of the Paraguay River.

Diplomatic training was also carried out. An alliance was concluded with the National Party ruling in Uruguay ("Blanco", "White"); accordingly, Blanco's rival, the Colorado Party ("Colored"), found support from Argentina and Brazil.

Since Brazil and Argentina gained independence, there has been an ongoing struggle between the governments of Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro for hegemony in the La Plata basin. This rivalry largely determined the foreign and domestic policies of the countries of the region. In 1825-1828, the contradictions between Brazil and Argentina led to war; its result was the independence of Uruguay (finally recognized by Brazil in 1828). After that, twice more the governments of Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires almost started hostilities against each other.

The goal of the Argentine government was to unite all the countries formerly part of the Viceroyalty of La Plata (including Paraguay and Uruguay). Since the first half of the 19th century, it has been trying to achieve this, but without success - largely due to the intervention of Brazil. It was Brazil, then ruled by the Portuguese, that was the first country to recognize (in 1811) the independence of Paraguay. Fearing an excessive strengthening of Argentina, the government of Rio de Janeiro preferred to maintain a balance of power in the region, helping Paraguay and Uruguay maintain their independence.

In addition, Paraguay itself has repeatedly interfered in the politics of Argentina. So, from 1845 to 1852, Paraguayan troops fought against the Buenos Aires government, along with detachments from the provinces of Corrientes and Entre Rios. During this period, Paraguay's relations with Brazil were especially warm, also at enmity with Argentine President Juan Manuel Rosas. Until his overthrow in 1852, the Brazilians continued to provide Asuncion with military and technical assistance, paying special attention to the fortifications on the Parana River and strengthening the Paraguayan army.

It is also worth noting that the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso was not connected to Rio de Janeiro by land roads and Brazilian ships were required to pass through Paraguayan territory along the Paraguay River in order to reach Cuiaba. However, it was often difficult to obtain permission from the Paraguayan government to do so.

Another hotbed of tension in the region was Uruguay. Brazil had significant financial interests in this country; its citizens enjoyed considerable influence - both economic and political. Thus, the company of the Brazilian businessman Irineu Evangelista de Suza was actually the state bank of Uruguay; the Brazilians owned about 400 estates (port. estancias), which occupied about a third of the country's territory. Particularly acute for this influential stratum of Uruguayan society was the issue of a tax on livestock driven from the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul.

Three times during this period Brazil undertook political and military intervention in the affairs of Uruguay - in 1851, against Manuel Oribe and Argentine influence; in 1855, at the request of the Uruguayan government and Venancio Flores, leader of the Colorados party (a traditional ally of the Brazilians); and in 1864, against Atanasio Aguirre - the last intervention and served as the impetus for the start of the Paraguayan War. Probably, in many respects these actions were facilitated by Great Britain, which did not want to unite the La Plata basin into a single state capable of solely using the resources of the region.

In April 1864, Brazil sent a diplomatic mission to Uruguay, headed by José António Zarayva. Its purpose was to demand compensation for the losses caused to Brazilian Gaucho farmers in border conflicts with Uruguayan farmers. Uruguayan President Atanasio Aguirre (National Party) rejected the Brazilian claims.

Solano López offered to mediate the negotiations, but the Brazilians opposed the offer. In August 1864, Paraguay severed diplomatic relations with Brazil, and announced that the occupation of Uruguay by Brazilian troops would upset the balance of the region.

On October 12, Brazilian units invaded Uruguay. Supporters of Venancio Flores and the Colorado party, backed by Argentina, allied with the Brazilians and overthrew Aguirre.

War

Attacked by the Brazilians, the Uruguayan "Blancos" asked Lopez for help, but Paraguay did not provide it immediately. Instead, on November 12, 1864, the Paraguayan ship Takuari captured the Brazilian ship Marquis Olinda, heading along the Paraguay River to the province of Mato Grosso; among other things, it was carrying a cargo of gold, military equipment, and the newly appointed governor of the province of Rio Grande do Sul, Frederico Carneiro Campos. On December 13, 1864, Paraguay declared war on Brazil, and three months later, on March 18, 1865, on Argentina. Uruguay, already under the rule of Venancio Flores, entered into an alliance with Brazil and Argentina, thus completing the formation of the Triple Alliance.

At the start of the war, the Paraguayan army had 38,000 well-trained soldiers out of 60,000 in reserve. The Paraguayan fleet consisted of 23 small steamships and a number of small ships grouped around the gunboat Takuari, almost all of these ships were converted from civilian ones. The 5 newest battleships ordered in Europe did not have time to arrive before the start of hostilities, and later they were even outbid by Brazil and became part of its fleet. Paraguayan artillery consisted of about 400 guns.

The armies of the states of the Triple Alliance were inferior to the Paraguayan ones in numbers. Argentina had about 8,500 men in regular units, as well as a squadron of four steamships and one schooner. Uruguay entered the war without a navy and with less than 2,000 men. Most of the 16,000th Brazilian army was previously garrisoned in the south of the country; at the same time, Brazil had a powerful fleet, consisting of 42 ships with 239 guns and a staff of 4,000 sailors. At the same time, a significant part of the fleet under the command of the Marquis of Tamandare was already concentrated in the La Plata basin (for intervention against Aguirre).

Despite the significant number of troops, Brazil was not ready for war. Her army was poorly organized; the troops used in Uruguay consisted mainly of detachments of regional politicians and some parts of the National Guard. In this regard, the Brazilian troops that fought in the Paraguayan War were not professional, but were recruited by volunteers (the so-called Volunteers of the Motherland). Many were slaves sent by farmers. The cavalry was formed from the National Guard of the Province of Rio Grande do Sul.

On May 1, 1865, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay signed the Triple Alliance Treaty in Buenos Aires, uniting these three countries in the struggle against Paraguay. Argentine President Bartolome Miter became Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces.

In the first period of the war, the initiative was in the hands of the Paraguayans. The first battles of the war - the invasion of Mato Grosso in the north in December 1864, Rio Grande do Sul in the south in early 1865, and the Argentine province of Corrientes - were forced on the allies by the advancing Paraguayan army.

Two groups of Paraguayan troops simultaneously invaded Mato Grosso. Due to their numerical superiority, they were able to quickly capture the province.

Five thousand people under the command of Colonel Vicente Barrios in ten ships went up the Paraguay River and attacked the Brazilian fort of Nova Coimbra (now in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul). A small garrison of 155 men under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Ermengildo de Albuquerque Port Carrera (later promoted to Baron Fort Coimbra) defended the fort for three days. Having exhausted supplies, the defenders left the fort and set off on board the gunboat Anyambai in the direction of Corumba. Having occupied the abandoned fort, the attackers continued to advance north, and in January 1865 they took the cities of Albuquerque and Corumba. Several Brazilian ships, including Anyambai, went to the Paraguayans.

The second column of Paraguayan troops, numbering four thousand people under the command of Colonel Francisco Isidoro Reskin, invaded the territory of Mato Grosso to the south. One of the detachments of this group, under the command of Major Martin Urbieta, on December 29, 1864, ran into fierce resistance from a small detachment of Brazilians, numbering 16 people under the command of Lieutenant António Joan Ribeiro. Only by completely destroying them, the Paraguayans were able to move on. Having defeated the troops of Colonel José Diaz da Silva, they continued their offensive in the direction of the Nioaque and Miranda regions. In April 1865, the Paraguayans reached the Cochin area (now the north of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul).

Despite successes, the Paraguayan troops did not continue their advance on Cuiaba, the provincial capital of Mato Grosso. The main reason for this was that the main purpose of the Paraguayan strike in this area was to divert Brazilian forces from the south, where the decisive events of the war were to unfold in the La Plata basin.

The second stage of the Paraguayan offensive was the invasion of the Argentine province of Corrientes and the Brazilian Rio Grande do Sul. The Paraguayans could not help the Uruguayan "Blancos" directly - for this it was necessary to cross the territory belonging to Argentina. Therefore, in March 1865, the government of F. S. Lopez turned to the Argentine President Bartolome Mitra with a request to let an army of 25,000 people under the command of General Wenceslao Robles pass through the province of Corrientes. However, Mitre, who had recently been an ally of the Brazilians in the intervention against Uruguay, refused.

On March 18, 1865, Paraguay declared war on Argentina. The Paraguayan squadron, descending the Parana River, locked the Argentine ships in the port of Corrientes, and the units of General Robles that followed took the city.

Invading Argentine territory, the López government tried to enlist the support of Justo José de Urquiza, the governor of the province of Corrientes and Entre Rios, who was the head of the federalists and an opponent of Miter and the government in Buenos Aires. However, Urquiza took an ambiguous stance towards the Paraguayans, who were forced to halt their advance after marching south for about 200 kilometers.

Simultaneously with the troops of Robles, the Argentine border south of Encarnación was crossed by the 10,000th detachment of Lieutenant Colonel Antonio de la Cruz Estigarribia. In May 1865, he reached the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul, went down the Uruguay River and on June 12, 1865 took the city of Sao Borja. Uruguayana, located to the south, was taken on August 5 without much resistance.

The outbreak of war with Paraguay did not lead to the consolidation of forces within Argentina. The opposition was extremely wary of Miter's initiative to enter into an alliance with Brazil. Many in the country saw the war with Paraguay as fratricidal; the notion that the true cause of the conflict was not Paraguayan aggression, but the exorbitant personal ambitions of President Mitre, has become widespread. Supporters of this version noted that Lopez invaded Brazil, having every reason to consider Miter his supporter and even ally, and the transition of Argentina to the side of Brazil was completely unexpected for the Paraguayans. However, the development of events was quite favorable for the supporters of the war. Very timely, news was received about the abduction of local residents by Paraguayans in the province of Corrientes. As a result, the war continued.

Throughout the war in Argentina, speeches continued, demanding, in particular, an end to the war. So, on July 3, 1865, an uprising of 8,000 soldiers of the militia of the province of Entre Rios took place in Basualdo, who refused to fight against the Paraguayans. In this case, the Buenos Aires government refrained from taking punitive measures against the rebels, but the next uprising in Toledo (November 1865) was decisively suppressed with the help of Brazilian troops. In November 1866, the uprising, starting in the province of Mendoza, spread to the neighboring provinces of San Luis, San Juan and La Rioja. A significant part of the Argentine forces was sent to suppress this speech, President Mitre was forced to return from Paraguay and personally lead the troops. In July 1867, the province of Santa Fe rebelled, and in 1868, the province of Corrientes. The last uprising took place after the end of hostilities: in April 1870, the province of Entre Rios rebelled against Buenos Aires. These speeches, although they were suppressed, nevertheless significantly weakened the Argentines.

In April 1865, a column of Brazilian troops, numbering 2,780 people, under the command of Colonel Manuel Pedro Dragou, left the city of Uberaba in the province of Minas Gerais. The goal of the Brazilians was to move to the province of Mato Grosso to repulse the Paraguayans who invaded there. In December 1865, after a difficult 2,000-kilometer march through four provinces, the convoy arrived in Koshin. However, Koshin had already been abandoned by the Paraguayans. In September 1866, the troops of Colonel Dragou arrived in the Miranda region, also abandoned by the Paraguayans. In January 1867, a column reduced to 1,680 men, with a new commander, Colonel Carlos de Morais Camisan, at the head, attempted to invade Paraguayan territory, but was repulsed by the Paraguayan cavalry.

At the same time, despite the successes of the Brazilians, who took Corumba in June 1867, in general, the Paraguayans firmly entrenched themselves in the province of Mato Grosso, and retreated from it only in April 1868, being forced to move troops to the south of the country, to the main theater of the military actions.

In the La Plata basin, communications were limited exclusively to rivers; there were only a few roads. Control over the rivers decided the course of the war, in connection with which the main Paraguayan fortifications were concentrated in the lower reaches of the Paraguay River.

On June 11, 1865, the battle of Riachuelo took place between the fleets of the parties. According to the plan of F. S. Lopez, the Paraguayan fleet was supposed to surprise attack the larger Brazilian squadron. However, due to technical problems, the attack was not as sudden as planned, and the Brazilian ships under the command of Francisco Manuel Barroso da Silva managed to defeat the strong Paraguayan fleet and prevent the Paraguayans from further advancing into Argentine territory. The battle practically decided the outcome of the war in favor of the Triple Alliance, which from that moment controlled the rivers of the La Plata basin.

While Lopez was already ordering the retreat of the units that occupied Corrientes, the troops advancing from Sant Borj continued to successfully advance south, occupying Ithaca and Uruguayana. On August 17, one of the detachments (3200 soldiers under the command of Major Pedro Duarte), who continued to move to Uruguay, was defeated by the allied forces under the command of the Uruguayan President Flores in the battle of Zhatai on the banks of the Uruguay River.

On June 16, the Brazilian army crossed the border of Rio Grande do Sul with the aim of encircling Uruguayana; Allied forces soon joined in. The Alliance troops were assembled in a camp near the city of Concordia (in the Argentine province of Entre Rios). The general command was carried out by Mitre, the Brazilian troops were commanded by Field Marshal Manuel Luis Ozoriu. Part of the force under the command of Lieutenant General Manuel Marques de Susa, Baron of Porto Alegre, was sent to complete the defeat of the Paraguayan troops near Uruguayana; the result was not slow to affect: on September 18, 1865, the Paraguayans surrendered.

In the following months, Paraguayan troops were driven out of the cities of Corrientes and San Cosme, leaving the last piece of Argentine land still in Paraguayan hands. Thus, towards the end of 1865, the Triple Alliance went on the offensive. His armies, numbering over 50,000, were ready to invade Paraguay.

The Allied invasion followed the course of the Paraguay River, starting from the Paraguayan fortress of Paso de la Patria. From April 1866 to July 1868, military operations took place near the confluence of the Paraguay and Parana rivers, where the Paraguayans located their main fortifications. Despite the initial successes of the Triple Alliance troops, these defenses delayed the advance of the allied forces for more than two years.

The fortress of Itapir was the first to fall. After the battles of Paso de la Patria (fell on April 25, 1866) and Estero Bellaco, the Allied forces encamped in the Tuyuti swamps. Here, on May 24, 1866, they were attacked by the Paraguayans; in this battle, the allies again prevailed. The First Battle of Tuyuti was the largest pitched battle in South American history.

In July 1866, instead of the ill Field Marshal Osoriu, General Polidora da Fonseca Quintanilla Jordan took command of the 1st Corps of the Brazilian Army. At the same time, the 2nd Brazilian Corps, 10,000 men under the command of Baron Porto Alegre, arrived in the area of ​​operations from Rio Grande do Sul.

To open the way to the most powerful Paraguayan fortress of Umaite, Mitre gave the order to capture the Kurusu and Kurupaiti batteries. Curus managed to take Baron Porto Alegre's troops with a surprise attack, but the Curupaiti battery (commander - General José Eduvihis Diaz) put up significant resistance. An attack by 20,000 Argentine and Brazilian soldiers under the command of Mitre and Porto Alegre, supported by Admiral Tamandare's squadron, was repulsed. Heavy losses (5,000 men in just a few hours) led to a crisis in the command of the allied forces and a halt in the offensive.

On September 12, 1866, Francisco Solano López met with Argentine President Mitre. However, this attempt to conclude peace failed - primarily because of the opposition of the Brazilians, who did not want to end the war. The fighting continued.

On October 10, 1866, Marshal Luis Alvis de Lima y Silva, Marquis of Caxias (later duke) became the new commander of the Brazilian forces. Arriving in Paraguay in November, he found the Brazilian army practically paralyzed. Argentine and Uruguayan troops, devastated by disease, were stationed separately. Mitre and Flores, forced to deal with the internal politics of their countries, returned home. Tamandare was removed and Admiral Joaquín José Inacio (future Viscount Inhauma) was appointed in his place. Osorio organized in Rio Grande do Sul the 3rd Corps of the Brazilian Army, which consisted of 5,000 people.

In Miter's absence, Caxias took command and immediately began reorganizing the army. From November 1866 to July 1867, he took a number of measures to organize medical institutions (to help the many injured soldiers and to fight the cholera epidemic), and also significantly improved the supply system for the troops. During this period, hostilities were limited to small-scale skirmishes with the Paraguayans and the bombardment of Curupaiti. Lopez took advantage of the disorganization of the enemy to strengthen the defense of the Umaita fortress.

The idea of ​​Caxias was to attack the flank of the left wing of the Paraguayan fortifications. Bypassing the fortress, the allies were supposed to cut off the communication between Umaita and Asuncion, thus surrounding the Paraguayan units. To implement this plan, Kashias gave the order to advance towards Tuyu-Kue.

However, Mitre, who returned to command of the army in August 1867, insisted on a new attack against the right wing of the Paraguayan fortifications, despite the previous failure of a similar attack at Curupaiti. On his orders, the Brazilian squadron advanced beyond the unconquered battery, but was forced to stop at the Umaita fortress. Disagreements arose again in the Allied leadership: Miter wanted to continue the assault, but the Brazilians took the towns of San Solano, Pique and Tayi located to the north, isolating Humaita from Asuncion and thus fulfilling the original plan of Caxias. In response, the Paraguayans tried to attack the Allied rearguard at Tuyuti, but suffered another defeat.

In January 1868, after Mitre returned to Argentina, Caxias again took command of the allied forces. On February 19, 1868, on his orders, a squadron of Brazilian ships under the command of Captain Delfin Carlos de Carvalho (later received the title of Baron Passagem) bypassed Curupaiti and Umaita, cutting them off from the rest of Paraguay. On July 25, after a long siege, Umaita fell.

Going on the offensive on Asuncion, the allied army marched 200 kilometers to the Pikissiri River, on which the Paraguayans built a defensive line that used the properties of the terrain and included the forts of Angostura and Ita-Ibate. Lopez managed to concentrate about 18,000 people here.

Not wanting to be drawn into frontal battles, Caxias decided to be more flexible. While the fleet attacked the fortifications of Fort Angostura, the troops crossed to the right bank of the river. Having built a road through the Chaco swamps, the Caxias soldiers were able to advance to the northeast, and at the city of Villeta they again crossed the river, thus bypassing the Paraguayan fortifications and cutting them off from Asuncion. Later, these actions were called the "Pikissiri maneuver". Having completed the crossing, Caxias did not take the almost defenseless Asuncion; instead, the Allies struck south, into the rear of the Paraguayan fortifications.

In December 1868, Caxias managed to win a series of victories over the encircled Paraguayan army. The battles of Ittororo (December 6), Avai (December 11), Lomas Valentinas and Angostura (December 30) practically destroyed the remnants of the Paraguayan troops. On December 24, three commanders of the Alliance troops (Caxias from Brazil, Gelly and Obes from Argentina and Enrique Castro from Uruguay) invited Francisco Solano López to surrender. However, Lopez rejected this offer, and fled to the highlands of Cerro Leon.

On January 1, 1869, Asuncion was occupied by troops under the command of Colonel Hermes Ernesto da Fonseca (father of the future Marshal and 8th President of Brazil, Ermes Rodriguez da Fonseca). The arsenal and the metropolitan shipyards fell into the hands of the Brazilians intact, making it possible to repair the fleet, which was seriously damaged. Five days later, Field Marshal Caxias arrived in the city with the rest of the army; thirteen days later he left the command.

The son-in-law of the Emperor of Brazil, Pedro II, Luis Filipe Gastán di Orléans, Count d'E, was appointed to lead the Brazilian troops at the final stage of the war. His goal was not only the complete defeat of Paraguay, but also the strengthening of Brazilian positions in the region. In August 1869, the Triple Alliance established the provisional government of Paraguay in Asuncion; It was headed by Cirilo Antonio Rivarola.

Francisco Solano López continued the war in the mountains northeast of Asuncion. For a year, an allied army of 21,000 men, led by the Comte d'Eu, crushed the resistance of the Paraguayans. In the battles of Piribebui and Acosta New, more than 5,000 people died on the Paraguayan side; a significant part of them were children drafted into the army.

Two detachments were sent to catch Solano Lopez, who was hiding in the forests in the north with a detachment of 200 people. On March 1, 1870, the troops of General José António Correia da Camara surprised the last camp of the Paraguayan troops in Cerro Cora. Francisco Solano López was killed while trying to swim across the Akidabana River. His last words were: "I'm dying for the Motherland!". Lopez's death marked the end of the Paraguayan War.

The fighting on both sides was fierce. So, there are known cases of cruel punishments in relation to the guilty military personnel of the Paraguayan army (Lopez did not even spare his own brother, the Bishop of Paraguay). After the death of a significant number of adult men, even women and children were drafted into the army; so, on August 16, 1869, 3,500 children and adolescents from 9 to 15 years old fought in the battle of Acosta New (out of a total of 6,000 Paraguayan forces). In memory of their heroism, today's Paraguay celebrates Children's Day on August 16.

Both sides treated the prisoners very cruelly. Some of the captured Paraguayans were even sold into slavery by the allies; in addition, captured Paraguayans were recruited into the so-called Paraguayan Legion - troops who fought on the side of the Triple Alliance (in total, about 800 people fought against their homeland in its composition).

Consequences of the war

Paraguay suffered heavy human losses during the war. Their scale is still the cause of discussion, but the very fact of the death of most of the population is not disputed by anyone.

According to one of the most reasonable estimates, the population of Paraguay in 1871 was about 221,000 people, while before the war, about 525,000 people lived in the country, that is, losses are estimated at 300,000 dead. A particularly heavy blow was dealt to the male population: according to the same 1871, there were only about 28,000 men in the country; the loss of the male population during the war is estimated at 90%. According to some other versions, the total losses of the country's population are estimated at 90% (1,200,000 people). Such high casualties are often associated with the fanatical devotion of the inhabitants of the country to the power of Lopez; the fierce guerrilla war that followed the fall of the capital and the flight of Lopez to the mountainous regions, apparently, also became one of the causes of human losses. The high mortality of the population was also due to diseases that spread rapidly during the war.

Allied losses were also quite high. Of the 123,000 Brazilians who took part in the war, about 50,000 died; some of them, however, were civilians (the province of Mato Grosso was especially affected). Argentina (30,000 soldiers) lost about 18,000 people (the largest number of civilian deaths was in the province of Corrientes), Uruguay - 3,100 people out of about 5,600 (some of these soldiers were foreigners).

At the same time, it is necessary to note the high percentage of non-combat losses. Many lives have been lost due to poor nutrition and poor sanitation. Two-thirds of the losses of the Brazilian army were soldiers who died in hospitals and on the march; the Brazilian navy lost 170 men in action, 107 from accidents and 1,470 from disease. The specific problem of the Brazilians at the beginning of the war was that most of the soldiers were natives of the northern and northeastern regions of the country. A sharp change in climate from hot to very moderate, along with a change in the usual food, led to serious consequences. Drinking river water often led to disastrous consequences for entire battalions of Brazilians. Cholera probably remained the leading cause of death throughout the war.

In 1870, after the final defeat of Paraguay, Argentina offered Brazil a secret agreement, according to which the Paraguayan region of the Gran Chaco, rich in the so-called quebracho, a product used for leather tanning, was to go to the Argentines. At the same time, Paraguay itself would be divided in half between Argentina and Brazil. However, the Brazilian government, not interested in the disappearance of the Paraguayan state, which serves as a kind of buffer between Argentina and the Brazilian Empire, rejected this proposal.

The Brazilian army remained in Paraguay for another six years after the end of the war. Only in 1876 she was withdrawn from the country. During this period, the Brazilians helped to defend the independence of Paraguay from Argentina, which still wanted to take control of the Gran Chaco region; despite the very real threat of a new war, now between the former allies, Paraguay remained independent.

No single peace treaty was concluded. The state border between Argentina and Paraguay was established after lengthy negotiations, culminating in an agreement signed on February 3, 1876. Argentina received about a third of the territory it claimed (most of the Misiones region and part of the Gran Chaco between the Pilcomayo and Rio Belmejo rivers); the ownership of part of the land (between the Verde Rivers and the main branch of the Pilcomayo River), on which an agreement was never reached, was brought to the court of an arbitrator, in the role of US President Rutherford Hayes. Hayes decided the dispute in favor of Paraguay; one of the departments of the country was named after him.

Brazil concluded a separate peace treaty with Paraguay on January 9, 1872. According to this agreement, freedom of navigation along the Paraguay River was established, the borders between the countries were determined in accordance with the pre-war claims of Brazil (due to the disputed border territories, the borders of the province of Mato Grosso expanded). The treaty also provided for the payment of Brazilian military expenses (this debt was canceled only by Getúlio Vargas in 1943 in response to a similar Argentine initiative). Thus, in total, Argentina and Brazil received about 140,000 square kilometers, which amounted to slightly less than half of the then Paraguayan territory.

In December 1975, after the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation by the Presidents - Brazilian Ernesto Beckman Geisel and Paraguayan Alfredo Stroessner, the Brazilian government returned the trophies taken during the war to Paraguay.

Brazil paid dearly for the victory. The war was actually financed by loans from the Bank of London and the banking houses of the Baring brothers and N. M. Rothschild and sons. In five years, Brazil spent twice as much as it received, sparking a financial crisis. The payment of a significantly increased public debt had a negative impact on the country's economy for several decades. There is an opinion that a long war in the future contributed to the fall of the monarchy in Brazil; in addition, there are suggestions that she was one of the reasons for the abolition of slavery (in 1888). The Brazilian army gained new importance as a political force; united by the war and based on emerging traditions, it would play a significant role in the later history of the country.

In Argentina, the war led to the modernization of the economy; for several decades it became the most prosperous country in Latin America, and the annexed territories made it the strongest state in the La Plata basin.

In fact, the only country that benefited from the Paraguayan War was Great Britain - both Brazil and Argentina borrowed huge sums, some of which continue to be repaid to this day (Brazil paid off all British loans during the Getúlio Vargas era).

As for Uruguay, neither Argentina nor Brazil interfered so actively in its politics anymore. The Uruguayan Party of Colorado gained power in the country and ruled until 1958.

Most of the Paraguayan villages devastated by the war were abandoned, and their surviving inhabitants moved to the vicinity of Asuncion. These settlements in the central part of the country have practically switched to subsistence farming; a significant part of the land was bought by foreigners, mainly Argentines, and turned into estates. Paraguayan industry was destroyed, the country's market was opened to British goods, and the government (for the first time in the history of Paraguay) took out an external loan of 1 million pounds. Paraguay also had to pay an indemnity (it was never paid), and remained occupied until 1876.

To this day, the war remains a controversial topic - especially in Paraguay, where it is perceived as a fearless attempt by a small people to defend their rights - or as a suicidal, doomed to failure struggle against a superior enemy, which almost destroyed the nation to the ground.

In modern Russian journalism, the Paraguayan War is also perceived extremely ambiguously. At the same time, the views of the authors of the articles play a key role, while the events of the war are used to illustrate these views. Thus, Paraguay of that time can be presented as a forerunner of the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, and the war as a criminal consequence of the aggressive policy of this regime. In another, directly opposite version, the regime of Francia and Lopez looks like a mustache

(Spanish: Guerra do Paraguai) - a military conflict between Paraguay and the triple alliance of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, which lasted from December 1864 to March 1870.

It was broken, left without the possibility of normal development for long and long decades, so it is not at all surprising that today this state is one of the poorest and most economically backward on the continent.

War of the Triple Alliance(Spanish: Guerra de la Triple Alianza), that's what it is called in Argentina and Uruguay (in Paraguay it is called only Great War), went down in history as the deadliest and bloodiest international confrontation in the history of South America, in which small but myopically fanatical Paraguay was literally destroyed. The Paraguayan economy, close to self-sufficiency, was completely destroyed. A significant part of the territories of the state was irretrievably lost. An entire nation was practically burned out, because 69% of the Paraguayans died as a result of the war!

Causes of the war

The Paraguayan War was the result of long-term territorial disputes between neighboring countries. These contradictions escalated during the civil war in, launched by the "colored" (the "Colorado" party), led by Venancio Flores(Spanish Venâncio Flores) in an attempt to overthrow the government of the "whites" ("Blanco"), headed by the leader of the party, the president Anastasio Aguirre(Spanish: Atanasio Aguirre).

For the Emperor of Brazil Pedro II(port. Dom Pedro II) and the President of Argentina Bartolome Miter(Spanish: Bartolomé Mitre) Anastasio Aguirre was an objectionable head of state, which is why both of them provided Venancio Flores with wide support.

The President of Paraguay (Spanish Francisco Solano López), a former ally of Uruguay, showed his support for the Aguirre government and wrote a letter to the Brazilian emperor, in which he said that any occupation of Uruguayan lands by Brazil would be considered an attack on Paraguay.

However, after a series of demands from the Brazilian government, which Aguirre refused to comply with, on October 12, 1864, an impressive army of the Brazilian Empire invaded the territory of Uruguay and, with the support (so far only moral) of the allied, helped the "colored" to overthrow Aguirre.

In response to interference in the internal affairs of Uruguay, on November 11, 1864, Francisco Solano López kept his word and ordered an attack, which, in his opinion, contrary to all conventions, upset the imbalance in the region. López wanted to end the unquestioning dominance of Brazil and Argentina in the region. With great ambitions, he seriously considered making Paraguay a "third force" in the ongoing political rivalry between these countries. It did not suit him that only they solved important regional issues, by force dictating their rules to everyone else.

In addition, Solano López was not opposed to turning his country into a regional power and having long-awaited access to the sea through the port of Montevideo, provided by an alliance with the "white" and Argentine federalists (provinces, Entre Rios and Misiones).

Venancio Flores, Francisco Solano López, Bartolome Mitre and Pedro II

Paraguayan War: Beginning

The first "prick" from the Paraguayans occurred the very next day, on November 12, a Paraguayan warship Takuari(Spanish: Tacuari) captured a Brazilian vessel Marquis de Olinda(Spanish: Marquês de Olinda), heading towards the Brazilian state Mato Grosso do Sul(port. Mato Grosso do Sul). On board the ship were military equipment, gold, as well as many Brazilians, among whom were several high-ranking military and political figures. The entire crew and passengers were taken prisoner and sent to prison.

Already in December, the Paraguayan army captured the Brazilian city Dourados(port. Dourados) in the south of Mato Grosso do Sul. December 13, 1864 officially declared war on Brazil.

The government of Bartolome Mitre, in order to avoid internal conflicts (the majority of Argentines supported the constitutional president Aguirre, they were against Argentina's interference in the affairs of Uruguay, and even more so were against the war with fraternal Paraguay), immediately declared its neutrality and adopted a wait-and-see attitude, however, this neutrality did not last long . The fact is that in order to physically help the “Blancos”, the Paraguayans, in order to get to Uruguay, had to first cross the territory of the Argentine province of Corrientes: in March 1865, Paraguay officially turned to the Argentine government with a request to provide a “green corridor” for the Paraguayan troops, consisting of 25 thousand soldiers, but Bartolome Miter refused.

Following the refusal, on March 18, 1865, Francisco Solano Lopez immediately gave his army under the command of General Wenceslau Roblesa(Spanish: Venceslau Robles) an order to go ahead through Corrientes, which de facto meant a declaration of war on Argentina.

1865-1870

In May 1865, the Paraguayan army attacked the Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul, and immediately after that, Argentina and Brazil signed a military agreement, which was later joined by the new government of Uruguay, headed by Flores. Thus, a military alliance was formed, which went down in history as the "Triple Alliance". The purpose of this alliance was to protect their state borders and, of course, the complete and unconditional surrender of the enemy.

Thus, the unfortunate Paraguay found itself alone against a powerful coalition, the financial backer of which, by the way, was Great Britain itself, which had its own interests in the region.

In accordance with the treaty, Bartolome Mitre was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, who later insisted that this fratricidal war did not begin at the behest of the members of the Triple Alliance and was directed not against the Paraguayan people, but exclusively against the government of the "dictator" Lopez. However, apparently this statement was just a mercenary slyness, because the union treaty provided for the division of most of the territory of Paraguay.

By the beginning of the war, the forces of the Triple Alliance were much smaller than the army of Paraguay, which had 60 thousand soldiers, more than 400 pieces of artillery and a fleet of 23 ships and 5 warships. They were opposed by about 8 thousand soldiers of the Argentine army, 12 thousand Brazilian soldiers and about 3 thousand Uruguayan guards.

Nevertheless, Brazil had a powerful navy, consisting of 42 ships with 239 guns and a crew of 4,000 well-trained sailors. It was the Brazilian squadron, consisting of 11 ships, that in the first year of the war inflicted a heavy defeat on the Paraguayan fleet in the famous Battle of Riachuelo(Spanish Batalha do Riachuelo), which took place on June 11, 1865 on. Control over the rivers practically decided the course of the war, because there were almost no roads in the basin and any communications were mainly carried out along the rivers. That is why, after the naval forces of Paraguay were defeated, the possibility of further advancement of the Paraguayans into Argentine territory was actually prevented. From that moment until the complete surrender, Paraguay was forced to wage an exclusively defensive war.

By the autumn of that year, Paraguayan troops were driven out of the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso do Sul, as well as from the provinces of Entre Rios, Misiones and Corrientes. At the end of 1865, the Triple Alliance, whose army already numbered more than 50 thousand soldiers, launched an attack on Paraguay.

On May 20, 1866, the allied troops invaded Paraguay and set up their camp in the swamps of Tuyuti. After 4 days they were attacked by the Paraguayans. This battle is known as Battle of Tuyuti(Spanish Batalha de Tuiuti), became the largest in the history of South America. The battle was won by the allied army, but the victory was "pyrrhic" - about 17 thousand people were killed by the allies.

Francisco Solano López placed his main defensive fortifications near the confluence of the Paraguay and Paraná rivers. Fortress Defense Itapir(Spanish: Fortaleza de Itapiru), Paso de la Patria(Spanish: Passo da Patria) and Estero Bellaco(Spanish Estero Bellaco) lasted for 2 whole years, from April 1866 to July 1868.

After the fall of the fortifications, the surrender of Paraguay was only a matter of time. In December 1868, after many more lost battles, Lopez was asked to surrender, but he rejected this offer.

On January 1, 1869, the capital Asuncion was occupied by the Allied forces. A provisional government was appointed here, led by a coalition "puppet" Cirilo Antonio Rivarola(Spanish: Cirilo Antonio Rivarola). Lopez himself fled to the mountains in the north of the country and for a whole year waged an active guerrilla war, in which not only men took part, but also women and even children drafted into the army - a total of about 5 thousand people, almost all of whom died.

March 1, 1870 in one of the mountain camps of the Paraguayan partisans Cerro Cora(Spanish: Cerro Cora), Francisco Solano López was wounded by a spear and, after refusing to surrender, was killed. His last words before his death were " Muero por mi patria"("I die for my nation"). According to another version, he said " Muero con mi patria"("I die with my nation"). Together with him, in the euphoria of victory, the Brazilians burned alive a large number of civilians, including women, children and the disabled.

Lopez's death marked the logical end of the Paraguayan War.

Effects

Brazil: Of the approximately 160,000 Brazilians (1.5% of the total population) who fought in this war, at least 50,000 died in combat or died of a cholera epidemic. Several thousand more people went missing.

The Brazilian empire expanded its already rather large territory, but paid too dearly for the victory. After all, the Paraguayan War was actually financed by British loans, which Brazil was able to repay only by the middle of the 20th century. All this time the country was in a state of serious financial crisis.

Argentina: Losses in the war - 30 thousand people, of which 18 thousand soldiers and 12 thousand civilians died as a result of disease and unsanitary conditions.

In addition, this war provoked many popular riots and protests by the opposition against the Miter government, which is characterized by excessive fanaticism.

Argentina also expanded its territories at the expense of the enemy, annexing part of the modern provinces farmosa(plain region) and Corrientes and Misiones, in addition, the country dispelled Paraguay's long-term claims in the territory Argentine Mesopotamia(Spanish la región mesopotámica) - a region located between the rivers and Paraná.

Uruguay: Losses in the war - more than 3 thousand people. At the cost of these human lives, Uruguay established relations with two older "sisters" who no longer interfered in the internal politics of the "younger brother".

The Coloreds gained power in the country and ruled for almost 80 years.

Paraguay: The result of this terrible war is obvious - Paraguay was defeated. About 90% of the men were killed or died of disease, starvation or physical exhaustion. A serious problem arose in the country: a strong imbalance between the number of men and women. There were no more than 30 thousand men for every 220 thousand women. In order to avoid a demographic catastrophe, the provisional government was forced to legalize polygamy.

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In connection with the NATO aggression in Libya, another country, Paraguay, is often mentioned recently. Let's remember how it all began.

The destruction of the world's first socialist state ended in the most monstrous genocide in the history of mankind.

To begin with, let's list the facts and try to guess which country we are talking about:

All power in the country belongs to the state, which consistently pursues a policy of building a completely independent, self-sufficient economy, relying solely on its own resources with minimal imports.

Having ousted the national bourgeoisie from the economic and political spheres, the state assumed the exclusive role of forming and developing the nation, distributing national incomes.

The country has no foreign debts. All foreign trade is in the state monopoly. At the same time, exports consistently exceed imports, which makes it possible to make large investments in industry and agriculture without resorting to foreign loans.

Instead of foreign capital, the state attracts foreign (European) specialists who receive good salaries and help establish advanced, high-tech industries, transport and communication infrastructure.

The state pursues a tough protectionist policy, supporting domestic producers (by imposing high import duties and simultaneously reducing export duties).

The national currency is completely stable.

The country has established a modern telegraph communication, railway communication, river transport.

Thanks to state support, the country is undergoing a powerful economic upsurge, new steel, textile, paper, printing and shipbuilding industries are being built.

Irrigation work, the construction of dams and canals, new bridges and roads contribute to the rise of agricultural production.

Illiteracy has been completely eradicated in the country - almost the entire population of the country can read and write. Free education(universal compulsory primary education), free medicine.

98% of the country's territory is public property: the state provides peasants with plots of land for indefinite use for a symbolic rent in exchange for the obligation to cultivate these plots, without the right to sell.

Along with private agricultural producers, there are large state agricultural and cattle-breeding farms - “estates of the Motherland”.

The country has set a price ceiling for basic foodstuffs.
This is the only country on the continent that does not know poverty, hunger, corruption. Virtually no crime.

Well, normal socialism of the USSR model of the 1930s.

It would seem nothing special. But something else is surprising, namely, the historical epoch - it all takes place in the early 1860s!

Oh God, what kind of a country is this that is seventy years ahead of even Russia, where such a thing became possible only in the era of Stalin's five-year plans, not to mention the rest of the world! Where is it?

In South America. Yes, yes, in South America. And this country is Paraguay.
Is it really the same Paraguay, one of the most backward, impoverished and wretched countries in the world, completely erased from world politics, somewhere in the backyards of the world, about which no one really knows anything!
Does not know. But in vain. In the middle of the 19th century, Paraguay was the most prosperous, advanced and successful state in Latin America. And add, the most independent.

José Francia, the first president of Paraguay, who came to power in 1814, and subsequent presidents Carlos Antonio López and Francisco Solano Lopez(1862 - 1870) gave the nation a dream, and this dream began to come true before our eyes!

There was something to get excited about in Britain.
After all, in this way Paraguay opposed itself to world imperialism, first of all, to British capital.

Moreover, Francisco Solano Lopez forbade English merchant ships from entering the Paraguay River, and this is a direct attempt on the holy of holies - the world order established by the British Empire, according to which all had to buy English goods.

And if not, then the war (as it was, for example, in China, remember the "opium wars")!

All the social and economic achievements of Paraguay were achieved without the participation of world capital, with the support of only on our own, national resources. This was an example.
An example to follow.

The same example was provided by the Soviet Union. And so it had to be destroyed.
Today, the Libyan Jamahiriya has set the same example for the world. And so it had to be destroyed.
With the same frenzy today they are trying to destroy Belarus, and tomorrow they will destroy Iran.

And Britain gets down to business. The mechanism of intrigue worked furiously.

I must say that the policy of Brazil and Argentina at that time was completely controlled by Great Britain.

At least the unambiguous instructions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lord Canning to the Ambassador of the British Empire, Lord Strangford, speak of English influence in Brazil: "Turn Brazil into the main base for the sale of products of English manufactories in Latin America."

Argentina was called the "British Dominion" at all. On the eve of the war, the British Minister Edward Thornton was openly present as an adviser at the meetings of the government cabinet in Buenos Aires, sitting next to President Bartolome Miter.

From time to time, Britain played these two countries against each other according to the principle of "divide and conquer", but this time it was necessary to unite all the forces of the La Plata region in order to destroy a terrible enemy - socialism .

So, in 1864, Brazil, with the support of Argentina, invades Uruguay and removes the government of this country. The capital of Uruguay, Montevideo, is the only way for Paraguay to the ocean, without which death. The lock clicked.

The only trump card in the hands of Solano Lopez is the army. There is nothing left but to use it.

And Francisco Solano Lopez declares war on the whole world - Brazil and Argentina. In Uruguay, to whose aid Solano rushed, a puppet government has already been planted, which, in a common harness, declares war on Paraguay.

In essence, Solano Lopez declares war on only one country - England and, in her person, the entire world system of capitalism. And not because he hopes to win, but because he has nothing else left. He only has an army, the best on the continent.

Yes, yes, a country that did not borrow a single penny from world capital, relying solely on its own resources, managed not only to create an advanced economy and social protection that was almost a century ahead of its time, but also to create and maintain the best army on the continent!

At first, military success was on the side of Paraguay. But over time, the lack of resources, primarily human ones, affects.

Meanwhile, the army of "democratizers" was supplied from Europe with the most modern weapons and equipment. Paraguay, on the other hand, was cut off from the sea and could not even get its own weapons ordered in Europe on the eve of the war (which were immediately resold to Brazil!).

The people of Paraguay were ready, together with their president, to defend their homeland to the end. But in the army, as usual (as it was in the Stalin era, we know), there was a conspiracy. General Estigarribia turned out to be a traitor (he was simply bribed), led the best part of the army into the environment and surrendered without a fight.

In 1866, the invaders invaded Paraguay. And stuck in the heroic resistance of the whole people.

Painfully slowly, they moved towards the capital of the country, Asunción, not breaking the defense, namely, pushing through it, destroying everything in their path. The Paraguayans did not surrender and did not leave their positions, which could only be captured after every single defender was killed.

No less resistance was put up by civilians, who en masse took up arms. Every village, every settlement had to be taken by storm, after which all the remaining inhabitants were massacred, including children.

In 1870 it was all over. President Francisco Solano López died in action while fighting the last detachment of his army.

Results. The Paraguayan nation is almost completely destroyed. Exterminated more than 90% of the male population including children and the elderly.
According to others, the picture is even more monstrous. Almost 90% of the TOTAL POPULATION was exterminated, decreasing from 1 million 400 thousand to 200 thousand people, of which no more than 28 thousand men remained!

There has never been such a scale of genocide, in any country, in the entire history of mankind.

Practically the entire population of Paraguay destroyed (they killed everyone without exception, so that there was not even a memory of socialism!). Industry has been destroyed, all social benefits have been eliminated. The country has been given over to uncontrolled and unlimited plunder.

One hundred and fifty years have passed since then, and nothing has changed and will not change now. Paraguay has forever fallen into the category of rogue countries.
And it was the most advanced, economically developed and successful country on the continent, the herald of the Stalinist Soviet Union (of course, in miniature, and yet!).

However, the "winners" did not gain anything from their crimes. The territorial acquisitions of Argentina and Brazil could not compensate for even a fraction of the gigantic debts they had to incur to wage this first TOTAL WAR in history.

The war against Paraguay was financed from beginning to end by English Jewish banking capital (who would doubt it!) - the London Bank, the Baring Brothers banking house and the Rothschild banks on conditions that enslaved the “victorious” countries for almost a hundred years.
All. The mousetrap closed.

One country was completely destroyed, with the entire nation inhabiting it, two other countries were enslaved by English (Jewish) bankers, well, no one remembered Uruguay anymore. Now Uruguay, which became the reason for the destruction of Solano Lopez's socialism, is the same useless spot on the globe as the current Paraguay.

Paraguay today.

The Paraguayan war was the first experience of common people in establishing democracy in a single independent state. With all the attributes that they use to this day - information warfare, demagogy, genocide.

But it was also the first experience of resistance to the invaders, unprecedented in intensity and fury. No other country in the world has fought like this before.
Hence so many deaths.

You don't fight for tyrants like that. This is how they fight FOR THE IDEA, FOR THE DREAM.
Soviet soldiers fought with the same ferocity, rising to the attack “For the Motherland! For Stalin!"
This is on the one hand.
And on the other hand, the methodical destruction of the WHOLE POPULATION according to the scorched earth principle, eighty years later applied by the Nazis in Russia.
Not even to leave a memory.

There about Solano, here about Stalin (with Stalin, however, it did not work out!)

As a result, the first on Earth socialist state was destroyed. So that others would not be.
And not just destroyed, but literally wiped off the face of the earth. Two other countries - Brazil and Argentina - fell into debt slavery to Britain for almost a century. They were already in complete economic and political dependence, but now they managed to enslave them even more reliably and thereby multiply exploitation of these semi-colonies.
Brazil was able to pay off its debts for the Paraguayan War only under Getulio Vargas in the 1940s, and in Argentina, only Juan Domingo Peron managed to end the undivided rule of the British in the same 40s of the twentieth century.

Last photo of Francisco
Solano Lopez. 1870

For world capitalism in the face of Britain, everything turned out perfectly. True, for this it was necessary to almost completely cut out an entire nation - the population of an entire country. But for English capital, this is mere trifles!

But the memory cannot be destroyed!

So, hope is alive and To be continued!

August 27th, 2015

What did I know about the history of Paraguay? Well, if only that Paganel was somehow looking for her in The Search for Captain Grant. But in fact, sentimental events were unfolding on the Southern Continent.

The history of Latin America has many dark stories, one of the most terrible and bloody is the murder of an entire country, the "heart of America" ​​(Paraguay). This assassination went down in history as the Paraguayan War, which lasted from December 13, 1864 to March 1, 1870. In this war, an alliance of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, supported by the then "world community" (the West), came out against Paraguay.

Let's remember how it all began.

The first European visited the land of the future Paraguay in 1525, and the beginning of the history of this Latin American country is considered to be August 15, 1537, when the Spanish colonists founded Asuncion. The area was inhabited by the Guarani Indians.

Gradually, the Spaniards founded several more strongholds, from 1542 in Paraguay (translated from the language of the Guarani Indians, “paraguay” means “from the great river” - meaning the Parana River) they began to appoint special managers. From the beginning of the 17th century, Spanish Jesuits began to create their settlements in this territory (“The Society of Jesus” is a male monastic order).
They create in Paraguay a unique theocratic-patriarchal kingdom (Jesuit reductions - Indian reservations of the Jesuits). Its basis was the primitive communal tribal way of the local Indians, the institutions of the Inca Empire (Tauantinsuyu) and the ideas of Christianity. In fact, the Jesuits and Indians created the first socialist state (with local specifics). It was the first large-scale attempt to build a just society based on the rejection of personal property, the priority of the public good, the primacy of the collective over the individual. The Jesuit Fathers studied the experience of governance in the Inca Empire very well and creatively developed it.

The Indians were transferred from a nomadic way of life to a sedentary one, the basis of the economy was agriculture and cattle breeding, and handicrafts. The monks instilled in the Indians the foundations of the material and spiritual culture of Europe, and in a non-violent way. When necessary, the communities fielded militias to fight off the attacks of the slave traders and their mercenaries. Under the leadership of the monastic brethren, the Indians achieved a high degree of autonomy from the Spanish and Portuguese empires. The settlements prospered, the work of the Indians was quite successful.

As a result, the independent policy of the monks led to the decision to expel them. In 1750, the Spanish and Portuguese crowns entered into an agreement under which 7 Jesuit settlements, including Asuncion, were to come under Portuguese control. The Jesuits refused to submit to this decision; as a result of a bloody war that lasted 4 years (1754-1758), the Spanish-Portuguese troops won. The complete expulsion of the Jesuit Order from all Spanish possessions in America followed (it ended in 1768). The Indians began to return to their former way of life. By the end of the 18th century, about a third of the population consisted of mestizos (descendants of whites and Indians), and two-thirds were Indians.

Independence

In the process of the collapse of the Spanish Empire, in which young predators, the British, took an active part, Buenos Aires became independent (1810). The Argentines tried to start an uprising in Paraguay, during the so-called. "Paraguayan expedition", but the militias of the Paraguayans defeated their troops.

But the process was launched, in 1811 Paraguay declared independence. The country was headed by the lawyer Jose Francia, the people recognized him as the leader. Congress, elected by popular vote, recognized him as a dictator with unlimited powers, first for 3 years (in 1814), and then dictator for life (in 1817). Francia ruled the country until his death in 1840. The country was introduced autarky (an economic regime involving the self-sufficiency of the country), foreigners were rarely allowed into Paraguay. The regime of José Francia was not liberal: rebels, spies, conspirators were mercilessly destroyed and arrested. Although it cannot be said that the regime was monstrous - during the entire reign of the dictator, about 70 people were executed and about 1 thousand were thrown into prison.

Francia carried out secularization (confiscation of church and monastery property, land), mercilessly liquidated criminal gangs, as a result of which, after a few years, people forgot about crime. Francia partially revived the ideas of the Jesuits, although "without excesses." In Paraguay, a special national economy arose, based on social labor and private small business. In addition, such amazing phenomena arose in the country (it was the first half of the 19th century!), As free education, free medicine, low taxes and public food funds. As a result, in Paraguay, especially given its rather isolated position relative to world economic centers, a strong state industry was created. This made it possible to be an economically independent state. By the middle of the 19th century, Paraguay had become the fastest growing and wealthiest state in Latin America. It should be noted that this was a unique state where poverty was absent as a phenomenon, although there were enough rich people in Paraguay (the rich stratum was quite peacefully integrated into society).

After the death of Francio, which became a tragedy for the entire nation, by decision of the Congress, the country was headed by his nephew Carlos Antonio Lopez (until 1844 he ruled with consul Mariano Roque Alonso). It was the same tough and consistent person. He carried out a number of liberal reforms, the country was ready for “opening” - in 1845 access to Paraguay was opened to foreigners, in 1846 the former protective customs tariff was replaced by a more liberal one, the Pilar harbor (on the Parana River) was opened for foreign trade. Lopez reorganized the army according to European standards, brought its strength from 5 thousand. up to 8 thousand people. Several fortresses were built, a river fleet was created. The country withstood the seven-year war with Argentina (1845-1852), the Argentines were forced to recognize the independence of Paraguay.

Work continued on the development of education, scientific societies were opened, the possibilities of means of communication and navigation were improved, and shipbuilding was improved. The country as a whole has retained its originality, so in Paraguay almost all the lands belonged to the state.

In 1862 Lopez died, leaving the country to his son Francisco Solano Lopez. The new people's congress approved his powers for 10 years. At this time, the country reached the peak of its development (then the country was simply killed, preventing it from going along a very promising path). Its population reached 1.3 million people, there were no public debts (the country did not take external loans). At the beginning of the reign of the second Lopez, the first railway, 72 km long, was built. More than 200 foreign specialists were invited to Paraguay, who laid telegraph lines and railways. This helped develop the steel, textile, paper, printing, gunpowder, and shipbuilding industries. Paraguay created its own defense industry, produced not only gunpowder and other ammunition, but cannons and mortars (a foundry in Ibiqui, built in 1850), built ships at the shipyards of Asuncion.

The reason for the war and its beginning

Neighboring Uruguay looked closely at the successful experience of Paraguay, and after it the experiment could triumphantly pass throughout the continent. The possible unification of Paraguay and Uruguay challenged the interests of Great Britain, the local regional powers - Argentina and Brazil. Naturally, this caused discontent and fears of the British and Latin American ruling clans. In addition, Paraguay had territorial disputes with Argentina. A pretext for war was needed and it was quickly found.

In the spring of 1864, the Brazilians sent a diplomatic mission to Uruguay and demanded compensation for the losses caused to Brazilian farmers in border conflicts with Uruguayan farmers. The head of Uruguay, Atanasio Aguirre (from the National Party, which stood for union with Paraguay), rejected the Brazilian claims. Paraguayan leader Solano López offered to mediate between Brazil and Uruguay, but Rio de Janeiro opposed the offer. In August 1864, the Paraguayan government severed diplomatic relations with Brazil, and declared that the intervention of the Brazilians and the occupation of Uruguay would upset the balance in the region.

In October, Brazilian troops invaded Uruguay. Supporters of the Colorado Party (a pro-Brazilian party), backed by Argentina, allied themselves with the Brazilians and overthrew the Aguirre government.

Uruguay was a strategically important partner for Paraguay, since almost all Paraguayan trade went through its capital (Montevideo). And the Brazilians occupied this port. Paraguay was forced to enter the war, the country was mobilized, bringing the size of the army to 38 thousand people (with a reserve of 60 thousand, in fact it was a people's militia). On December 13, 1864, the Paraguayan government declared war on Brazil, and on March 18, 1865, on Argentina. Uruguay, already under the control of the pro-Brazilian politician Venancio Flores, entered into an alliance with Brazil and Argentina. On May 1, 1865, in the Argentine capital, the three countries signed the Treaty of the Triple Alliance. The world community (primarily Great Britain) supported the Triple Alliance. "Enlightened Europeans" provided substantial assistance to the union with ammunition, weapons, military advisers, and gave loans for the war.

The army of Paraguay at the initial stage was more powerful, both numerically (at the beginning of the war, the Argentines had about 8.5 thousand people, the Brazilians - 16 thousand, the Uruguayans - 2 thousand), and in terms of motivation, organization. In addition, it was well armed, the Paraguayan army had up to 400 guns. The basis of the military forces of the Triple Alliance - the Brazilian armed forces consisted mainly of detachments of local politicians and some parts of the National Guard, often they were slaves who were promised freedom. Then, in part of the coalition, all sorts of volunteers poured in, adventurers from all over the continent who wanted to take part in the robbery of a rich country. It was believed that the war would be short-lived, Paraguay and the three countries had too different indicators - population, the power of the economy, the help of the "world community". The war was actually sponsored by loans from the Bank of London and the banking houses of the Baring brothers and N. M. Rothschild and sons.

But we had to fight with the armed people. At the initial stage, the Paraguayan army won a number of victories. In the northern direction, the Brazilian fort Nova Coimbra was captured, in January 1865 they took the cities of Albuquerque and Corumba. In the southern direction, the Paraguayan units successfully operated in the southern part of the state of Mata Grosso.

In March 1865, the Paraguayan government turned to Argentine President Bartolome Mitra with a request to let 25,000 troops pass through the province of Corrientes to invade the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul. But Buenos Aires refused, March 18, 1865 Paraguay declared war on Argentina. The Paraguayan squadron (at the beginning of the war, Paraguay had 23 small steamships and a number of small ships, and the flagship was the Takuari gunboat, most of them were conversions from civilian ships), descending the Parana River, blocked the port of Corrientes, and then the ground forces took it. At the same time, the Paraguayan units crossed the Argentine border, and through the territory of Argentina they hit the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul, on June 12, 1865, the city of San Borja was taken, on August 5, Uruguayana.

Here is one of the moments of this war.

“Breach at the Umaita fortress in 1868. Artist Victor Merelles.

At the beginning of 1868, the Brazilian-Argentine-Uruguayan troops approached the very capital of Paraguay, the city of Asuncion. But it was impossible to take the city without the help of the fleet, although it was possible to approach it from the sea along the Paraguay River. However, this path was blocked by the fortress of Umait. The allies have been besieging it for more than a year, but they could not take it. The most unpleasant thing was that the river made a horseshoe-shaped bend in this place, along which there were coastal batteries. Therefore, the ships going to Asunción needed to pass several kilometers under crossfire at close range, which was an impossible task for wooden ships.

But already in 1866-1867. Brazilians acquired the first river battleships in Latin America - floating batteries of the Barroso type and tower monitors Para. Monitors were built at the state shipyard in Rio de Janeiro and became the first turret battleships in Latin America, and, in particular, in its southern hemisphere. It was decided that the Brazilian armored squadron would go up the Paraguay River to the fortress of Umaita and destroy it with their fire. The squadron included small monitors "Para", "Alagoas" and "Rio Grande", a slightly larger monitor "Bahiya", and casemate river battleships "Barroso" and "Tamandare".

It is interesting that "Bahiya" was first called "Minerva" and in England it was built by order of... Paraguay. However, Paraguay was blockaded during the war, the deal was terminated, and the ship, to the delight of the British, was acquired by Brazil. Umaita at that time was the strongest fortress in Paraguay. Its construction began in 1844 and continued for almost 15 years. She had 120 artillery pieces, of which 80 shot through the fairway, and the rest defended her from land. Many of the batteries were in brick casemates, the thickness of the walls of which reached one and a half meters or more, and some of the guns were protected by earthen parapets.

The most powerful battery of the Umaita fortress was the Londres (London) casemate battery, which was armed with sixteen 32-pounder guns, and was commanded by the English mercenary Major Hadley Tuttle. However, it should be noted that the number of guns did not at all correspond to their quality. There were very few rifled among them, and the bulk were old cannons that fired cannonballs, which were not dangerous for armored ships.

Battery "Londres" in 1868.

Therefore, in order to prevent Brazilian ships from entering the river, the Paraguayans stretched three thick iron chains across it, mounted on pontoons. According to their plan, these chains would have to detain the enemy just in the zone of action of his batteries, where literally every meter of the river surface was shot! As for the Brazilians, they, of course, learned about the chains, but expected to overcome them after their battleships rammed the pontoons and those, having sunk to the bottom, would drag these chains with them.

The breakthrough was scheduled for February 19, 1868. The main problem was the small supply of coal that the monitors took on board. Therefore, for the sake of economy, the Brazilians decided that they would go in pairs, so that the larger ships would be led by the smaller ones in tow. Thus, the Barroso led the Rio Grande in tow, the Bahia led the Alagoas, and the Para followed the Tamandare.

At 0.30 on February 19, all three couplers, moving against the current, rounded a cape with a high hill and reached Umaita. The Brazilians expected that the Paraguayans would sleep at night, but they turned out to be ready for battle: the Brazilian steam engines were making a very loud noise, and the noise over the river carried very far.

All 80 coastal guns opened fire on the ships, after which the battleships began to respond. True, only nine guns could shoot along the coast, but the qualitative advantage was on their side. The nuclei of the Paraguayan guns, although they hit the Brazilian ships, bounced off their armor, while the oblong shells of Whitworth's rifled guns, bursting, caused fires and destroyed the casemates.

Nevertheless, the Paraguayan gunners managed to break the tow cable connecting the Bahiya with the Alagoas. The fire was so strong that the ship's crew did not dare to climb out onto the deck, and five battleships eventually went ahead, and the Alagoas slowly drifted over to where the Brazilian squadron began its breakthrough to the enemy's capital.

The Paraguayan gunners soon noticed that the ship was not moving and opened concentrated fire on it, hoping that they would be able to destroy at least this ship. But all their efforts were in vain. Boats were smashed on the monitor, the masts were blown overboard, but they did not manage to break through its armor. They failed to jam the tower on it, and it was a miracle that the chimney survived on the ship.

At the same time, the squadron that had gone forward rammed and drowned the pontoons with chains, thus freeing its way. True, the fate of the Alagoas monitor remained unknown, but not a single sailor died on all other ships.

The Paraguayans take the Alagoas on board. Artist Victor Merelles

Meanwhile, the monitor was carried by the current beyond the bend of the river, where the Paraguayan guns no longer reached. He dropped anchor, and his sailors began to inspect the ship. It turned out to have more than 20 dents from the cannonballs, but not a single one pierced either the hull or the turret! Seeing that the enemy artillery was powerless against his ship, the monitor commander ordered to separate the pairs and ... continue to go alone! True, in order to raise the pressure in the boilers it took at least an hour, but this did not bother him. And where was the hurry, because the morning had already begun.

Monitor "Alagoas" in the colors of the Great Paraguayan War.

And the Paraguayans, as it turned out, were already waiting for the monitor and decided ... to board it! They rushed into the boats and armed with sabers, boarding axes and hooks, headed to cut across the enemy ship slowly moving against the current. The Brazilians noticed them and immediately hurried to batten down the deck hatches, and a dozen and a half sailors, led by the only officer - the commander of the ship, climbed onto the roof of the gun turret and began firing at people in boats from rifles and revolvers. The distance was not great, the dead and wounded rowers were out of order one after another, but four boats still managed to overtake the Alagoas and from 30 to 40 Paraguayan soldiers jumped onto its deck.

And here something began that once again proves that many tragic events are at the same time the most ridiculous. Some tried to climb the tower, but they were beaten on the head with sabers and shot point-blank with revolvers. Others began to chop hatches and ventilation grills in the engine room with axes, but, no matter how hard they tried, they did not achieve success. Finally, it dawned on them that the Brazilians standing on the tower were about to shoot them one by one, like partridges and the surviving Paraguayans began to jump overboard. But then the monitor increased its speed, and several people were pulled under the propellers. Seeing that the attempt to capture the monitor had failed, the Paraguayan gunners fired a volley that almost destroyed the ship. One of the heavy shots hit him in the stern and tore off the armor plate, which had already been loosened by several previous hits. At the same time, the wooden lining cracked, a leak formed, and water began to flow into the ship's hull. The crew rushed to the pumps and began to hurriedly pump out water and did this until the ship, not having traveled even a few kilometers, was thrown into a sandbank in an area controlled by Brazilian troops.

Meanwhile, the squadron that had broken through up the river passed the Paraguayan fort Timbo, whose guns also did not cause any harm to it, and already on February 20 approached Asuncion and fired at the newly built presidential palace. This caused panic in the city, since the government had repeatedly stated that not a single enemy ship would break through to the capital of the country.

But then the Paraguayans were lucky, because the squadron ran out of shells! They were not enough not only to destroy the palace, but even to sink the flagship of the Paraguayan military flotilla - the Paraguari wheeled frigate, which was standing right here at the pier!

On February 24, the Brazilian ships once again passed Umaita and again without loss, although the Paraguayan gunners still managed to damage the armor belt of the Tamandare battleship. Passing by the immobilized "Alagoas", the ships greeted him with horns.

Battery "Londres". Now it is a museum, near which these rusty cannons lie.

This is how this strange raid ended, in which the Brazilian squadron did not lose a single person, and no less than a hundred Paraguayans were killed. Then the Alagoas was repaired for several months, but he still managed to take part in the hostilities as early as June 1868. So even a country like Paraguay, it turns out, has its own heroic ship, the memory of which is written on the "tablets" of its navy!

From a technical point of view, it was also a rather interesting ship, specially designed for operations on rivers and in the coastal sea zone. The length of this vessel with a flat-bottomed hull was 39 meters, a width of 8.5 meters, and a displacement of 500 tons. Along the waterline, the side was covered by an armored belt made of iron plates 90 centimeters wide. The thickness of the side armor was 10.2 cm in the center and 7.6 cm at the extremities. But the hull walls themselves, which were made of an extremely durable local feather tree, were 55 cm thick, which, of course, was a very good protection. The deck was covered with bulletproof armor half an inch (12.7 mm) thick, on which teak decking was laid. The underwater part of the hull was sheathed with sheets of yellow galvanized bronze - a technique very characteristic of the then shipbuilding.

The ship had two steam engines with a total power of 180 hp. At the same time, each of them worked on its own propeller with a diameter of 1.3 m, which made it possible for the monitor to move at a speed of 8 knots in calm water.

The crew consisted of 43 sailors and only one officer.

Here it is: Whitworth's 70-pounder on the monitor of the Alagoas.

The armament consisted of only one single 70-pound Whitworth muzzle-loading cannon (well, at least they would put some kind of mitrailleuse on the tower!) With a hexagonal barrel glow, firing special faceted-shaped shells and weighing 36 kg, and a bronze ram on the nose. The range of the gun was approximately 5.5 km, with quite satisfactory accuracy. The weight of the gun was four tons, but it cost - 2500 pounds sterling - at that time a fortune!

It is also interesting that the gun turret was not cylindrical, but ... rectangular, although its front and rear walls were rounded. It was turned by the physical efforts of eight sailors who manually turned the turret drive handle, and who could turn it 180 degrees for about one minute. The frontal armor of the turret was 6 inches (152 mm) thick, the side armor plates were 102 mm thick, and the rear wall was 76 mm thick.

Continuation of the war

The situation was complicated by the defeat of the Paraguayan squadron on June 11, 1865 at the Battle of Riachuelo. The Triple Alliance from that moment began to control the rivers of the La Plata basin. Gradually, the superiority in forces began to affect, by the end of 1865, the Paraguayan troops were driven out of the previously occupied territories, the coalition concentrated 50 thousand army and began to prepare for the invasion of Paraguay.

The invading army could not immediately break into the country, they were detained by fortifications near the confluence of the Paraguay and Parana rivers, where the battles went on for more than two years. So the Umaita fortress became a real Paraguayan Sevastopol and delayed the enemy for 30 months, it fell only on July 25, 1868.

After that, Paraguay was doomed. The interventionists, being supported by the "world community", slowly and with heavy losses simply pushed through the defense of the Paraguayans, actually grinding it down, paying for it with numerous losses. And not only from bullets, but also from dysentery, cholera and other delights of a tropical climate. In a series of battles in December 1868, the remnants of the Paraguayan troops were practically destroyed.

Francisco Solano López refused to surrender and retreated into the mountains. Asuncion fell in January 1969. I must say that the people of Paraguay defended their country almost without exception, even women and children fought. Lopez continued the war in the mountains northeast of Asuncion, people went to the mountains, the selva, to partisan detachments. During the year there was a guerrilla war, but in the end the remnants of the Paraguayan forces were defeated. On March 1, 1870, the Solano Lopez detachment was surrounded and destroyed, the head of Paraguay died with the words: “I am dying for the Motherland!”

Territorial losses of Paraguay as a result of the war

Results

The Paraguayan people fought to the last, even the enemies noted the mass heroism of the population, the Brazilian historian Roche Pombu wrote: “Many women, some with peaks and stakes, others with small children in their arms, furiously threw sand, stones and bottles at the attackers. The rectors of the parishes of Peribebuy and Valenzuela fought with guns in their hands. Boys 8-10 years old were lying dead, and their weapons were lying next to them, other wounded showed stoic calmness, not uttering a single groan.

In the battle of Acosta New (August 16, 1869), 3.5 thousand children aged 9-15 fought, and the Paraguayan detachment was only 6 thousand people. In memory of their heroism, the Day of the Child is celebrated on August 16 in modern Paraguay.

In battles, skirmishes, acts of genocide, 90% of the male population of Paraguay was killed. Of the more than 1.3 million people in the country, by 1871, about 220 thousand people remained. Paraguay was completely devastated and thrown to the sidelines of world development.

The territory of Paraguay is cut in favor of Argentina and Brazil. The Argentines generally proposed to completely dismember Paraguay and divide it "fraternally", but Rio de Janeiro did not agree. The Brazilians wanted to have a buffer between Argentina and Brazil.

It was Britain and the banks behind it that benefited from the war. The main powers of Latin America - Argentina and Brazil - became financially dependent, having borrowed huge amounts. The possibilities offered by the Paraguayan experiment were destroyed.

The Paraguayan industry was liquidated, most of the Paraguayan villages were devastated and abandoned, the remaining people moved to the vicinity of Asuncion. People switched to subsistence farming, a significant part of the land was bought by foreigners, mostly Argentines, and turned into private estates. The country's market was opened to British goods, and the new government took out a foreign loan of £1 million for the first time.

This story teaches that if the people are united and defend their homeland, the idea, it can only be defeated with the help of total genocide.

sources

http://topwar.ru/81112-nepobedimyy-alagoas.html

http://topwar.ru/10058-kak-ubili-serdce-ameriki.html

http://ru.althistory.wikia.com/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%81 %D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%B0

http://www.livejournal.com/magazine/557394.html

And then there was more. From other regions, you can remember what it is or, for example, why. Here are the legendary The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -