Paraguay

History.

The Indians whom the Spaniards found in Paraguay belonged to many tribes, but possessed a common language, the Guarani. They were chiefly agriculturists and continued to live side by side with their conquerors, the culture of the country being still distinctly Indian. In 1527 Sebastian Cabot reached Paraguay and built a fort called Santo Espiritu. Asuncion was founded on Aug. 15, 1535 by Juan de Ayolas. From this centre Spanish adventurers pushed east to La Guayra, beyond the Parana, and west into the Gran Chaco ; and before long vast numbers of the less warlike natives were reduced to serfdom. The name Paraguay was applied not only to the country between the Paraguay and the Parana., but to the whole Spanish territory. which now comprises parts of Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Rios, Corrientes, Misiones and part of Santa Fe. It was not till 1620 that Paraguay proper and Rio de la Plata or Buenos Aires were separated as distinct Governments, and they were both dependent on the vice-royalty of Peru till 1776, when Buenos Aires was erected into a vice royalty, and Paraguay placed under its jurisdiction. The first Christian missions were established by the Franciscans between 1542 and 1560; but neither they nor the first Jesuit missionaries were allowed to make their enterprise a permanent success. This fell to the lot of the second band of Jesuits, Cataldino, Mazeta and Lorenzana, who began work in 1605. They succeeded in establishing a kind of imperium in imperio, and for a century and a half the history of Paraguay is the history of the Jesuit missions. In 1750, however, Ferdinand VI. of Spain ceded to the Portuguese, in exchange for the fortified village of Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay), a part of this territory. The Jesuits resisted the transference, and it was only after several engage ments that they were defeated by the combined forces of Spain and Portugal. The missions never recovered their prosperity, and the Jesuits were finally expelled in 1769. In 1811 Paraguay declared itself independent of Spain; by 1814 it was a despotism in the hands of Dr. J. G. R. Francia (q.v.). On Francia's death, in 1840, the chief power passed to his nephew, Carlos Antonio Lopez (q.v.), who in 1862 was succeeded by his son Francisco Solano Lopez. In 1864 a dispute arose between the younger Lopez and the Brazilian Government, and Lopez marched an army through Argentine territory to invade southern Brazil. This act induced the Governments of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina to combine for the purpose of suppressing Lopez. The invasion of Paraguay then took place, and a struggle involving an enormous sacrifice of life and treasure lasted for five years, only coming to a close when the Paraguayan forces were totally defeated and Lopez was killed at the battle of Aquidaban on March 1, 1870. During this warfare every male Paraguayan capable of bearing arms was forced to fight, whole regiments being formed of boys from 12 to 15 years of age. Even women were used as beasts of burden to carry ammunition and stores, and when no longer capable of work were left to die by the roadside or mur dered to avoid any ill consequences occurring from their capture. When the war broke out the population of Paraguay was 1,337, 439; when hostilities ceased it consisted of 28,746 men, 106,254 women above 15 years of age, and 86,079 children.

After the death of Lopez the Government was administered by a triumvirate consisting of Cirilo Rivarola, Carlos Loizaga and Jose Diaz de Bedoza, until, in Nov. 1870, the present Constitution was formulated. The policy of Brazil was for a time directed towards the annexation of Paraguay; the debt due to Brazil on account of the war was assessed at L40,000,000, a sum which Paraguay could never hope to pay; and it was not until 1876 that the Brazilian army of occupation was wholly withdrawn. But the rivalry between Brazil and Argentina, and the necessity of maintaining the balance of power among the South American republics, enabled Paraguay to remain independent. No violent constitutional change took place after 1870, though there have been spasmodic outbreaks of revolution, as in 1881, in 1894, in 1898, in 1904, in 1908 and in 1909. None of these disturbances deeply or permanently affected the welfare of the republic, nor were all of them accompanied by bloodshed. Under the presi dency of J. B. Egusquiza (1894-98) the boundary dispute with Bolivia became acute; but war was averted, largely owing to the success of the revolution, which forced the president to resign. The main interest of recent Paraguayan history is economic rather than political. In that history the gradual development of com

merce, the financial reforms in 1895, and the extension of the Paraguay Central railway were events of far greater importance than any political movement which took place between 187o and 191o. In 1911 a series of revolutions forced Dr. Manuel Gondra (recently inaugurated) out of the presidency and brought into office four provisional presidents in rapid succession during that and the following year. In 1912, however, a peaceful succession took place and Dr. Eduardo Schaerer was allowed to complete his full term, 1912-16. During his administration the country recov ered somewhat from the effects of its unfortunate disturbances. He was followed by Dr. Manuel Franco, under whose direction the condition of the country improved still further. Upon his death (1919) the remainder of the term was filled by Dr. Jose P. Montero, after which Gondra was elected for a second time. The latter, however was forced to resign in 1921 under pressure of threatened revolts and the administration of his successor, Eusebio Ayala (provisional president), was no less turbulent. This situa tion terminated in 1923 when Elijio Ayala was elected for the term, 1924-28. He was succeeded in 1928 by Don Jose P. Gug guiari.

During the years 1928 to 1935 the dominant fact in the nation's history was its struggle for possession of the Chaco. Paraguayan interests in this region had become so vital that in 1931 a popular uprising occurred in protest against what was considered a lack of firmness on the part of the Government in asserting its claims against Bolivia. By the middle of 1932 open war prevailed ; and through the next three years all Para guay's strength was concentrated upon the contest by Dr. Eusebio Ayala, who had become President in 1932. Economic and financial exhaustion seemed not to hinder the nation's armies, which man aged to hold all the territory. A truce was arranged June 14, In February, 1936, Ayala was driven by military revolution out of office. Colonel Rafael Franco seized power. (G. M. McB.) Audibert, Cuestion de limites entre el Paraguay y Bolivia (Asuncion, 1901) ; Anuario estadistico de la RepUblica del Paraguay (Asuncion, annual) ; Andres de Belmont, Situacion inter nacional del Paraguay (Asuncion, 1912) ; M. S. Bertoni, Description fisica y economica del Paraguay (Puerto Bertoni, 1918) ; E. Bolland, Exploraciones practicadas en el Alto Paraguay y en to Laguna Gaiba (Buenos Aires, 19o1) ; R. F. Burton, Letters from the Battle-Fields of Paraguay (London, 187o) ; Cuestion de limites con Bolivia. Negociaciones diplomaticas, 1915-1917, vol. i. (Asuncion, 1917) ; H. Charlevoix, Histoire de Paraguay (Paris, 2835) ; H. Decoud, Geografia de la RepUblica del Paraguay (Leipzig, 1911), List of books . . . relating to Paraguay (Washington, 1905) ; A. L. Decoud, Album grcifico del Paraguay (Asuncion, 1912) ; L. A. Demersay, Histoire physique, economique et politique du Paraguay et des etablissements des Jesuites (Paris, 1865) ; Department of Overseas Trade Reports (London, annual) ; R. von Fischer-Treuenfeld, Paraguay in Wort und Bild (Berlin, 1906) ; G. Funes, Ensayo de la historic civil del Paraguay (1816) ; R. B. Cunninghame Graham, A Vanished Arcadia (London, 1901) ; W. B. Grubb, Among the Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco (London, 1904), An Unknown People of an Unknown Land (London, 1911) and "The Paraguayan Chaco and its future possiblities," Geographical Journal (London, Sept. 1919) ; J. W. Hills and I. Dunbar, The Golden River. Sport and Travel in Paraguay (London, 1922) ; E. C. Jourdan, Guerra do Paraguay (Rio de Janeiro, 189o) ; W. H. Koebel, Paraguay (London, 1917) ; E. de B. La Dardye, Paraguay: the Land and the People (London, 1892) ; Lozano, Historia de la conquista del Paraguay (Buenos Aires, 1873-74) ; A. K. Mac Donald, Picturesque Paraguay (London, 1911) ; H. Mangels, Wirt schaftliche, naturgeschichtliche und klimatologische Abhandlungen aus Paraguay (Munchen, 1904) ; R. de Olascoaga, Paraguay (trans. from Reclus's Geographie Universelle, with prolegomena and notes) (Asun cion, 1896) ; T. G. Page, La Plata, the Argentine Confederation and Paraguay (New York, 1867) ; Pan-American Union, Paraguay (Wash ington, 1925) ; W. Parker, Paraguayans of To-day (Buenos Aires, 192o) ; Report of the Council of the Corporation of Foreign Bond holders (London, annual) ; W. L. Schurz, Paraguay: A Commercial Handbook, U.S. Department of Commerce, Sp. Ag. Series, No. 199 (Washington, 192o) ; W. Vallentin, Paraguay: Das Land der Guaranis (Berlin, 1907) ; C. A. Washburn, The History of Paraguay (Boston and New York, 1871).