Paraguay (/ˈpærəɡwaɪ/; Spanish pronunciation:[paɾaˈɣwaj]ⓘ), officially the Republic of Paraguay (
Spanish: República del Paraguay;
Guarani: Paraguái Tavakuairetã), is a
landlocked country in
South America. It is bordered by
Argentina to the south and southwest,
Brazil to the east and northeast, and
Bolivia to the northwest. It has a population of around 6.1 million, nearly 2.3 million of whom live in the
capital and largest city of
Asunción, and its surrounding metro area.
Spanish
conquistadores arrived in 1524, and in 1537 established the city of
Asunción, the first capital of the
Governorate of the Río de la Plata. During the 17th century, Paraguay was the center of
Jesuit missions, where the native
Guaraní people were converted to Christianity and introduced to European culture. After the
expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish territories in 1767, Paraguay increasingly became a peripheral colony. Following
independence from Spain in the early 19th century, Paraguay was ruled by a series of authoritarian governments. This period ended with the disastrous
Paraguayan War (1864–1870), during which the country lost half its prewar population and around 25–33% of its territory. In the 20th century, Paraguay faced another major international conflict—the
Chaco War (1932–1935) against Bolivia—in which Paraguay prevailed. The country came under a succession of military dictators, culminating in the 35 year regime of
Alfredo Stroessner, which lasted until his overthrow in 1989 by an internal military coup. This marked the beginning of Paraguay's current democratic era.
Although one of only two landlocked countries in South America (
Bolivia is the other), Paraguay has ports on the
Paraguay and
Paraná rivers that give exit to the Atlantic Ocean, through the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway. The majority of Paraguay's 6 million people are mestizo, and Guarani culture remains widely influential; more than 90% of the population speak various dialects of the
Guarani language alongside Spanish. Paraguay's GDP per capita PPP is the seventh in South America. In a 2017 Positive Experience Index based on global polling data, Paraguay ranked as the "world's happiest place". (Full article...)
The river bend at the Humaitá fortress. An invading flotilla would have to steam for more than a mile against the current (shown by arrow) while being detained – by the chain boom – under short-range battery fire. But the greatest danger was from improvised contact mines.
The Fortress of Humaitá (1854–68), known
metaphorically as the
Gibraltar of
South America, was a
Paraguayan military installation near the mouth of the
River Paraguay. A
strategic site without equal in the region, "a fortress the likes of which had never been seen in South America", it was "the key to Paraguay and the upper rivers". It played a crucial role in the deadliest conflict in the continent's history – the
Paraguayan War – of which it was the principal theatre of operations.
The site was a sharp horseshoe bend in the river; practically all vessels wishing to enter the
Republic of Paraguay – and indeed to steam onwards to the Brazilian province of
Mato Grosso – were forced to navigate it. The bend was commanded by a 6,000-foot (1.8 km) line of
artillery batteries, at the end of which was a chain
boom which, when raised, detained the shipping under the guns. The navigable channel was only 200 yards wide and ran in easy reach of the artillery. The fortress was protected from attack on its landward side by impenetrable
swamp or, where this was lacking, defensive
earthworks which, at their greatest extension, comprised a system of
trenches stretching for 8 lineal miles (13 km), had a garrison of 18,000 men and deployed 120 cannon. At its zenith Humaitá was reputed to be impassable to enemy shipping. (Full article...)
Image 23Paraguay population density (people per km2) (from Paraguay)
Image 24Paraguay after the war with main battle sites (in yellow). Gran Chaco not included as it was still a disputed territory. (from History of Paraguay)
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