1.
Paraguayan War
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With an estimated 400,000 deaths, the war was the deadliest and bloodiest in Latin Americas history. According to some estimates, Paraguays pre-war population of 525,000 was reduced to 221,000, the war began in late 1864, as a result of a conflict between Paraguay and Brazil caused by the Uruguayan War. Argentina and Uruguay entered the war against Paraguay in 1865, the war ended with the total defeat of Paraguay. The guerrilla war lasted 14 months until President Francisco Solano López was killed in action by Brazilian forces in the Battle of Cerro Corá on March 1,1870, Argentine and Brazilian troops occupied Paraguay until 1876. Estimates of total Paraguayan losses range from 21,000 to 200,000 people and it took decades for Paraguay to recover from the chaos and demographic losses. There are several theories regarding the origins of the war, before the war Paraguay had experienced rapid economic and military growth. A strong military was developed because Paraguays larger neighbors Argentina and Brazil had territorial claims against it, Paraguay had recurring boundary disputes and tariff issues with Argentina and Brazil for many years during the rule of Carlos Antonio López. Since Brazil and Argentina had become independent, their struggle for hegemony in the Río de la Plata profoundly marked the diplomatic, Brazil was the first country to recognize the independence of Paraguay in 1844. At this time Argentina still considered it a break-away province, as no roads linked the inland province of Mato Grosso to Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian ships needed to travel through Paraguayan territory, going up the Paraguay River to arrive at Cuiabá. However, Brazil had difficulty obtaining permission from the government in Asunción to freely use the Paraguay River for its shipping needs and this last intervention would lead to the Paraguayan War. Flores wanted to overthrow the Blanco Party government of President Bernardo Berro, Paraguayan President López sent a note on 6 September 1863 to the Argentine government asking for an explanation, but Buenos Aires denied any involvement in Uruguay. From that moment, mandatory service was introduced in Paraguay and in February 1864. Uruguayan President Atanasio Aguirre from the Blanco Party rejected the Brazilian demands, presented his own demands, Brazilian soldiers on the northern borders of Uruguay started to provide help to Flores troops, harassed Uruguayan officers, while the Imperial Fleet pressed hard on Montevideo. During the months of June–August,1864 a Cooperation Treaty was signed between Brazil and Argentina at Buenos Aires, for assistance in the Plate Basin Crisis. Brazilian Minister Saraiva on August 4,1864, sent an ultimatum to the Uruguayan government, either comply with the Brazilian demands, or the Brazilian army would retaliate. Despite the Paraguayan notes and ultimatums, on October 12,1864 Brazilian troops under the command of Gen. João Propício Mena Barreto invaded Uruguay thus marking the beginning of the hostilities. On 12 November 1864, the Paraguayan ship Tacuarí captured the Brazilian ship Marquês de Olinda, news of the wars end was brought by Pereira Pinto and met with joy in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II found himself waylaid by a crowd of thousands in the streets amid acclamations, but public opinion quickly changed for the worse when newspapers began running stories painting the convention of 20 February as harmful to Brazilian interests, for which the cabinet was blamed
2.
Paraguay
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Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the country from north to south. Due to its location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazón de Sudamérica. Paraguay is one of the two landlocked countries that lie outside Afro-Eurasia, Paraguay is the smallest landlocked country in the Americas. The indigenous Guaraní had been living in Paraguay for at least a millennium before the Spanish conquered the territory in the 16th century, Spanish settlers and Jesuit missions introduced Christianity and Spanish culture to the region. Paraguay was a colony of the Spanish Empire, with few urban centers and settlers. Following independence from Spain in 1811, Paraguay was ruled by a series of dictators who generally implemented isolationist and protectionist policies and he was toppled in an internal military coup, and free multi-party elections were organized and held for the first time in 1993. A year later, Paraguay joined Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay to found Mercosur, as of 2009, Paraguays population was estimated to be at around 6.5 million, most of whom are concentrated in the southeast region of the country. The capital and largest city is Asunción, of which the area is home to nearly a third of Paraguays population. In contrast to most Latin American nations, Paraguays indigenous language and culture, Guaraní, in each census, residents predominantly identify as mestizo, reflecting years of intermarriage among the different ethnic groups. Guaraní is recognized as an official language alongside Spanish, and both languages are spoken in the country. There is no consensus for the derivation or meaning of the name Paraguay, the most common interpretations include, Born from water Riverine of many varieties River which originates a sea Fray Antonio Ruiz de Montoya said that it meant river crowned. The Spanish officer and scientist Félix de Azara suggests two derivations, the Payaguas, referring to the tribe who lived along the river. The French-Argentine historian and writer Paul Groussac argued that it meant river that flows through the sea, Paraguayan poet and ex-president Juan Natalicio González said it meant river of the inhabitants of the sea. Indigenous peoples have inhabited this area for thousands of years, pre-Columbian society in the region which is now Paraguay consisted of semi-nomadic tribes that were known for their warrior traditions. These indigenous tribes belonged to five language families, which was the basis of their major divisions. Differing language groups were generally competitive over resources and territories and they were further divided into tribes by speaking languages in branches of these families. Today 17 separate ethnolinguistic groups remain, the first Europeans in the area were Spanish explorers in 1516. The Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar de Espinosa founded the settlement of Asunción on 15 August 1537, the city eventually became the center of a Spanish colonial province of Paraguay
3.
Argentina
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Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country is subdivided into provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system, Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century, Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century, Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and it is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of very high. Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, the description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name Argentina probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, Argentina means in Italian of silver, silver coloured, probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine of silver > silver coloured already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the form of argentin and derives of argent silver with the suffix -in. The Italian naming Argentina for the country implies Argentina Terra land of silver or Argentina costa coast of silver, in Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said lArgentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, in Spanish and Portuguese, the words for silver are respectively plata and prata and of silver is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region, the 1826 constitution included the first use of the name Argentine Republic in legal documents. The name Argentine Confederation was also used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the name as Argentine Republic
4.
Argentine Army
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The Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country. Under the Argentine Constitution, the President of Argentina is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the Armys official foundation date is May 29,1810, four days after the Spanish colonial administration in Buenos Aires was overthrown. Several armed expeditions were sent to the Upper Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile to fight Spanish forces and secure Argentinas newly gained independence. The most famous of these expeditions was the one led by General José de San Martín, however, the Army was briefly re-unified during the war with the Brazilian Empire. It was only with the establishment of a Constitution and a government recognized by all the provinces that the Army became a single force. The Army went on to fight the War of the Triple Alliance in the 1860s together with Brazil, after that war, the Army became involved in Argentinas Conquista del Desierto, the campaign to occupy Patagonia and root out the natives, who conducted looting raids throughout the country. The Army prevented the fall of the government in a number of Radical-led uprisings, meanwhile, the military in general and the Army in particular contributed to develop Argentinas unsettled southern frontier and its nascent industrial complex. The main foreign influence during this period was, by and large, partly because of that, during both World Wars most of the officers supported the Germans, more or less openly, while the Argentine Navy favored the British instead. In 1930, a group of Army forces deposed President Hipólito Yrigoyen without much response from the rest of the Army. This was the beginning of a history of political intervention by the military. Another coup, in 1943, was responsible for bringing an obscure colonel into the political limelight and it should be noted that political infighting eroded discipline and cohesion within the army, to the extent that there was armed fighting between contending military units during the early 1960s. The military government which ruled Argentina between 1966 and 1973 saw the activities of groups such as Montoneros and the ERP. During Héctor Cámporas first months of government, a moderate and left-wing Peronist, approximatively 600 social conflicts, strikes. But Isabel Perón herself was ousted during the March 1976 coup by a military junta, batallón de Inteligencia 601 became infamous during this period. It was a military intelligence service set up in the late 1970s, active in the Dirty War and Operation Condor. Its personnel collected information on and infiltrated guerrilla groups and human rights organisations, the unit also participated in the training of Nicaraguan Contras with US assistance, including from John Negroponte. It started the campaign with no more than 100 men and women of the Marxist ERP guerrilla force and ended with about 300 in the mountains, which the Argentine Army managed to defeat, but at a cost. On 5 January 1975, an Army DHC-6 transport plane was downed near the Monteros mountains, all thirteen on board were killed
5.
Empire of Brazil
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The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay. Its government was a parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pedro I. João VI later returned to Portugal, leaving his eldest son and heir, Pedro, to rule the Kingdom of Brazil as regent. On 7 September 1822, Pedro declared the independence of Brazil and, after waging a war against his fathers kingdom, was acclaimed on 12 October as Pedro I. The new country was huge but sparsely populated and ethnically diverse, the empires bicameral parliament was elected under comparatively democratic methods for the era, as were the provincial and local legislatures. This led to an ideological conflict between Pedro I and a sizable parliamentary faction over the role of the monarch in the government. The unsuccessful Cisplatine War against the neighboring United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1828 led to the secession of the province of Cisplatina. In 1826, despite his role in Brazilian independence, he became the king of Portugal, two years later, she was usurped by Pedro Is younger brother Miguel. Unable to deal with both Brazilian and Portuguese affairs, Pedro I abdicated his Brazilian throne on 7 April 1831, Pedro Is successor in Brazil was his five-year-old son, Pedro II. As the latter was still a minor, a regency was created. The power vacuum resulting from the absence of a monarch as the ultimate arbiter in political disputes led to regional civil wars between local factions. Brazil was victorious in three international conflicts under Pedro IIs rule, and the Empire prevailed in other international disputes. With prosperity and economic development came an influx of European immigration, including Protestants and Jews, slavery, which had initially been widespread, was restricted by successive legislation until its final abolition in 1888. Brazilian visual arts, literature and theater developed during time of progress. Although heavily influenced by European styles that ranged from Neoclassicism to Romanticism, the next in line to the throne was his daughter Isabel, but neither Pedro II nor the ruling classes considered a female monarch acceptable. Lacking any viable heir, the Empires political leaders saw no reason to defend the monarchy, the territory which would come to be known as Brazil was claimed by Portugal on 22 April 1500, when the navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral landed on its coast. Permanent settlement followed in 1532, and for the next 300 years the Portuguese slowly expanded westwards until they had reached all of the borders of modern Brazil. In 1808, the army of French Emperor Napoleon I invaded Portugal, forcing the Portuguese royal family—the House of Braganza and they re-established themselves in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, which became the unofficial seat of the Portuguese Empire
6.
Uruguay
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Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in the southeastern region of South America. It borders Argentina to its west and Brazil to its north and east, with the Río de la Plata to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. Uruguay is home to an estimated 3.42 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the area of its capital and largest city. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometres, Uruguay is geographically the second-smallest nation in South America, only larger in size than Suriname. Uruguay was inhabited by the Charrúa people for approximately 4000 years before the Portuguese established Colonia del Sacramento, one of the oldest European settlements in the region, in 1680. Montevideo was founded as a stronghold by the Spanish in the early 18th century. Uruguay won its independence between 1811 and 1828, following a struggle between Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Brazil. It remained subject to influence and intervention throughout the 19th century. Modern Uruguay is a constitutional republic, with a president who serves as both head of state and head of government. Uruguay is ranked first in Latin America in democracy, peace, lack of corruption, e-government, on a per-capita basis, Uruguay contributes more troops to United Nations peace-keeping missions than any other country. It ranks second in the region on economic freedom, income equality, per-capita income, Uruguay is the third-best country on the continent in terms of HDI, GDP growth, innovation and infrastructure. It is regarded as a country by the UN. Uruguay is also the third-best ranked in the world in e-Participation, Uruguay is an important global exporter of combed wool, rice, soybeans, frozen beef, malt and milk. Nearly 95% of Uruguays electricity comes from energy, mostly hydroelectric facilities. The Economist named Uruguay country of the year in 2013, acknowledging the innovative policy of legalizing the production, sale, the name of the namesake river comes from the Spanish pronunciation of the regional Guarani word for it. There are several interpretations, including bird-river, the name could also refer to a river snail called uruguá that was plentiful in the water. The only documented inhabitants of Uruguay before European colonization of the area were the Charrúa, the Portuguese discovered the region of present-day Uruguay in 1512. The Spanish arrived in present-day Uruguay in 1516, the indigenous peoples fierce resistance to conquest, combined with the absence of gold and silver, limited their settlement in the region during the 16th and 17th centuries
7.
Battle of the Riachuelo
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The Battle of the Riachuelo was a naval battle and a key point in the Paraguayan War. By late 1864, Paraguay had scored a series of victories in the war, on June 11,1865, however, the Paraguayan fleet was a fraction of the size of Brazils, even before the battle. It arrived in Humaitá on the morning of June 9, Paraguayan president Francisco Solano López prepared to attack at Riachuelo the ships supporting allied land troops. Nine ships and seven cannon-carrying barges, totaling 45 guns, plus 22 guns, Paraguay planned to attack before sunrise since most Brazilian troops would leave the steamers in order to sleep on land, leaving thus very few men to guard and handle their fleet. The original plan had been that, under the cover of the night, no confrontation other than the one carried out by the boarding party was planned, and the Paraguayan steamers were only there to provide cover from the inland forces. The Paraguayan fleet left Humaitá on the night of June 10,1865, headed to the port of Corrientes. For this, López sent nine steamers, Tacuarí, Ygureí, Marqués de Olinda, Paraguarí, Salto Guairá, Rio Apa, Yporá, Pirabebé and Yberá, under the command of Captain Meza who was aboard the Tacuarí. However, some two leagues after leaving Humaitá, upon reaching a point known as Nuatá-pytá, the engine of the Yberá broke down, after losing some hours in an attempt to fix it, it was decided to continue with only the remaining 8 steamers. The fleet arrived at Corrientes after sunrise, however, due to a dense fog and this new course of action proved catastrophic. The Paraguayans passed in a parallel to the Brazilian fleet. Upon Captain Mezas order, the fleet opened fire on the docked Brazilian steamers. The land troops hastily, upon realization that they were attacked, boarded their own ships. One of the Paraguayan steamers was hit in the boiler and one of the chatas was damaged as well, once out of range, they turned upstream and anchored the barges, forming a line in a very narrow part of the riverp. This was intended to trap the Brazilian fleet, admiral Barroso noticed the Paraguayan tactic and turned down the stream to go after the Paraguayans. However, the Paraguayans started to fire from the shore into the lead ship, Jequitinhonha ran aground after the turn, becoming an easy prey for the Paraguayans. The Paraguayan admiral left his position and attacked the Brazilian line, Parnaíba remained near Jequitinhonha and was also attacked by three ships that were trying to board it. The Brazilian line was cut in two. Inside Parnaíba a ferocious battle was taking place when the Marquez de Olinda joined the attackers, Barroso, at this time heading upstream, decided to turn the tide of the battle with a desperate measure
8.
Battle of Yatay
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In the Paraguayan war, the Battle of Yatai was fought on August 17,1865 between the troops of the Triple Alliance and the soldiers of Paraguay near Paso de los Libres, Corrientes, Argentina. The Battle of Yatai was the first major battle of the Paraguayan war. Following the decalaration of war by Paraguayan president/dictator Francisco Solano Lopez on Argentina, the primary focus of this invasion plan was the capture of Brazilian possessions, as this would prevent Brazilian expansion, a great concern of President Lopez. The other column would then capture Corrientes, distracting Argentine forces and this plan was later revised so that two-thirds of the assault force would attack Corrientes and later divert southeast and invade Uruguay. In response, an alliance was signed on May 1 among Argentina, Uruguay. Following the successful capture of Corrientes, Argentine Gen. Wenceslao Paunero launched a daring attack – on May 25 – that recaptured the city. However, given the numerical superiority of the enemy, he chose to evacuate the city. Only after having evacuated Corrientes did Paunero learn that the Paraguayans were making progress on the Uruguay River, Argentine President Bartolomé Mitre put Gen. Urquiza, governor of the province of Entre Ríos, in charge of facing the Paraguayan column. Urquiza called on his aid Paunero, who had retreated to Esquina and these forces were joined by a battalion of volunteers from Corrientes, led by Col. Desiderio Sosa, who had participated in the reconquest of Corrientes. Many future heroes of the History of Corrientes Province such as Santiago Baibiene, meanwhile, the naval Battle of Riachuelo took place. During the course of the battle the Imperial Brazilian fleet destroyed the Paraguayan squadron near the city of Corrientes and this loss prevented the Paraguayan column Paraná River from providing support to the forces on the Uruguay River. On May 5, after invading the province of Corrientes. Duarte took the city of Santo Tome Estigarribias forces followed up, the army then crossed the Uruguay River and entered the province of Rio Grande do Sul, Empire of Brazil. They left behind them the column of Duarte, with more than 3,000 soldiers to defend Uruguay, Estigarribia advanced unopposed to the south, taking on São Borja and Itaqui. In the meantime, Estigarribiass column was attacked and partially destroyed on the outskirts of São Borja, some of the Paraguayan forces were stationed in Sao Tome and São Borja while Duarte was heading south. Urquiza ordered Paunero to join him in Concordia, but the leader delayed the completion of Urquizas orders, on June 4 the troops of Urquiza, who refused to fight the Paraguayans on the grounds of being considered allies against Brazil, were disbanded. Uruguayan President Gen. Venancio Flores, fresh from his triumph over the party or blancos. In addition, the Brazilian forces, commanded by Lt. Col. Joaquim Rodrigues Coelho Nelly, at the first meeting Flores was given the Line Cavalry Regiment San Martín, with 450 men, plus the artillery squadron East with 140 men
26,000 soldiers[1]:53
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