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, on southern continent heartbreaking events unfolded.

Story Latin America has a lot dark stories, one of the most terrible and bloody is murder whole country, "Hearts 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 August 15, 1537 is generally considered to be the date Asuncion was founded by the Spanish colonists. 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 great river”- meaning the Parana River) 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 reached high degree 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 (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 Active participation young predators are English, 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 businesses. In addition, the country has amazing phenomena(the first half of the 19th century was in the yard!), 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, 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 seven years 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 paved 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 to Uruguay diplomatic mission and demanded compensation for 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 broke diplomatic relations with Brazil, and announced that the intervention of the Brazilians and the occupation of Uruguay would be an imbalance 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 civil uprising). 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. Global 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 parts of the coalition, they poured different kind volunteers, 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 banking houses Baring brothers and N. M. Rothschild and sons.

But we had to fight with the armed people. At the initial stage 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 steamers 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 ground forces they took him. 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"Pair". 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.

Most powerful battery Fortress Umaita was a casemate battery "Londres" ("London"), which was armed with sixteen 32-pound 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 they expected to overcome them after their battleships rammed the pontoons and those, sinking to the bottom, would drag these chains with them.

The breakthrough was scheduled for February 19, 1868. The main problem there was a 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 were ready for battle: they made a very loud noise steam engines Brazilians, and the noise over the river carries 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 get 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. The truth remained unknown fate monitor "Alagoas", but on all other ships not a single sailor died.

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 short, the dead and wounded rowers were out of action 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 began something that once again proves that many tragic events are also the funniest. 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 of 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- wheeled frigate "Paraguari", which was standing 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 technical point view it was also pretty 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 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. She turned physical effort eight sailors who manually twisted the turret drive handle, and who could turn it 180 degrees in 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, selva, partisan detachments. During the year went 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.

Paraguayan industry was liquidated, most of 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 market of the country was open to English goods, and the new government took out a £1 million foreign loan 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 -

There are wars that are called armed conflicts or antiterrorist operations. The two world wars were called by the late Kurt Vonnegut "civilization's failed attempts to commit suicide," and in the years cold war almost every Soviet family acquired a refrigerator. As for the Great Paraguayan War of 1864-1870, in discussions they prefer to call it not a war, but a massacre. Or massacre. Having become the apotheosis of human cruelty, this slaughter-massacre forever changed the fate of the countries drawn into it and the peoples brotherly in many respects. South America. The lesson the world has learned is this: do not attack a country whose population is ten times larger. Especially for two or three such countries at once. At the same time, Napoleons and Pyrrhas continued to be born and make mistakes at all latitudes in all the times that followed the nightmare of Paraguay.

The name of the man with Napoleonic dreams was Francisco Solano Lopez, he inherited the right to wage war. The general from childhood, the popularly beloved president and de facto owner of the country of Paraguay, became the main person in the country after the death of his father in 1862.

At that time, a civil war was raging in the United States, France fought with Mexico and finished off Vietnam, something brave was missing in the south of the New World, where the borders between the young powers were not precise, which aroused the appetite of the rulers, who are always short of everything. And so, Paraguay, which does not have access to the sea, began to build and equip its own fleet, at the same time ordering expensive armored ships in Europe.

After 8 years, Marshal-President Francisco Lopez will sign the death warrants for his sisters and mother, but will not live to see their execution. On February 28, 1870, Lopez was mortally wounded, overcoming the Akidaban River with a sword and his faithful detachment of two hundred fighters, trying to escape from the advancing Brazilian soldiers. Before his death, the 43-year-old dictator shouted "I am dying for my country." The ring of "omnipotence" with the inscription "Win or Die" was removed from the corpse's finger. forced to bury Lopez with bare hands.

This scene was the final in Paraguay's war against the Triple Alliance, which killed 60% of Paraguay's population, including 90% of men, by starvation, disease, chaos and bullets. Since then, Paraguay has ceased to earn on the mat.

In the middle of the century before last, Brazil was a monarchy with an emperor on the throne, relying on a small elite, at the same time - the largest and most powerful country on the continent. Argentina was urged on by the oligarchy, power and lands were divided among themselves by large landowners. And Paraguay, the most land-dwelling of the countries in the region, fond of isolationism and all literate, followed the model of an openly dictatorial regime. A small Uruguaychik trembled between Argentina and Brazil, inside which the “whites” and “Colorados” were constantly fighting for power, and the latter were supported by the northern super-neighbor.

Young and ambitious to the point of inadequacy, hereditary dictator Francisco Lopez, the rhyme "Paraguay - Uruguay" seemed promising in terms of going to the ocean. Therefore, when Brazil threatened Uruguay with intervention in 1864, Lopez, carried away by militarism, put forward an ultimatum to the Brazilians, with which they “wiped themselves off” and entered Uruguay. For this, the Paraguayans detained a Brazilian warship in the waters of the Paraguay River, and a month later they attacked Brazil from the north, attacking the province of Mato Grosso with three thousand soldiers. In total, Lopez and his military leaders drafted 64 thousand men into the army that year, and her total strength exceeded one hundred thousand. At this time, in the south, the Brazilians successfully took control of Uruguay and "selected" the president they needed there, Venancio Flores.

In early 1865, Lopez had the idea to ask Argentina for permission to let Paraguayan troops into its territory in order to help the Uruguayan opposition stop the Brazilians. When Argentina refused, Lopez declared war on her too, soon Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay became the Tripartite Alliance, and some geopoliticians liked the idea of ​​​​eliminating Paraguay as a state.

Further, the tragedy of the war was played in three acts. In other words, it had three phases. If suddenly there was an adequate person at the helm of Paraguay, he would capitulate, without waiting for marauders in the capital and landscapes littered with the dead.

But at the beginning of the first act of the massacre, it seemed that more than 50 thousand people ready to go into battle for Paraguay were cooler than 26 thousand soldiers of the enemy alliance. The Paraguayan militarists invaded their neighbors, captured something and rejoiced, got involved in several battles with the Argentines and Brazilians, who lost.

In the second phase, from 1866 to 1868, the war was fought on the territory of Paraguay. Two years could be reduced to two months, if the forces of the alliance had a desire to deliver one decisive blow and divide Paraguay as we would like. But the alliance was in no hurry, because neither the soldiers nor the generals wanted to shed blood. All the inevitable battles with the Paraguayans, except for one, were won by the interventionists. All of them took place on the banks of the rivers, where the army forts stood.

In the final act, the Brazilians took Asuncion and the war became guerrilla, smoldering until the death of the national hero Francisco Lopez, as if it were his dream.

The Brazilians sought to preserve their personnel, took care of the soldiers, and the soldiers of Paraguay, under the command of amateurs, fought to the last. As a result, the alliance lost 71 thousand people, and Paraguay - more than 300 thousand (some say that a million with something). Most losses cannot be called deaths of the brave. This is death from cholera and other diseases, from exhaustion or overheating, from bullets or even arrows of their own comrades in arms. It was not uncommon for Paraguayan officers to send recruits into battle unarmed. Say, take from the killed comrades. Indians with knives could be sent against the cavalry, and at the end of the war, when there were almost no men of military age in Paraguay, they began, as usual, to call on the front lines of children. Mostly hungry and scared.

The fact that the war lasted so long and claimed so many lives is a consequence of the inability of Paraguayan commanders and propagandists to soberly see reality and admit defeat. Losing one battle after another, they preferred to die rather than surrender. Because even for talking about surrendering, they killed their own “political officers”.

When Paraguay drafted children from 9 to 15 years old, armed with spears and fake guns, and sent the boys to the front lines, adult Brazilian soldiers refused to kill them, but their commanders knew one thing: to win means to destroy the entire enemy army, even the “funny” one. and paranoid.

You might think that the reason for the Great Paraguayan massacre become Napoleonic plans tyrant with unlimited power. But the main factors were the political differences between the participants in the massacres, the fuzzy borders between states and the lack of sound diplomacy.

After the war, Paraguay was left on the world map, distributing large pieces of territory to the winners - Argentina and Brazil. Thirty thousand soldiers of the alliance, having occupied the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion, plundered 100% of the buildings in the once proud city, including the embassies of European empires. The mental health of the Paraguayan people (dying but not surrendering) was undermined for a long time.

It seemed to the surviving Paraguayans that the country had received a lifelong right to blame the war of the 1860s for all failures. True, she chose - not without a coup - a new president, this time not a dictator. For another seven decades, Paraguay paid, crying, indemnity to the winners. The country's strange introduction to and Latin American fascists came less than a century later, but that's another story.

: So who started the hostilities? I read that on November 12, 1864, Paraguay captured a Brazilian warship, and on November 13, Paraguay declared war on Brazil, which started the war (yes, to give Paraguay much-needed access to the sea). It's right?

Well, firstly, it would be interesting to know who presented you with such, let's say, a somewhat cartoonish version of the conflict (which, by the way, can be safely put on a par with the South American War of Independence, Cuban revolution etc.). I can also add that personally, from under those South American realities of 150 years ago, no, no, and, among others, such seemingly distant alignments as "Russia-Ukraine-Belarus-2014" appear.

In order not to spread my mind too much on the tree, I will try to state my vision of that story as concisely as possible. Well, if suddenly "mine" (i.e. comrades Juan Bautista Alberdi, José María Rosa, León Pomer, Eduardo Galeano, Felipe Pigna, Pelham Horton Box, etc.) version will not be to your taste (if you, for example, a devout liberal and Anglophile), then writings of the opposite direction - like dirt (Mariano Molas, Domingo Sarmiento, Ramón Cárcano, Francisco Doratioto, etc.).

In general, here, of course, we should start with a map - although, unfortunately, I have not yet seen maps of real economic interests and cash flows. And although from physical map it is not clear why it was suddenly not normal from Rio de Janeiro trade route in Mato Grosso at least, one medical fact from it follows quite clearly - the lack of direct access to the sea in Paraguay. And personally, I do not yet know of any more or less developed country (with the exception of safe deposit boxes with the inscriptions "Switzerland", "Luxembourg" and "Liechtenstein") without such a conditio sine qua non.

Although Paraguay did not have direct access to maritime trade, it was a "curve" - ​​along the river to Montevideo. Moreover, the degree of its "curvature" depended on who was sitting on the banks of this river (primarily we are talking about Uruguay and the "federalist" at that time Argentine provinces of Corrientes and Entre Rios): if conditional "friends" - it is more or less possible to breathe, if opponents - drain the water. "Friends" are, roughly speaking, the rivals of the Buenos Aires pro-English comprador port bourgeoisie, which crushes the "separatists" and dreams of Argentina at least within the borders of the former Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata.

At the Paraguayan War of 1864-1870. there were a lot of reasons and causes: immediate, local, chronic, global, etc. Some of them can be distinguished:

1) "World economic crisis", big problems in Great Britain caused by a disruption in the supply of cotton (oil of that time) from the USA as a result of the Civil War. The birth of imperialism (in 1876, according to Lenin), one of the first victims of which, in fact, Paraguay became (if India - directly through English bayonets, then Paraguay - with strangers' narrow-minded hands for English loans and "gifts"). In general, Great Britain rushed frantically to look for cotton in all nooks and crannies of the globe. By the way, if in 1862 the colonial territories accounted for 29.4% of the planet's territory, by 1912 this year there will be 62.3% of them, and then - the well-known redistribution of the loot, "ending" with October and Versailles.

2) The interests of the great powers: first of all, Great Britain - the expansion of markets aka "freedom of trade". "free markets", etc., cheap raw materials, incl. high-quality Paraguayan cotton (not so much in stock at the moment as in the future); growing USA; well, France (here more because of the status and the desire to spoil the British).

3) The "bad example" of Paraguay by H. G. Francia and Lopez for South America and not only for it (one might say, the first socialist state in history, a kind of unscientific state-farm socialism of the early 19th century).

4) The Brazilian slave trade empire with still greedy encroachments, skillfully fueled and financed by Great Britain, both on the Eastern Paraguayan territories and on Sisplatina ( former province United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarve, since 1828 - like an independent Uruguay). Yet again, eastern lands Paraguay as the only land route at that time to the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso from Rio de Janeiro.

5) Argentina (Argentine Confederation): "gathering lands" by the port bourgeoisie built into the world market, the struggle of Buenos Aires with the rebellious provinces that rub shoulders with Paraguay as a counterweight to Buenos Aires (on and Paraguay, of course, is also neatly friends with them, not to be devoured by Argentina). The meaning is simple: if we crush Paraguay, it will be easier to crush our "oppositionists". Here is the role of Justo José de Urquis, whom Paraguay hoped for, incl. during the attack by the Brazilians of Paysandu, but with whom the Brazilians concluded an extremely favorable deal for him at the right time. Eduardo Galeano: "Paraguay was squeezed between Argentina and Brazil, which could well strangle it, squeezing the throat of its rivers and imposing any unbearable duty on the transit of its goods. This is exactly what Rivadavia and Rosas did. On the other hand, the desire to consolidate the power of the oligarchy in these states caused an urgent need to end the dangerous neighborhood with a country that managed to provide for itself and did not want to kneel before British merchants.

6) One of the reasons for the (subjective) conflict, some call excessive self-confidence, lack of diplomacy, youth and inexperience of the then Paraguayan dictator Francisco Solano López ("dictators" in Paraguay looked more like Lukashenka than Pinochet).

Actually, the war could have started much earlier (various aggressive gestures by Great Britain, Brazil, the USA, etc. in the pre-war decades). Understanding this, Paraguay, even under Carlos Antonio Lopez, began to prepare for it (recruit sets, ordering warships in Europe, which did not have time to approach, which largely determined the defeat of Paraguay - see the battle of Riachuelo, loss of control over the river).

Some major events of the beginning of the war in dotted lines:

1) In 1862, Brazil changes political regime to a more liberal (in the sense of "free trade", that is, "we lay down even more tightly under Great Britain") and more aggressive towards Paraguay and Uruguay (Paraguay's key ally in the region and a kind of guarantor of its economic innocence, provided that the so-called party is in power). n. "whites").

2) Both Brazil and Buenos Aires actively contribute to the putsch of Venancio Flores (the "colored" party) (1863) and his advance to the capital.

3) On August 30, 1864, Paraguay protests that Brazil has violated the terms of the treaty of December 25, 1850, and that Paraguay will consider as casus belli the military occupation of its ally Uruguay, also noting that such actions will upset the balance of power in the region.

4) In October 1864, the Brazilians invade Uruguay under a slightly less than far-fetched pretext, ally with Flores, in January 1865 Flores takes Paysanda, in February enters Montevideo. Buenos Aires also supports the "colored", in general, the "white" party is eventually thrown off.

5) Around November 10, Francisco Solano Lopez learns about the occupation of Uruguay by the Brazilians, orders to capture the Brazilian merchant ship"Marquês de Olinda" with the Governor of Mato Grosso on board. On November 12, the ship is captured, which actually becomes the official date for the start of the war.

6) However, the problem remains: in order to grapple with the Brazilians, Paraguay needs to pass through the Argentine province of Corrientes. Paraguay asks to let its troops through, Buenos Aires refuses under the pretext of its neutrality (while not forgetting, however, to provide military support to Venancio Flores in Uruguay). Paraguay has no choice but to declare war on Argentina (March 1865). In May 1865, Brazil, Argentina and the “blossomed” Uruguay conclude a Triple Alliance Treaty (Tratado de la Triple Alianza) between themselves and joyfully go to wet Paraguay (although some historians argue that the Triple Alliance was actually formed at least in August 1864 ).

Eduardo Galeano: "Venancio Flores invaded Uruguay, supported by both strong neighbors, and after the massacre in Paysandu created his own government in Montevideo, which began to act at the behest of Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. […] Before that, the President of Paraguay, Solano Lopez threatened to start a war if an invasion of Uruguay was organized. He knew well that in this case, iron pincers would close at the throat of his country, driven into a corner by geography and enemies."

war of conquest by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay against Paraguay in 1864-70. Direct P.'s cause It was Brazil's intervention in Uruguay, under the pretext of compelling Uruguay to pay compensation for the damage it had caused. subjects during the beginning in the middle. 50s 19th century civil wars in Uruguay. In 1864 Uruguay turned to Paraguay for help. The latter, being interested in preserving the state. sovereignty of the countries of La Plata and access to the sea, supported by Uruguay. The government of Paraguay initially tried to resolve the Brazilian-Uruguayan conflict peacefully. However, Brazil was not interested in this. Brazil and Argentina, which later opposed Paraguay, sought to draw Paraguay into the war, hoping to overthrow the government of F. S. Lopez, who actively defended the sovereignty of Paraguay, and tear away part of the Paraguayan territory. Britain, France, and the United States played a major role in unleashing the war between these countries and Paraguay, seeking to open access to Paraguay for their capital. Dec. 1864 Lopez sent troops to Braz. prov. Mato Grosso. Soon an anti-Paraguayan military was created. union of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. The latter changed foreign policy. course after its occupation by Brazil. Until May 1866, Paraguayan troops fought on the territory. Brazil and Argentina. In May 1866, military actions were transferred to the territory. Paraguay. After the defeat of the Paraguayan troops at Umaita (July 1868), Pikisiri (Dec. 1868), the surrender of Asunción (January 1869) and the battle of Cerro Cora (March 1870), Paraguay was occupied by the allied troops, 4/5 of its population was exterminated. The defeat of Paraguay was caused by the number. and tech. the preponderance of the allies who received the finance. and military help from England, and accelerated by a conspiracy of Paraguayan reactionaries against the Lopez government.

Contemporaries of events - democratic. figures: E. Reclus (France), X. B. Alberdi (Argentina), Castru Alvis (Brazil), N. Talavera (Paraguay) considered the war on the part of Paraguay to be a just war, since it was directed against an aggressive policy ruling circles Argentina and Brazil. close point views are shared by C. R. Pereira (Mexico), Gil Aguinaga, E. X. Caballero, A. Capuro (Paraguay), and others. historian P. Box believes that the war could have been avoided if the government of Lopez had refused to defend the independence of Uruguay. Historians of Argentina (R. X. Carcano, A. Rebaudi, G. F. Decoud), Brazil (J. Ribeiro, R. Pombu), England (G. Thompson, W. Cabel), USA (G. Peterson, G. Hering, G. L. Williams, K. Jones, and others), as well as the Paraguayan reactions. emigrants (S. Baes), presenting the opponents of Paraguay as "carriers of civilization", write that Paraguay allegedly needed to be freed from the "despot" and "persecutor of foreigners" Lopez, who provoked a war in order to become the emperor of La Plata and thereby led the country to disaster. Some historians, recognizing the invaders. the nature of Brazil's politics, eg. F. Rhine (USA), admitting a certain progressiveness of households. development of Paraguay on the eve of the war (P. Schmitt, Germany), they also see the root of evil in the personality of F. S. Lopez.

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