The Rise and Fall of the Paraguayan Republic, 1800-1870

Paraguay plays a very small role in the modern world, but for part of the nineteenth century it was a significant regional force. Between 1800 and 1865 it changed from an imperial backwater into a dynamic, dictator-led, financially sound nation. Then came the terrible War of the Triple Alliance, and by 1870 Paraguay had virtually been destroyed. John Hoyt Williams re-creates the era's people, places, and events in rich detail and a vigorous style, but this is much more than a mere narrative. His archival research in Paraguay and several other countries enables him to offer new facts and interpretations, correct a number of misapprehensions, and explode a few myths. He also provides the clearest, most objective portraits available of the three extraordinary men who ruled Paraguay during this time: Dr. Jos Gaspar de Francia, "El Supremo"; Carlos Antonio L pez, "the Corpulent Despot"; and L pez's flamboyant son Francisco Solano L pez. Discussions of social, economic, and cultural conditions round out a masterly account of a remarkable historical period.

Author: John Hoyt Williams
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Published: 08/01/1979
Pages: 296
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.97lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.67d
ISBN: 9780292770171

About the Author
John Hoyt Williams (1940-2003) was Professor of History at Indiana State University.