Военное обозрение By Top War
What was Britain’s real role in the Paraguayan War?
History International relations in South America are replete with countless border disputes, border conflicts and wars. Political elites often tried, according to the experience of Europe, to muffle internal problems by fighting an external enemy. This was facilitated by the unsettled borders and the presence of valuable minerals in the border zones, which became the object of violent confrontation (as was the case, for example, during the Saltpeter War of 1879–1884, which Peru waged against Bolivia and Chile).
The Latin American wars of the 1864th century are little known because they took place “on the outskirts of civilization,” although in scale they are comparable to the wars of European countries. Thus, the Paraguayan War of 1870–1822. (Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina vs. Paraguay) destroyed almost the entire adult population of Paraguay, and the total losses of all warring countries amounted to more than a million people. Conflicts were very costly: in 1860–77. military spending accounted for about 2% of the total budget of all Latin American countries [XNUMX].
In the material “Until the last Paraguayan”: the Paraguayan war and its consequences” the author has already tried to understand the origins and causes of the Paraguayan War, but some questions remained unsolved. In particular, we are talking about Great Britain’s involvement in the beginning of the Paraguayan War and its role in this conflict.
During the Soviet period, it was customary to clearly name Brazil and Argentina, as well as Great Britain and “world imperialism” as the culprits of the war, and to present poor little Paraguay as an innocent victim. Here, for example, is what the Great Soviet Encyclopedia says:
“The Paraguayan War was a war of conquest by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay against Paraguay in 1864–1870. The outbreak of the war, which had long been prepared by the slave owners of Brazil and the bourgeois-landowner elite of Argentina, was facilitated by Great Britain, France and the United States, which sought to open unhindered access for their capital to Paraguay. The Paraguayan War was preceded by the intervention of Brazil and Argentina in Uruguay and the latter’s appeal to Paraguay for help. Paraguay, fearing isolation from the Atlantic coast if Brazil seized the territory of Uruguay, tried to peacefully resolve the Brazilian-Uruguayan conflict, but in November 1864 it was involved in war” [4].
In modern Russian journalism, the Paraguayan War is also perceived ambiguously.
One of the most popular points of view is that the regime of France and the Lopezes created a successful economy (it is often called socialist) and was not dependent on its neighbors, and this war was the genocide of a small people who dared to challenge Great Britain and “world imperialism” and capitalism…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (en.topwar.ru)
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