Paraguayan Isolation under Dr. Francia: A Re-evaluation

Abstract

T HE ISOLATION of Paraguay during the dictatorship of Doctor of Theology Jose Gaspar de Francia is one of the truisms of Latin political history. In the years 1814 to 1840, while El Supremo held power, he is supposed to have sealed Paraguay off from all influences, making it a hermit state. The mere mention of the Dictator and his American China conjures up visions of bayonet-studded borders and scores of merchant ships rotting at the Asunci6n wharves. This traditional view, like many others, needs revision. Drawing upon the copious documentation in tfhe archives of Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil and Spain, the author will briefly examine what contacts there were between Francia's Paraguay and the outside.' Isolation is one of the few constants of Paraguayan history. Geography has made Paraguay an isolated region far from the sea. To the west lies the almost impenetrable Chaco, described in the eighteenth century as hell for the white man but Palestine for the savages.2 Another impressive barrier is the Mato Grosso, north of Paraguay, which impeded intercourse with Brazil. To the east lay a vast wilderness, largely unpopulated save by nomadic tribes. Only in the south was there any significant contact between Paraguay and the outside world, along the Paraguay-Parana river system in the southwest and in Misiones to the southeast. The latter area was in violent contention until the great War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870). The