Why Solano fought so bitterly? I read about this war before but still can not understand reasons for it. There was no other wars like that on the continent.
Once he started it was all or nothing (but mainly defense after the Paraguayan advance failed). It’s one of the best examples of total war, which in hindsight never seems to make much sense.
FInally seeing some non-Brazilian take on this war. I've seen some Brazilian educators take on this and they never mentioned the Brazilian supported coup in Uruguay, rather, they implied Solano was the one to support a coup there. Most of what they say here is that the war started because of some Brazilian ship incident with Uruguay. There's also the conspiracy theory that Britain was conspiring with Paraguay to conquer Brazil, funny that there's also its counterpart of Britain conspiring with Brazil to conquer Paraguay.
The Brazilian supported coup in Uruguay makes me lay the blame more on Brazil's side. It's sad cause I'm a big Pedro II (Brazilian Emperor of the time) fan.
Hard to judge Solano's no (total) surrender attitude, but it's really disconcerting, as is the conscription of children. It's also hard to judge the child murdering on Brazil's side without knowing the exact context and happenings of the battle, but it's also perturbing.
Great article though. I had the impression you were kinda parcial to Solano, but that might be the Brazilian in me talking xD
Thanks for the elaborated comment Robson! It's a tough war to write about because there are so many sides who, like you said, claim different things. I did consult some Portuguese sources as well for the Brazilian perspective, it does seem that without Brazil the war would've been less "total" perhaps, just because of the sheer manpower of the Brazilian army. Argentina's and Uruguay's armies were a lot smaller. In Argentina there are many theories that the British were behind the war, but none of that is proven, and is more linked to left-wing academics who want to apply a post-colonial culprit to the outcome of the war. This is a good overview of the myth that "Britain was behind the war":
I do think the start of the conflict is mainly on Paraguay's side due to the attack of the ships in Mato Grosso, even though Brazil supported the coup in Uruguay. The fatal flaw was crossing Argentina's territory and dragging them into the conflict. However I think at the time Solano López couldn't have predicted that it would be such a total war, nor could the Triple Alliance have predicted that Paraguay would be almost impossible to defeat.
It's one of the most interesting wars in history in my opinion, that we learn almost nothing about in Europe.
Gotta review the matter of the ship(s) incident then. It was talked about in such an ambiguous and shallow way by teachers/books that I couldn't help thinking it was propaganda back then. Long years since I last heard of it though.
Thank you sir! Yeah it is insane how crushing this whole thing was, really a war fought up until the last man standing. Solano López is a total hero in Paraguay, outside of the country he is blamed for what happened. Very interesting also that the war is called differently depending on the country: The Great War, Paraguay War or the War of the Triple Alliance.
Why Solano fought so bitterly? I read about this war before but still can not understand reasons for it. There was no other wars like that on the continent.
Once he started it was all or nothing (but mainly defense after the Paraguayan advance failed). It’s one of the best examples of total war, which in hindsight never seems to make much sense.
FInally seeing some non-Brazilian take on this war. I've seen some Brazilian educators take on this and they never mentioned the Brazilian supported coup in Uruguay, rather, they implied Solano was the one to support a coup there. Most of what they say here is that the war started because of some Brazilian ship incident with Uruguay. There's also the conspiracy theory that Britain was conspiring with Paraguay to conquer Brazil, funny that there's also its counterpart of Britain conspiring with Brazil to conquer Paraguay.
The Brazilian supported coup in Uruguay makes me lay the blame more on Brazil's side. It's sad cause I'm a big Pedro II (Brazilian Emperor of the time) fan.
Hard to judge Solano's no (total) surrender attitude, but it's really disconcerting, as is the conscription of children. It's also hard to judge the child murdering on Brazil's side without knowing the exact context and happenings of the battle, but it's also perturbing.
Great article though. I had the impression you were kinda parcial to Solano, but that might be the Brazilian in me talking xD
Thanks for the elaborated comment Robson! It's a tough war to write about because there are so many sides who, like you said, claim different things. I did consult some Portuguese sources as well for the Brazilian perspective, it does seem that without Brazil the war would've been less "total" perhaps, just because of the sheer manpower of the Brazilian army. Argentina's and Uruguay's armies were a lot smaller. In Argentina there are many theories that the British were behind the war, but none of that is proven, and is more linked to left-wing academics who want to apply a post-colonial culprit to the outcome of the war. This is a good overview of the myth that "Britain was behind the war":
https://www.perfil.com/noticias/elobservador/el-mito-de-londres-como-cuarto-aliado-de-la-guerra-del-paraguay.phtml
I do think the start of the conflict is mainly on Paraguay's side due to the attack of the ships in Mato Grosso, even though Brazil supported the coup in Uruguay. The fatal flaw was crossing Argentina's territory and dragging them into the conflict. However I think at the time Solano López couldn't have predicted that it would be such a total war, nor could the Triple Alliance have predicted that Paraguay would be almost impossible to defeat.
It's one of the most interesting wars in history in my opinion, that we learn almost nothing about in Europe.
Gotta review the matter of the ship(s) incident then. It was talked about in such an ambiguous and shallow way by teachers/books that I couldn't help thinking it was propaganda back then. Long years since I last heard of it though.
Great read this morning. Thanks for the research into that one Mara, quality post.
Those Paraguayan men returning back home after the war, actual kings.
Thank you sir! Yeah it is insane how crushing this whole thing was, really a war fought up until the last man standing. Solano López is a total hero in Paraguay, outside of the country he is blamed for what happened. Very interesting also that the war is called differently depending on the country: The Great War, Paraguay War or the War of the Triple Alliance.