Paraguay 

Paraguay, though one of the most isolated republics of South America, is one of the oldest. A hundred years before the "Mayflower" sailed from old Plymouth there was a permanent settlement of Spaniards near the present capital. The country has 98,000 square miles of territory, but a population of only 800,000. Paraguay may almost be called an Indian republic, for the traveler hears nothing but the soft Guarani language spoken all over the country. It is in this republic that the yerba máté grows. That is the chief article of commerce, for millions of South Americans drink this tea. Thousands of tons of the best oranges are grown, and its orange groves are world famous.  

The old capital, founded in 1537, was built without regularity of plan, but the present city is most symmetrical. Being an inland republic, its nearest point a thousand miles from the coast, it has been held in undisputed possession. 

Here war waged between 1862 and 1870 what history describes as the most annihilating war since Carthage fell. The little republic, standing out for five and a half years against five other republics, fought with true Indian bravery and recklessness, until for every man in the country there could be numbered nine women (some authorities say eleven); and this notwithstanding the fact that the women in thousands carried arms and fought side by side with the men.  

Travelers agree in affirming that of all South Americans the Paraguayans are the most mild-mannered and lethargic; yet when these people are once aroused they fight with tigerish pertinacity. The pages of history may be searched in vain for examples of warfare waged at such odds; but the result is invariably the same, the weaker nation, whether right or wrong, goes under. Although the national mottoes vary with the different flags, yet the Chilean is the most universally followed in South America, as elsewhere: "_Por la razon ó la fuerza_" (By right or by might). The Paraguayans contended heroically for what they considered their rights, and such bloody battles were fought that at Curupaitá alone 5,000 dead and dying were left on the field. 

In this disastrous war, Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory. It stagnated economically for the next half century. In the Chaco War of 1932-35, large, economically important areas were won from Bolivia. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner was overthrown in 1989, and, despite a marked increase in political infighting in recent years, relatively free and regular presidential elections have been held since then.