 Colonization also meant that Jesuit missionaries were sent to civilize the native population who sometimes gained a classical education along the way. After the expulsion of the missionaries in 1767, the settlements quietly withered as the indigenous people left or were employed by different masters. Afterwards, Paraguay declared independence in 1811--which Spain did not oppose. Paraguay went through a period where much of the rule was oppressive. In 1864 the catastrophic War of the Triple Alliance against Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil began. In 1870 the war ended with Paraguay losing over 150,000 sq km (58,500 sq mi) of territory and almost a quarter of its population. At the turn of the century, cross-border tensions arose after Bolivia occupied disputed parts of the Chaco, the large dry plains that make up nearly 60% of Paraguay's area. The prospect of vast deposits of oil in the region (which proved non-existent) catapulted the two countries into war in 1932. Afterward a treaty awarded Paraguay three-quarters of the territory. A military coup in 1954 saw General Alfredo Stroessner installed as president. Stroessner was overthrown in 1989 and replaced by another brasshat, General Andres Rodriguez. Despite considerable skepticism about his intentions--Rodriguez was Stroessner's former right-hand man--the country's perennial state of emergency was cancelled, censorship was eliminated, opposition parties were legalized, and political prisoners released. In May 1998, the Colorado Party regained power with the election of President Raul Cubas. It held power under considerable criticism of corruption for 60 years. President Fernando Armindo Lugo Mendez, of the Liberal Party, took office in 2008. Climate & Land - Culture |