What do you know about Paraguay and why is today a special one for that country?
One of the many reasons that I love foreign travel is that, having visited a country, I am more likely to pay attention to any news coming out of that nation. I only spent a short time in Paraguay but it was sufficient for me to pick up that today is a special one for its citizens.
The six-year War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870), in which Paraguay confronted the combined forces of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, had a huge impact on this landlocked nation. As many as two-thirds of the entire population of Paraguay are reckoned to have perished during the conflict, including around 90% of its men. Brazil and Argentina would go on to annex enormous swaths of Paraguayan territory.
Paraguay is now marking the 150th anniversary of the end of the conflict with book launches, conferences and concerts and official commemoration ceremonies today in Asunción, Paraguay’s capital.
You can read more about the war here and more about the anniversary commemorations here.