Southern Cone Under the British

Paraguay

     Paraguay is another country where there were significant consequences from a British-won rather than a Criollo-won war (in Buenos Aires) in Auchmuty-Whitelocke World (AWW) in 1806-07.  In AWW, Paraguay was the scene of the most persistent battles of the Anglo-Plate War; the Spanish won over the British in Paraguay just like in Bolivia.  The reason for the prolonged battles was because the British and the local Spaniards fought fiercely over access to Paraguay via the Parana River, by far the best link between Paraguay and the outside world.  

     This went on until 1818, when the country was occupied by the British until independence in 1824 as a protectorate for various reasons.  Therefore, at first, there was less of a government of Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia than there was in our world.  In those years, a sometimes-uneasy peace ensued.  Francia then ruled much like in our world until his death in 1840.  During the protectorate years and the early years of independence, the British and then Francia greatly improved the infrastructure of the country, and did much to preserve Guarani identity. 

     Decades later, in 1864, the dictator of Paraguay wanted to flex more political muscle in Paraguay, so that set off the War of the Double Alliance (against Brazil and Britain, the latter controlling present-day Argentina and Uruguay at the time).  In that timeline, the war lasted half as long, with not nearly as many Paraguayan casualties, as our world’s War of the Triple Alliance - the triple alliance being Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina).  For several years after the war, British and Brazilian troops jointly occupied Paraguay, both wanting to annex the country. 

     This way, AWW Paraguay is more prosperous today than the Paraguay of our world (with a per capita income in 1998 of US$3000 instead of US$1500; in 2007, US$3500), though not nearly as much as AWW’s Argentina and Uruguay; it is still by all means a have-not nation.  Paraguay's main export partners in 2006 were Brazil (12.8%), Russia (9.1%), Argentina (9.6%), Chile (7.3%), Germany (6.1%), and Uruguay (6%); its main import partners were the US (22.4%), Brazil (21.7%), Argentina (18.1%), and China (10.2%).  

     Paraguay has attracted relatively very little immigration, compared to Argentina, Uruguay, or Brazil.  Angloparlants (English-speakers) make up less than 1% of Paraguay’s population, and those with possibly some British ancestry number just as many.  Spanish and Guarani are the main languages, with English being secondary.  Ciudad del Este, not far from Iguazu Falls, has attracted Middle Eastern terrorists, owing to its lawless nature; the fact that it is near the border with Argentina and Brazil makes Ciudad del Este a terrorist threat to both Argentina and Brazil.

     The area of Paraguay is 406,752 square kilometres (or 157,048 square miles), the same as in our world.  Its population in 2002 - 5,180,097 - is very slightly smaller than in our world.

     Hugo del Carril (born Piero Bruno Hugo Fontana), a filmmaker responsible for movies such as Las aguas bajan turbias (1952) lived in Paraguay (and not Argentina like in our world).

     A lot of Paraguayans have migrated to Argentina and Uruguay, looking for much better work conditions and wages, as well as to flee its brutal dictatorships.  Many have arrived illegally.  In Argentina, they have settled mainly in Buenos Aires/Plate Province, the Littoral, and in Argentine provinces along the Argentine-Paraguayan border; the Paraguayans there number about 650,000.  Paraguayans in Uruguay number about 45,000 and live mostly in the Montevideo area, with some in the Uruguay River valley.

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