Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 1975 The Paraguayan War and the Platine Balance of Power Robert H. Schaefer Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Latin American History Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Schaefer, Robert H., "The Paraguayan War and the Platine Balance of Power" (1975). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 2262. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.2259 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Robert H. Schaefer for the Master of Arts in .History presented August 6, 1975. • Title: The .Paraguayan War and the Platine Balance of Power. APPROVED BY MEMBERS OF THE THESIS COMMITTEE: Fredrick~M. Nunn, Chairman ~J'J;sse L. Gilmore . \ Utilizing both primary an~ secondary literature, this study attempts to illustrate that the origins of one of Latin America's most significant wars, the Paraguayan War (1864-70), are understandable only when viewed within the context of the / hi~torical development of the Rio de la Plata as a region. Adopting the fram.ework provided by Robert N. Burr in his pioneering work on the South American con ti.n~ti.tal balance of power system, By Reason or. Force: Chile and the I~lanci~A of P?wer in South Amer~ca, 1830-1905 (Berkely, 1965), thio thesis examines one particular outgrowth of the historical I ·1 process in the Rio de la Plata: The development of a regional 2 balance of power system in the area~ It also illustrates that such systems of international power politics are not necessari- ly promotive of ~tability and equanimity in the relations between nations: that balance of power systems are not static but constantly changing, and that such changes are conducive to friction, intrigue, and ~ar. By tracing the evolution of a regional balance of power / system in the Rio de la Plata and how the n·ations of the area interrelated to one another within the context of that system, -we can hopefully overcome the shortcomings of a whole host of simple explanations which advance the hypothesis that the Paraguayan War was the result of the personal aberrations and J ambitions of a single man--Paraguayan dictator Francisco / Solano Lopez. Rather, the Paraguayan War was the product of complex causes, themselves outgrowths of historical pro- / cesses in the Rio de la ¥lata. These predisposing causes to war, which included protracted boundary disputes, nationalism, and the oftentimes conflicting economic aspirations of the / nations of the Rio de la Plata, interacted with the function- ings and ma~hinations of a regional balance of power system ' to create an extremely tense international situation by the middle of the nineteenth century. The above seems a more meaningful framework from which to view the origins of the Paraguayan War and the history of / international relations in the Rio de la Plata (and might prove fruitful in studying the origins of other South Ameri- can wars). The nations of the area interrelated with one 3 another within the co~text of a Platine balance of power system, each intent u.pon maintaining its· sovereignty and advancing its national interests. Within such systems of power politics group members share the c~nviction that any significant change in their relative power positions threa- tens their national interests, and they react to such changes ) by striving to maintain or ~ecreate a favorable power struc­ ture. When the conventional techniques of diplomacy fail to ~ ensure a favorable equilibrium, that is, when the dynamics of change within the structure threaten its maintenance and the national interests of group membe~s, those nations often take recourse to war as an instrument for re-establishing or creating a favorable power equilibrium. The dynamics of change in the La Plata Basin, where / . Francisco Solano Lopez had fashioned a "potential Prussia in South America,-" challenged th~ Platine equilibrium. The other nations in the regional balance of power system res- ponded by waging war upon the Paraguayan dictator because, in the phraseology of the Treaty of the Triple Alliance, "the peace, safety, and well-being of their respective nations is impossible while the present Government of Para- guay ex:l.sts." , .... .w,. ... ! --- & ----·---- ·-------- •• THE PARAGUAYAN WAR AND THE PLATINE BALANCE OF POWER by· ·ROBERT H. SCHAEFER A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the reRuire~ents for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in HISTORY ~ortland State University 1975. TO THE OFFICE OF GRADUATE STUDIES: The members of th~ Committee approve the thesis of Robert H. Schaefer presented August 6, 1975. FredTick M. Nunn, Chairman ~see L. Gilmore APPROVED: Jesse L. Gilmore, Head, Department of History ~ /) David T. C~ark, Dean of Graduate Studies· and Research August 15, 1975 -~ --· --- -----------6---6- ---- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In memory of my mother~ her encou~agement and in­ spiration. 7ABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE I ·i iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . • • • • • . ~ . CHAPTER 1 I INTRODUCTION AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK •• II THE ORIGINS OF INTERNATIONAL RIVALRY. IN THE LA PLATA BASIN • • • • • • • • • • 10 III PARAGUAY AND THE PLATINE .BALANCE OF POWER • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 25 38 IV URUGUAY: POWDER KEG OF LA PLATA • • • • 63 v CONCLUSION • • • • • • • • It • • • • • • 71 NOTES • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • • • • • • • • • • • 79 I . i I j _,) CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK The Paraguayan War (1864-70) 1 "South America's most costly and bloody war,"1 pittad the tiny landlocked nation of Paraguay against the allied powers of Br~zil, Argentina, and Uruguay. The Paraguayan War, known also as· the War of the Triple Alliance, resulted not only in territorial con­ cessions being granted the victorious allies by the Paraguayan nation, but more significantly, in the near annihilation of the male population of that defeated country. Of a population estimated at slightly over one-half million inhabitanis at the outset of th~ war, only 220,000 survived and, of these, only 28,000 were adult males. For the allies· the war, while not neariy as devastating as for Paraguay (one estimate places their combined losses at 190,000 men), represented a drain on manpower and resources that could have 2 been better appropriated elsewhere. The history of international relations in South America ' is marked by innumerable boundary disputes, border clashes, and an occasional international war. The resort to war as an instrument of international politics is usually the last re­ course after all other weapons in the arsenal of international ... ... --.-..----~----~-- .. - -- ·------ - - ·--- -- - 6 --- 2 diplomacy have failed. But war is more than just a manifes­ tation of international relations. ~t is a significant event in the histories of those nations involved, and its effects transcend mere diplomatic questions and immediate concerns, influencing as it does the history of their international relations and domestic development for years afterwards. And because war is a significant phenomenon, it is e~tremely important to examine and understand the origins of inter- national wars in the South American context--not only because such wars have profoundly affected the course· of the domestic and international history of the nations of the area, but also because of the fact that these wars were the product of historical developments and the study of the ante-bellum situation offers· insights into the totality of the historical experience of the regiori. The present paper is an attempt ~o explain the origins of one of Latin America's most significant wars, the Para- guayan War. As such, it forsakes dealing with the military history, the events, or even the results of that war. Nor is / it meant as a diplomatic history of the Rio de la Plata region although, by necessity, it deals heavily with that topic. Rather, this paper is intended as an examination of the causes of the Paraguayan War within the context of the historical / evolution of the Rio de la Plata as a region~ It is hoped thereby to shed light not only on the origins of that war, but also upon the process of historical development· in the I Rio de la Plata. Particular emphas~s will be placed upon one 3 outgrowth of that process, the evolution ~f a regional balance of power system in the La Plata Basin, .and how that system helped produce an extremely tense international situation in / the Rio de la Plata; a situation characterized by intrigue, suspicion, and animosity, and hence, conducive to, if not promotive of, war. The student of Latin American history who endeavors to understand the origins of the Paraguayan War is encumbered by the fact that much of the writing concerning that drama dis- plays a serious bias against one of its principal actors, . / Paraguayan dictator Francisco Solano Lopez. This bias has led to a whole host of simple explanations regarding the war's origins, most of them blaming it on the personal aberra- / tions and ambitions of Lopez. Typical of this literature is the account of one highly regarded specialist of inter-American affairs who, in discus- / sing the Paraguayan War, says that the "younger Lopez, vain, m~ntally unstable, and craving glory and militar~ prestige, harbored the ambition of becoming the Napoleon of South Ameri- ca. •G),, Another well-known Latin Americanist's treatment of / the war refers to the "insane war brought on by .the dictator 4 of Paraguay's •• • • ambition to build a Platine empire." According to the latter author, the "unbalanced despot" or "mad dictator" (as you choose) "craved imperial glory, nothing less than the creation of a huge Platine state with Paraguay as its core and himself as em~eror." 5 -~-.-- ...............