This act induced the governments of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina to combine for the purpose of suppressing Lopez. The invasion of Paraguay then took place, and a struggle involving an enormous sacrifice of life and treasure lasted for five years, only coming to a close when the Paraguayan forces were totally defeated and Lopez was killed at the battle of Aquidaban on the 1st of March 1870. During this warfare every male Paraguayan capable of bearing arms was forced to fight, whole regiments being formed of boys of from 12 to 15 years of age. Even women were used as beasts of burden to carry ammunition and stores, and when no longer capable of work were left to die by the roadside or murdered to avoid any ill consequences occurring from their capture. When the war broke out the population of Paraguay was 1,337,439; when hostilities ceased it consisted of 28,746 men, 106,254 women above 15 years of age, and 86,079 children. During the retreat of the Paraguayans the dictator ordered every town and village passed through to be razed to the ground, and every living animal for which no use could be found to be slaughtered. When the end came the country and people were in a state of absolute prostration.
After the death of Lopez the government was administered by a triumvirate consisting of Cirilo Rivarola, Carlos Loizaga and Jose Diaz de Bedoza, until, in November 1870, the present constitution was formulated. The policy of Brazil was for a time directed towards the annexation of Paraguay; the debt due to Brazil on account of the war was assessed at £40,000,000, a sum which Paraguay could never hope to pay; and it was not until 1876 that the Brazilian army of occupation was wholly withdrawn. But the rivalry between Brazil and Argentina, and the necessity of maintaining the balance of power among the South American republics, enabled Paraguay to remain independent. No violent constitutional change took place after 1870, though there have been spasmodic outbreaks of revolution, as in 1881, in 1894, in 1898, in December 1904—when a somewhat serious civil war was ended by the peace of Pilcomayo—in July 1908 and in September 1909. None of these disturbances deeply or permanently affected the welfare of the republic, nor were all of them accompanied by bloodshed. Under the presidency of J. B. Egusquiza (1894–1898) the boundary dispute with Bolivia became acute; but war was averted, largely owing to the success of the revolution, which forced the president to resign. The main interest of recent Paraguayan history is economic rather than political. In that history the gradual development of commerce, the financial reforms in 1895, and the extension of the Paraguay Central railway after 1906, were events of far greater importance than any political movement which took place between 1870 and 1910.
Bibliography.—For an account of physical features, inhabitants, products, &c., see H. Decoud, Geografía de la república del Paraguay (5th ed., Leipzig, 1906); E. de B. La Dardye, Paraguay: the Land and the People, ed. E. G. Ravenstein (London, 1892); W. Vallentin, Paraguay: das Land der Guaranis (Berlin, 1907); R. V. F. Trevenfeld, Paraguay in Wort und Bild (Berlin, 1904); H. Mangels, Wirtschaftliche, naturgeschichtliche und klimatologische Abhandlungen aus Paraguay (Munich, 1904); W. B. Grubb, Among the Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco (London, 1904); E. Bolland, Exploraciones practicadas en el Alto Paraguay y en la Laguna Gaiba (Buenos Aires, 1901). Commerce and Finance: British consular reports (London, annual); Report of the Council of the Corporation of Foreign Bondholders (London, annual; statistical publications of the Paraguay government and presidential messages, in Spanish (Asuncion, annual); Revue du Paraguay (Asuncion, monthly); Paraguay (Washington, Bureau of Amer. Republics, 2nd ed. 1902). History: P. de Angelis, Coleccion de documentos, &c. (1835); H. Charlevoix, Histoire de Paraguay (1835); G. Funes, Ensayo de la história civil del Paraguay, &c. (1816); Lozano, Historia de la conquista del Paraguay (Buenos Aires, 1873–1874); R. B. Cunninghame Graham, A Vanished Arcadia (London, 1901); C. A. Washburn, The History of Paraguay (New York, 1871); E. C. Jourdan, Guerra do Paraguay (Rio de Janeiro, 1890); R. F. Burton, Letters from the Battlefields of Paraguay (London, 1870); A. Audibert, Question de limites entre el Paraguay y Bolivia (Asuncion, 1901); H. Decoud, List of Books . . . relating to Paraguay (Washington, 1905).
PARAHYBA (Parahiba or Parahyba do Norte), a state
of north-eastern Brazil, bounded N. by Rio Grande do Norte, E. by the Atlantic, S. by Pernambuco, and W. by Ceara. Pop. (1890), 457,232; (1900), 490,784. Area, 28,854 sq. m. It consists of a narrow coastal zone, 30 to 40 m. wide, along the seaboard, behind which the country rises sharply to a highland region forming part of the great central plateau of Brazil. The long, dry season (April to October), together with occasional
devastating droughts (séccas) lasting two or more years, prevents
the development of forests and damages the agricultural and
pastoral industries of the state. There is only one river of
importance, the Parahyba do Norte, which crosses the southern
part of the state from west to east with a course of about 240 m.
The state is poorly watered and covered with a scanty vegetation
suitable for pasturage only. Stock-raising is favoured by the
existence of a bromeliaceous plant, called mecambira, which
is sufficiently juicy to satisfy the thirst of the animals. On
the low lands and along some of the river valleys agriculture
is the chief occupation of the people; cotton and sugar are largely
produced and some tobacco is grown. The exports include
hides, skins, cotton, sugar and tobacco. Rubber of the Ceará
type is also found and forms an item among the smaller exports.
The eastern extremity of the state is served by a railway
originally called the Conde d’Eu railway but now forming
part of the Great Western of Brazil system, which runs westward
and northward from Parahyba to Independencia (72 m.),
where it connects with the extension of the Natal and Nova
Cruz line, and a branch runs southward to Pilar, 15 m. from its
junction and 46 m. from Parahyba. Another small branch
runs westward from the station of Mulungú to Alagôa Grande
(14 m.). The capital is Parahyba (q.v.), and other important
towns, with the populations (in 1890) of their municipalities,
which include large rural districts and sometimes several other
towns, are: Arcia (26,590); Bananeiras (20,058); Campina
Grande (21,475); Guarabira (26,625); Mananguape (20,754);
Pilar (10,133, town); Pombal (12,804); and Souza (11,135).
Parahyba formed part of the original grant, known as the capitania of Itamaraca, from the Portuguese crown to Pero Lopes de Souza. It was not settled until 1584, when a fort was erected near the present port of Cabedello under the name of São Filippe.
PARAHYBA (Parahyba do Norte), a city and port of
Brazil, capital of Parahyba state, on the right bank of the Parahyba do Norte river, 11 m. above its mouth and 65 m. N. of Recife. Pop. (1890), 18,645, including several suburbs and Cabedello; (1908, estimate), 30,000. Parahyba is the starting-point of the Conde d’Eu railway, now a part of the Great Western of Brazil system, which includes a main line to Independencia, where it connects with the Natal & Nova Cruz line of Rio Grande do Norte, and a branch to Cabedello. The entrance to the Parahyba do Norte River being obstructed by a stone reef and sand bars, only vessels drawing less than 14 ft.
can effect an entrance. The “Varadouro,” as the lower part
of the city is called, is built on the margin of the river and is
devoted principally to commerce. Behind this is a low hill on
whose northern slope and broad summit the upper city is built,
and a tramway line runs to the suburb of Trincheira. There
are some good public buildings, including the parish church
(matriz) of N.S. das Neves, the old Franciscan convent and
church, the government palace, and the treasury. There are a
normal school, a lyceum, a national gymnasium, and a school for
marine apprentices. Parahyba was founded in 1585. It was
called Frederickstadt by the Dutch, who occupied the Franciscan
convent as a government house, and Felippéa in honour of the
king of Spain when the Dutch were expelled. Its original
name was resumed on the separation (1640) of Portugal and her
colonies from Spanish rule.
PARAHYBA DO SUL, a river of Brazil, having its source on the campos of Bocaina, on the northern slope of the Serra do Mar in the western part of the state of Sao Paulo, and flowing at first south-westerly and then after a horse-shoe curve in the vicinity of Jacarehy in a general E.N.E. direction to the Atlantic in lat. 21° 38′ S. Its upper course for a distance of 80 m., or to the confluence of the Parahybuna, is known as the Parahytinga. The navigable channel from São Fidelis to the
