History of Paraguay

Jesuit missions among the Guaraní, 1609–1767 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Jesuit missions among the Guaraní were a type of settlement for the Guaraní people in an area straddling the borders of present-day Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, known locally as the triple frontier. The missions were established by the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church early in the 17th century and ended in the late 18th century after the expulsion of the order from the Americas. In 1609, acting under instructions from Phillip III, the Spanish governor of Asunción made a deal with the Jesuit Provincial of Paraguay. As a result of the suppression of the Society of Jesus in several European countries, including Spain in 1767, the Jesuits were expelled from the Guaraní missions, and the Americas more generally, by order of the Spanish king Charles III.

Seat of power: Asunción

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, 1776–1810 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was the last to be organised and also the shortest-lived viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. It was established in 1776 from several former Viceroyalty of Peru dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata Basin, roughly the present-day territories of Argentina, northern Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay, extending inland from the Atlantic Coast. Buenos Aires was chosen as the capital. These events proved decisive at the 1810 May Revolution events deposing Viceroy Cisneros at Buenos Aires.

Seat of power: Asunción

Rulers

• Pedro de Cevallos, Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1776–1778
• Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo, Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1778–1784
• Nicolás Antonio de Arredondo, Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1789–1795
• Antonio de Olaguer y Feliú, Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1797–1799
• Gabriel de Avilés, 2nd Marquis of Avilés, Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1799–1801
• Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata, 1809–1810

Paraguay, 1811 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country located in the central region of South America. Paraguay overthrew the local Spanish administration on 14 May 1811. After independence, Paraguay was ruled by a series of authoritarian governments, a period that ended with the disastrous Triple Alliance War (1864–1870), during which the country lost half its prewar population and around 25–33% of its territory. Paraguay subsequently came under a succession of military dictators, culminating in the 35-year regime of Alfredo Stroessner.

Seat of power: Asunción

Rulers

• Carlos Antonio López, President of Paraguay, 1844–1862
• Francisco Solano López, President of Paraguay, 1862–1870
• Bernardino Caballero, President of Paraguay, 1881–1886
• Patricio Escobar, President of Paraguay, 1886–1890
• Juan Gualberto González, President of Paraguay, 1890–1894
• Juan Bautista Egusquiza, President of Paraguay, 1894–1898
• Emilio Aceval, President of Paraguay, 1898–1902
• Eligio Ayala, President of Paraguay, 1923–1928
• Higinio Morínigo, President of Paraguay, 1940–1948
• Federico Chávez, President of Paraguay, 1949–1954
• Alfredo Stroessner, President of Paraguay, 1954–1989
• Nicanor Duarte, President of Paraguay, 2003–2008
• Horacio Cartes, President of Paraguay, 2013–2018
• Mario Abdo Benítez, President of Paraguay, 2018–2023
• Santiago Peña Palacios, President of Paraguay, 2023 to today