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The Paraguayan Rosetta Stone: New Insights into the Demographics of the Paraguayan War, 1864–1870

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2022

Thomas L. Whigham  and
Barbara Potthast
Thomas L. Whigham
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
Barbara Potthast
Affiliation:
University of Bielefeld
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Abstract

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The demographics of the Paraguayan War (1864–1870) have long fascinated historicans and sociologists. If the oft-repeated tales of a 70 percent loss of life in Paraguay are accurate, then this war represents a singular case in modern history, one full of implications for students of militarism, gender, and culture. This study analyzes a newly discovered census from 1870 and reworks earlier censal materials. The authors conclude that the old stories of a steep loss of population during the war are basically correct.

Type
Research Reports and Notes
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , 1999 , pp. 174 - 186
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 by the University of Texas Press

Footnotes

*

We wish to thank Major Hugo Mendoza, who discovered the census in the first place, and also Marta Fernández W. and Jerry W. Cooney, who went to the archive of the Ministerio de Defensa Nacional on our behalf, viewed the documents, and arranged for us to receive complete copies.

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