Brazil and the end of the Paraguayan War: notes on military operations and diplomacy

Abstract

This article presents some notes on the measures taken by Brazil in relation to the end of the military campaign against Paraguay, between 1868 and 1870. This moment is marked by the departure of Caxias, after the conquest of Asuncion, and the need for Empire to execute the Triple Alliance Treaty regarding the deposition of Francisco Solano Lopez; an arrival by the Conde d'Eu to take command of military operations; and a diplomatic movement between Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Asuncion for the finalization of military actions and subsequent agreements. In this sense - and in the context of the time - a concern with maintaining Paraguayan independence such as Argentine pretensions and surgeries of pro-Argentine policies or even 'lopiztas' in the configuration of the new Paraguayan government, demand diplomatic and military exercises so that the war ends the most advantageous way possible for the harmonization of regional geopolitics in the Prata River and the Brazilian Empire.