Paraguayan War
The paraguayan war lasted 6 years, from 1864 to 1870. Around 400,000 people died total. 304,000 of those deaths were on the side of Paraguay. The war started as a result of Paraguay's dictator, Francisco Solano Lopez, trying to aid Uruguay in ending it's civil war. Lopez was trying to make Paraguay an important nation in South America and was trying to establish good relations with other countries, such as Uruguay. Unfortunately the Paraguayan military had to march through Argentina to get to Uruguay. Argentina did not allow the Paraguayan military to march through their country but Lopez sent them anyways. This caused Argentina to declare war on Paraguay. Uruguay, believing that Paraguay was coming to attack them joined Argentina. Brazil also joined in the war. Together, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay formed the Triple Alliance. The war ended terribly fo Paraguay and even has effects today. It is a sensitive subject almost nobody talks about and is a main factor for causing Paraguay to be one of South America's poorest countries.