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Chaco War
Chaco War (1932–5) A war between Bolivia and Paraguay about the disputed Gran Chaco territory, an extensive but infertile and inhospitable lowland plain at the foot of the Andes. Already highly sensitive to territorial losses, following those to Chile (1883) and Brazil (1903), and perhaps with the (erroneous) suspicion that the area might be harbouring large oil reserves, Bolivia constructed a strategic fort in an area previously occupied by Paraguay. In response, Paraguayan forces reoccupied the site. Misled by the superiority of their armed forces in numbers and equipment, the Bolivians declared war, but this superiority counted for little in a terrain unsuitable for an all-out offensive war. In the eventual peace, Paraguay gained most of the disputed territory while Bolivia gained access to the River Paraguay and hence to the South Atlantic coast. The war cost the lives of 50,000 Bolivians and 35,000 Paraguayans and, coupled with the Great Depression, inflicted irreparable economic damage.
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JAN PALMOWSKI. "Chaco War." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAN PALMOWSKI. "Chaco War." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-ChacoWar.html JAN PALMOWSKI. "Chaco War." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-ChacoWar.html |
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Chaco War
Chaco War (1932–35) A conflict between Paraguay and Bolivia. The Gran Chaco, an extensive lowland plain, had been an object of dispute between the two countries since the early 19th century, but Bolivia's final loss of its Pacific coast in 1929 (the Tacna-Arica settlement) prompted it to push its claims to the Chaco. Border clashes in the late 1920s led to outright war in 1932. Bolivia had the larger army and superior military equipment, but the Aymará and Quechua Indian conscripts from the Andean highlands did not fare well in the low, humid Chaco. The Paraguayan colonel José Félix Estigarribia drove the Bolivians west across the Chaco and forced his enemies to sue for peace in 1935. Paraguay gained most of the disputed territory, but the price was immense for both countries. More than 50,000 Bolivians and 35,000 Paraguayans had lost their lives. Economic stagnation was to plague both combatants for years to come.
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Cite this article
"Chaco War." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Chaco War." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-ChacoWar.html "Chaco War." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-ChacoWar.html |
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Chaco War
Chaco War See Gran Chaco Bolivia, landlocked since the War of the Pacific, sought a route to the sea via the Rio de la Plata. Most of the disputed territory was ceded to Paraguay in 1938.
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Cite this article
"Chaco War." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Chaco War." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-ChacoWar.html "Chaco War." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-ChacoWar.html |
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