V
PARAGUAY
Due  to  the  ambitions  of  one  man—Carlos
Antonio  Lopez—a  dictator  of  the  worst  type,
with  Napoleonic  designs,  Paraguay,  one  of
the  finest  of  South  American  countries,  one
with  brilliant  prospects  and  holding  the  greatest ­
  opportunities,  is  to-day  the  most  backward
and  has  the  smallest  population.
Paraguay  was  discovered  by  Sebastian
Cabot  in  1526.  Following  him  came  Juan  de
Ayolas  and  Domingo  Irala,  who  in  1536
founded  the  city  of  Asuncion,  now  the  capital
of  the  republic.  Up  to  1810  it  was  a  Spanish
colony,  being  latterly  governed  by  the  Viceroy ­
  from  the  home  country  who  resided  in
iBuenos  Aires.  At  that  time  it  was  called  the
Province  of  Paraguay.  It  declared  its  independence ­
  from  the  mother  country  in  1811,
the  Spanish  Governor-General  aiding  in  the
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