Dennis Michael Hanratty

2304 Paraguay a country study Edited by Dennis M. Hanratty and Sandra W. Meditz (read 8 Jul 1990) I read this because I was interested in the country and these country books are a good way to quickly learn about the country. Alfredo Stroesser was overthrown Feb 2, 1989, after being in power since 1954. Most of the book was put together before his overthrow. Paraguay has not had too happy a history. It became independent in 1811--after the Jesuits were expelled in 1767.the Reductions soon came to an end. Jose Gaspar Rodriguez ruled from 1814 to 1840. Carlos Antonio Lopez then ruled from 1841 to 1862. Next came his son, Francisco Solano Lopez. During his time Paraguay was almost wiped out in a war against Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Things were a mess from 1870 till 1904, and not much improvement thereafter. 90% of the people of Paraguay understand Guarani--the only South American country where the dominant language isn't Spanish or Portuguese (except maybe Guyana). This was a good book.… (meer)