The Demographics of Paraguay: A Reinterpretation of the Great War, 1864-70

The demographic impact of the War of the Triple Alliance of 1864-1870 on the population of Paraguay is discussed. The author challenges the conclusion that military actions disease and famine cost Paraguay more than half its population. Using a comparative analysis of growth rates in nineteenth-century Latin America together with a re-evaluation of Paraguayan census data and household structure the author concludes that the population declined between 8.7 and 18.5 percent over the course of the war. (ANNOTATION)