Solano López consolidates his power after his…

Solano López consolidates his power after his father's death in 1862 by silencing several hundred critics and would-be reformers through imprisonment.

Another Paraguayan congress now unanimously elects him president.

Yet Solano López would have done well to heed his father's last words to avoid aggressive acts in foreign affairs, especially with Brazil.

Francisco's foreign policy vastly underestimates Paraguay's neighbors and overrates Paraguay's potential as a military power.