Paraguay, ruined by war, pestilence, famine, and…

Paraguay, ruined by war, pestilence, famine, and foreign indemnities (which are never paid), is on the verge of disintegration in 1870, but its fertile soil and the country's overall backwardness probably help it survive.

After the war, Paraguay's mostly rural populace continues to subsist as it had done for centuries, eking out a meager existence in the hinterland under unimaginably difficult conditions.

The allied occupation of Asuncion in 1869 had put the victors in direct control of Paraguayan affairs.

While Bolivia presses its nebulous claim to the Chaco, Argentina and Brazil swallow huge chunks of Paraguayan territory (around one hundred and fifty-four thousand square kilometers).