Paraná River steamers
Encyclopedia
The Paraná River
is the second longest river in South America. Rising in Brazil, the river wends from the coastal mountains through tributaries and travels over Iguazu Falls
3000 miles into Paraguay, Argentina and the Rio de la Plata
at Uruguay. The river allowed for transport and exploration of the continent. It also was the scene of some terrible wars, including naval.
The River Plate Republics arose from the fall of the Spanish Empire
in South America after 1811. The devolution of the colony into smaller republics because of Napoleons conquest of Spain
first allowed the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata into an autonomous country, and then it followed the trend that transpired over Latin America—dissolution into a patchwork of fractured republics. Part of this was the result of insular territories and regionalism owing to the great distances involved. This was the age of travel by oxcart.
The arrival of the steamboat helped shorten those distances. The wars of independence and the intervention from European powers meant that the colonies were slow to modernize.
The Europeans had large steam merchant and naval ships became capable of sailing up rivers at a good speed and with a heavy load. Lord Palmerston was the first to propose the use of steamers for commerce along the internal waters of Argentina in 1841. This technology allowed the British and French governments to avoid Argentine custom houses in Buenos Aires by sailing directly through the La Plata estuary and engaging in commerce directly with the Argentinian inland cities. This avoided taxation, guaranteed special rights for the Europeans and allowed them to export their products cheaply.
Rosas' government tried to stop this practice by declaring the Argentine rivers closed to foreign countries, barring access to Paraguay and other ports in the process. The British and French governments did not acknowledge this declaration and decided to defy Rosas by sailing upstream with a joint fleet, setting the stage for the battle.
The first steamers on the Paraná River were around 1840 with naval vessels. The Argentine navy built the PS Merced in 1849. The ability of vessels to go upstream was an asset. It allowed the supply of inland republics like Paraguay.
The rivalry between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay in the 1840s meant that Argentina closed the river to international trade, bottling up Paraguay.
A new Argentine government under Urquico opened the river to international trade in 1852.
for the Royal Navy.
When attacked by Brazil, the rebellious Uruguayan Blancos asked for help from Solano López, but Paraguay did not directly come to their ally's aid. Instead, on November 12, 1864, the Paraguayan ship Tacuarí captured the Brazilian ship Marquês de Olinda which had sailed up the Río Paraguay to the province of Mato Grosso.[19] Paraguay declared war on Brazil on December 13 and on Argentina three months later, on March 18, 1865. Uruguay, already governed by Venancio Flores, aligned itself with Brazil and Argentina. The murderous war had begun.
On June 11, 1865, Brazilian and Paraguayan vessels squared off on the Paraguay-Argentine border.
Paraguay's naval squadron consisted of 23 steamboats and five ships that could navigate the river ... The Paraguayans passed in a line parallel to the Brazilian fleet and continued down the stream. Upon Captain Meza's order, the entire fleet opened fire on the docked Brazilian steamers.[3] The land troops hastily, upon realization that they were under attacked, boarded their own ships and began returning fire. One of the Paraguayan steamers was hit in the boiler and one of the "chatas" was damaged as well. Once out of range, they turned upstream and anchored the chatas, forming a line in a very narrow part of the river. This was intended to trap the Brazilian fleet.
Admiral Barroso noticed the Paraguayan tactic and turned down the stream to go after the Paraguayans. However, the Paraguayans started to fire from the shore into the lead ship, Belmonte. The second ship in the line, Jequitinhonha, inadvertently turned upstream and was followed by the whole fleet, thus leaving Belmonte alone to receive the full firepower of the Paraguayan fleet—it was soon put out of action. Jequitinhonha ran aground after the turn, becoming an easy prey for the Paraguayans.
Four steamers (Beberibe, Iguatemi, Mearim and Araguari) followed the Amazonas. The Paraguayan admiral (Meza) left his position and attacked the Brazilian line, sending three ships after Araguari. Parnaíba remained near Jequitinhonha and was also attacked by three ships that were trying to board it. The Brazilian line was effectively cut in two. Inside Parnaíba a ferocious battle was taking place when the Marquez de Olinda joined the attackers. Barroso, at this time heading upstream, decided to turn the tide of the battle with a desperate measure. The first ship that faced Amazonas was the Paraguarí which was rammed and put out of action. Then he rammed Marquez de Olinda and Salto, and sank a "chata". At this point Paraguari was already out of action. Therefore, the Paraguayans tried to disengage. Beberibe and Araguari pursued the Paraguayans, heavily damaging Tacuary and the Pirabebé, but the nightfall prevented the sinking of these ships.
Admiral Barroso, on board the steamer Amazonas, trying to avoid chaos and reorganize the Brazilian fleet, decided to lead the fleet down the stream again and fight the Paraguayans in order to prevent their escape, rather than save Amazonas.
Jequitinhonha had to be put afire by Paraguari and Marquez de Olinda. In the end, the Paraguayans lost four steamers and all of the "chatas", while the Brazilians only lost the Jequitinhonha.
Dictator Solano López's girlfriend Liza held luncheons for Asunción Society ladies (and also held them captive in the river) on the Presidential steamer.
, Montevideo
, Rosario
, Santa Fe, and Fray Bentos
grew.
British capital and coal was exported south on British ships. Argentine wheat and beef went north. Most of the steamers on the river were built in Scotland. A. & J. Inglis
Eight ferries were built between 1907 and 1929 for the Entre Rios Railways Co. in Argentina. These were used between 1907 and 1990 to cross the Paraná River and join the Buenos Aires province and the Entre Rios province, until new bridges were built over the rivers they crossed:
To the north in the Misiones Province the ferries Roque Saenz Peña (1911) and Exequiel Ramos Mejía (1913) paddled train ferries across the Paraná River at Posadas. Three other train ferries were added later: the Dolores de Urquiza (1926), the Delfina Mitre (1928) and the Carmen Avellaneda (1929) to cover the service in the Zárate-Ibicuy crossing.
Next is an excerpt from US Commerce Department, 1920. PARAGUAY: A COMMERCIAL HANDBOOK.
The Viena was an Inglis product and was launched into the River Kelvin on 8 June 1906. Viena was built for Nicolas Mihanovich's Argentine Navigation Company.
Viena was about 330 feet long with a beam of about 40 feet. Her gross tonnage was 2376 and she had accommodation for 340 First Class passengers and 120 in Second Class. The vessel was powered by a triple expansion steam engine built in Inglis' own engine works.
A few years after building Viena, Inglis used the same basic design when they supplied the two large paddlers CABO SANTA MARIA and CABO CORRIENTES for Hamburg Sud Amerika Damfschiffarts in 1913. After World War I they were taken over by the Argentine Navigation Co and became GENERAL ARTIGAS and GENERAL ALVEAR respectively. Viena was renamed WASHINGTON in 1915 (picture of Viena as WASHINGTON).
Other large paddle steamers supplied by Inglis to the Argentine fleets about that time included the LAMBERE, PS Bruselas (1911)
and Berna.
The present fleet of the company consists of four steamers of 150 to 370 tons, two of 600 tons each, and two of 1,000 tons. The latter, the Cerea and the Miranda are the largest boats using the Paraguay River. In addition to these, there are 36 lighters, three of which are of 700 tons burden each, representing a total tonnage of 8,165. There are also eight tugs in the fleet. Twenty oil-burning steamers have been contracted for construction in the United States, to be employed in the company service.
Most of the vessels in the existing fleet have been rented from the Lloyd Brasileiro, which before the war maintained a navigation service on the Paraguay-Paraná. In fact a very close relation exists between the two companies. The Brazilian Government exercises a large measure of control over the operations of the new company's transportation service and the officers of the company's boats are at the same time officers in the national navy. The Llovd's schedule was too intermittent to be relied upon and its operations were in general too leisurely, but its successor has promised local shippers the same facilities offered by the Mihanovich Co. The Companhia Minas e Viacão plans to operate at least one boat a week between Corumba and Montevideo. The only Argentine port of call is Rosario, as the Argentine law prohibits foreign-owned ship companies from carrying on a coastwise trade between Argentine ports. In Paraguay its vessels call at Asunción, Concepción, and other river ports. The company has promised to facilitate the transshipment or merchandise at Montevideo between ships plying from the United States and Europe arid its own river boats. As the expense and delays occasioned by transshipment at River Plate ports have been one of the greatest obstacles to Paraguay's foreign commerce, any attempt to relieve this condition and establish more direct and expeditious connections with the outside world is heartily welcomed by Paraguayan commercial interests.
She arrived in Paraguay in November 1911 together with Constitución, a former ocean-going freighter converted into gunboat, and the transport General Díaz and the three served the Paraguayan navy through the Chaco War until the 1980s. ARP Tacuary
Tension increased during the next few weeks, as factions within the government and the military maneuvered for position. Finally, on September 16, insurgent groupings in all three branches of the armed forces staged a concerted rebellion; after three days of civil war, during which approximately 4,000 people were killed, Perón resigned and took refuge on a Paraguayan gunboat in Buenos Aires Harbor. On September 20 the insurgent leader Major General Eduardo Lonardi took office as provisional president, promising to restore democratic government. Perón went into exile, first in Paraguay and later in Spain.
.
The Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas
met the Grande River at Riberao Vermelho, from where the railway ran a steam navigation service down the river for 208 km, as far as Capetina. There were six stations on the river between Riberao Vermelho and Capetinga, and a passenger and freight service was operated between 1889 and 1963. The railway operated a fleet of 6 stern-wheel paddle steamers, together with barges and launches.
, a Germanic colony in Paraguay .
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
is the second longest river in South America. Rising in Brazil, the river wends from the coastal mountains through tributaries and travels over Iguazu Falls
Iguazu Falls
Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls, or Iguaçu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on the border of the Brazilian State of Paraná and the Argentine Province of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River originates near the city of Curitiba. It flows...
3000 miles into Paraguay, Argentina and the Rio de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
at Uruguay. The river allowed for transport and exploration of the continent. It also was the scene of some terrible wars, including naval.
The River Plate Republics arose from the fall of the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
in South America after 1811. The devolution of the colony into smaller republics because of Napoleons conquest of Spain
first allowed the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata into an autonomous country, and then it followed the trend that transpired over Latin America—dissolution into a patchwork of fractured republics. Part of this was the result of insular territories and regionalism owing to the great distances involved. This was the age of travel by oxcart.
The arrival of the steamboat helped shorten those distances. The wars of independence and the intervention from European powers meant that the colonies were slow to modernize.
The Europeans had large steam merchant and naval ships became capable of sailing up rivers at a good speed and with a heavy load. Lord Palmerston was the first to propose the use of steamers for commerce along the internal waters of Argentina in 1841. This technology allowed the British and French governments to avoid Argentine custom houses in Buenos Aires by sailing directly through the La Plata estuary and engaging in commerce directly with the Argentinian inland cities. This avoided taxation, guaranteed special rights for the Europeans and allowed them to export their products cheaply.
Rosas' government tried to stop this practice by declaring the Argentine rivers closed to foreign countries, barring access to Paraguay and other ports in the process. The British and French governments did not acknowledge this declaration and decided to defy Rosas by sailing upstream with a joint fleet, setting the stage for the battle.
- Battle of Vuelta de ObligadoBattle of Vuelta de ObligadoThe naval Battle of Vuelta de Obligado took place on the waters of the Paraná River on November 20, 1845, between the Argentine Confederation, under the leadership of Juan Manuel de Rosas, and an Anglo-French fleet.- Background :...
The rivalry between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay in the 1840s meant that Argentina closed the river to international trade, bottling up Paraguay.
A new Argentine government under Urquico opened the river to international trade in 1852.
Platine War
A civil war in Argentina over government and urban versus rural forces led to battles. In the process Brazil invaded. A fleet was sent up the Paraná River in 1854.US Paraguay Expedition
The US sent a paddler gunboat up the river to Asunción in 1858 over a diplomatic incident, while Captain Sullivan RN, sounded and charted the river in the 1840s up to CorrientesCorrientes
Corrientes is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12...
for the Royal Navy.
The problem with Paraguay
Paraguay has had an interesting history, insular and isolated, and sometimes warring with its neighbours. Strangely, small seagoing vessels can clear the Paraná River into the Free Port of Asunción. Because of this Paraguay is a smuggler's paradise moving cigarettes, alcohol, and high value consumer goods through its port, and then smuggling them into Brazil or Argentina where the products are tariff controlled.War of the Triple Alliance
This murderous, pointless war lasted 1864–1870, and occurred just after the US Civil war. The dictator of Paraguay, López, inherited his position from his father, who together with the former leader, left Paraguay in a strong position. López fancied himself as a Southern Napoleon and wanted to enlarge his empire in the River Plate area. To this end he built up an army and a navy. Unfortunately he declared war on his much larger neighbours at the same time. López built ironclads, copied from the US Civil War, at a shipyard in Asunción. He then lost the naval conflict and then the war.When attacked by Brazil, the rebellious Uruguayan Blancos asked for help from Solano López, but Paraguay did not directly come to their ally's aid. Instead, on November 12, 1864, the Paraguayan ship Tacuarí captured the Brazilian ship Marquês de Olinda which had sailed up the Río Paraguay to the province of Mato Grosso.[19] Paraguay declared war on Brazil on December 13 and on Argentina three months later, on March 18, 1865. Uruguay, already governed by Venancio Flores, aligned itself with Brazil and Argentina. The murderous war had begun.
Naval battle of Riachuelo
Paraguay's naval squadron consisted of 23 steamboats and five ships that could navigate the river ... The Paraguayans passed in a line parallel to the Brazilian fleet and continued down the stream. Upon Captain Meza's order, the entire fleet opened fire on the docked Brazilian steamers.[3] The land troops hastily, upon realization that they were under attacked, boarded their own ships and began returning fire. One of the Paraguayan steamers was hit in the boiler and one of the "chatas" was damaged as well. Once out of range, they turned upstream and anchored the chatas, forming a line in a very narrow part of the river. This was intended to trap the Brazilian fleet.
Four steamers (Beberibe, Iguatemi, Mearim and Araguari) followed the Amazonas. The Paraguayan admiral (Meza) left his position and attacked the Brazilian line, sending three ships after Araguari. Parnaíba remained near Jequitinhonha and was also attacked by three ships that were trying to board it. The Brazilian line was effectively cut in two. Inside Parnaíba a ferocious battle was taking place when the Marquez de Olinda joined the attackers. Barroso, at this time heading upstream, decided to turn the tide of the battle with a desperate measure. The first ship that faced Amazonas was the Paraguarí which was rammed and put out of action. Then he rammed Marquez de Olinda and Salto, and sank a "chata". At this point Paraguari was already out of action. Therefore, the Paraguayans tried to disengage. Beberibe and Araguari pursued the Paraguayans, heavily damaging Tacuary and the Pirabebé, but the nightfall prevented the sinking of these ships.
Admiral Barroso, on board the steamer Amazonas, trying to avoid chaos and reorganize the Brazilian fleet, decided to lead the fleet down the stream again and fight the Paraguayans in order to prevent their escape, rather than save Amazonas.
Dictator Solano López's girlfriend Liza held luncheons for Asunción Society ladies (and also held them captive in the river) on the Presidential steamer.
Growth of Argentina and Uruguay
Immigration and the growth of the agricultural fields after 1880 spurred an explosion in the Republics' markets. British interest and European immigration expanded the republics. Wheat, beef, and wine were the principal exports and the port cities and towns of Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Rosario
Rosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
, Santa Fe, and Fray Bentos
Fray Bentos
Fray Bentos, the capital of the Río Negro Department of western Uruguay, is a port on the Uruguay River. It is close to the border with Argentina and about due north of Buenos Aires.-History:...
grew.
British capital and coal was exported south on British ships. Argentine wheat and beef went north. Most of the steamers on the river were built in Scotland. A. & J. Inglis
Railway ferries
Ferries were needed to move people and trains across the wide Paraná river mouth. Argentina has a riverlocked province to the north that needed a connection.Eight ferries were built between 1907 and 1929 for the Entre Rios Railways Co. in Argentina. These were used between 1907 and 1990 to cross the Paraná River and join the Buenos Aires province and the Entre Rios province, until new bridges were built over the rivers they crossed:
- Lucía Carbó (1907)
- María Parera (1908)
- Mercedes Lacroze (1909)
- Roque Saenz Peña (1911)
- Exequiel Ramos Mejía (1913)
- Dolores de Urquiza (1926)
- Delfina Mitre (1928)
- Carmen Avellaneda (1929)
To the north in the Misiones Province the ferries Roque Saenz Peña (1911) and Exequiel Ramos Mejía (1913) paddled train ferries across the Paraná River at Posadas. Three other train ferries were added later: the Dolores de Urquiza (1926), the Delfina Mitre (1928) and the Carmen Avellaneda (1929) to cover the service in the Zárate-Ibicuy crossing.
Rise of Mihanovich
Nicolas Mihanovich was from Dalmatia and who emigrated to Uruguay in 1864. He then became a shipping magnate in Argentina. His company dominated trade and passenger steamer traffic on the Paraná and Paraguay rivers until 1948.Next is an excerpt from US Commerce Department, 1920. PARAGUAY: A COMMERCIAL HANDBOOK.
The steamers in the Buenos Aires-Asunción service leave Buenos Aires on Sundays and Thursdays and Asunción on the same days. Four steamers are employed on this run. The upriver trip requires a little over four days and the return about three days. The fares for passage between the two cities are as follows: First class, one way, 110 Argentine pesos ($46.76) ; round trip, 192.60 pesos ($81.76) ; second class, one way, 66 pesos ($23.36) ; round trip, 96.26 pesos ($40.90). The round-trip tickets are valid for three months. The baggage allowance is 50 kilos (110 pounds), but this maximum is liberally interpreted. Accommodations are very comfortable, and in general the trip is one of the most pleasant that can be made in South America.
On the lines north of Asunción fares are higher and accommodations for travelers are poorer. Between Asunción and Buenos Aires the Mihanovich steamers are forced to compete with the international train, but in the Alto Paraguay there is no competition whatever. Stops are more frequent, as the steamers heave to at any estancia house on^he banks where a signal gun is fired or for which there happens to be cargo or passengers. Moreover, the steamers tie up at the shore for two or three hours each day, while enough firewood is taken on to stoke the boilers until another woodpile is reached the next day. This wood costs the company at the rate of 3 centavos gold per stick.
Although the service is much inferior to that on the larger Buenos Aires-Asunción steamers, the boats themselves are comfortable and the scenery is more picturesque than in the more low-lying country through which the river flows to the south. The time ordinarily required for the trip between Asunción and some of the more important points on the upper river is as follows : To Concepcion, 40 hours up- stream, 27 hours downstream; Puerto Pinasco, 54 and 33 hours; Bahia Negra, 84 and 77 hours; Porto Esperanga, 90 and 81 hours; Corumba, 96 and 85 hours.
The fare to Corumba is 90 gold pesos, or at the rate of over 11 cents per mile. A ticket purchased in Corumba for Asunción costs 495 milreis, which is equivalent to approximately $125, or nearly 17 cents per mile.
FREIGHT SERVICE OF THE MIHANOVICH LINK.
For fast freight the Mihanovich Co. uses its regular passenger packets, but for most of the ordinary heavy freight it operates a fleet of special cargo steamers, besides tugs for drawing lighters.
The Viena was an Inglis product and was launched into the River Kelvin on 8 June 1906. Viena was built for Nicolas Mihanovich's Argentine Navigation Company.
Viena was about 330 feet long with a beam of about 40 feet. Her gross tonnage was 2376 and she had accommodation for 340 First Class passengers and 120 in Second Class. The vessel was powered by a triple expansion steam engine built in Inglis' own engine works.
A few years after building Viena, Inglis used the same basic design when they supplied the two large paddlers CABO SANTA MARIA and CABO CORRIENTES for Hamburg Sud Amerika Damfschiffarts in 1913. After World War I they were taken over by the Argentine Navigation Co and became GENERAL ARTIGAS and GENERAL ALVEAR respectively. Viena was renamed WASHINGTON in 1915 (picture of Viena as WASHINGTON).
Other large paddle steamers supplied by Inglis to the Argentine fleets about that time included the LAMBERE, PS Bruselas (1911)
PS Bruselas (1911)
The PS Bruselas was built by A. & J. Inglis, Pointhouse, Glasgow, Scotland and launched in 1911 for Compañía Argentina de Navigation Ltda, Buenos Aires. - Ownership :...
and Berna.
Other Paraná-Paraguay River steamers
Among other freight services offered to Paraguayan shippers are those maintained by the Domingo Barthe Co. and Augusto Bisso. Though the Barthe interests are largely confined to the Alto Paraná region, this company still operates freight boats between Asunción and Buenos Aires. By an agreement with the Mihanovich Co., they offer the same scale of freights as are in force on the former line. Augusto Bisso has chartered a number of freighters and is now conducting a general shipping business between Puerto Max, Concepcion, Asunción, and the River Plate.The present fleet of the company consists of four steamers of 150 to 370 tons, two of 600 tons each, and two of 1,000 tons. The latter, the Cerea and the Miranda are the largest boats using the Paraguay River. In addition to these, there are 36 lighters, three of which are of 700 tons burden each, representing a total tonnage of 8,165. There are also eight tugs in the fleet. Twenty oil-burning steamers have been contracted for construction in the United States, to be employed in the company service.
Most of the vessels in the existing fleet have been rented from the Lloyd Brasileiro, which before the war maintained a navigation service on the Paraguay-Paraná. In fact a very close relation exists between the two companies. The Brazilian Government exercises a large measure of control over the operations of the new company's transportation service and the officers of the company's boats are at the same time officers in the national navy. The Llovd's schedule was too intermittent to be relied upon and its operations were in general too leisurely, but its successor has promised local shippers the same facilities offered by the Mihanovich Co. The Companhia Minas e Viacão plans to operate at least one boat a week between Corumba and Montevideo. The only Argentine port of call is Rosario, as the Argentine law prohibits foreign-owned ship companies from carrying on a coastwise trade between Argentine ports. In Paraguay its vessels call at Asunción, Concepción, and other river ports. The company has promised to facilitate the transshipment or merchandise at Montevideo between ships plying from the United States and Europe arid its own river boats. As the expense and delays occasioned by transshipment at River Plate ports have been one of the greatest obstacles to Paraguay's foreign commerce, any attempt to relieve this condition and establish more direct and expeditious connections with the outside world is heartily welcomed by Paraguayan commercial interests.
Later Paraguayan gunboats
The beginning of an unusual career, the SS Clover was built 1907 by Messrs. T. & J. Hosking, Ireland, as the steel-hulled yacht Clover.She arrived in Paraguay in November 1911 together with Constitución, a former ocean-going freighter converted into gunboat, and the transport General Díaz and the three served the Paraguayan navy through the Chaco War until the 1980s. ARP Tacuary
ARP Tacuary
The ARP Tacuary was a riverine gunboat in service on the Paraguayan Navy for almost a century. She was built in 1907 by T. & J. Hosking, Ireland, as the steel-hulled yacht Clover...
Perón
Perón's populist leftist government nationalized the Mihalovich holdings in 1948, as Perón had also done with the large railway system and companies. In the process Perón bankrupted a once rich republic and drove it into instability. The rightist Army led an insurrection in 1955 and it resulted in his removal, not before 4000 people were killed in streets.Tension increased during the next few weeks, as factions within the government and the military maneuvered for position. Finally, on September 16, insurgent groupings in all three branches of the armed forces staged a concerted rebellion; after three days of civil war, during which approximately 4,000 people were killed, Perón resigned and took refuge on a Paraguayan gunboat in Buenos Aires Harbor. On September 20 the insurgent leader Major General Eduardo Lonardi took office as provisional president, promising to restore democratic government. Perón went into exile, first in Paraguay and later in Spain.
Alto Paraná navigation
The upper Paraná River is navigable. Paraguay and Brazil run navy and passenger boats on this stretch. In Brazil the Paraná River becomes the Grande RiverGrande River
The Grande River is river in south-central Brazil. It rises in the Mantiqueira Mountains in the state of Minas Gerais and descends inland, west-northwestward. Its lower course marks a portion of the Minas Gerais-São Paulo border...
.
The Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas
Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas
The Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas was a narrow gauge railway located in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. At its peak the railway's route totalled...
met the Grande River at Riberao Vermelho, from where the railway ran a steam navigation service down the river for 208 km, as far as Capetina. There were six stations on the river between Riberao Vermelho and Capetinga, and a passenger and freight service was operated between 1889 and 1963. The railway operated a fleet of 6 stern-wheel paddle steamers, together with barges and launches.
Other
In the 1880s, Nietzsche's sister took a steamer ride up the river to establish Nueva GermaniaNueva Germania
Nueva Germania is a district of San Pedro Department in Paraguay. It was founded as a German colony on August 23, 1887 by Bernhard Förster, who was married to Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, sister of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche...
, a Germanic colony in Paraguay .
See also
- Platine WarPlatine WarThe Platine War, also known as the War against Oribe and Rosas was fought between the Argentine Confederation and an alliance consisting of the Empire of Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos and Corrientes...
- Cisplatine War
- War of the Triple AllianceWar of the Triple AllianceThe Paraguayan War , also known as War of the Triple Alliance , was a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay...
- British invasions of the Río de la PlataBritish invasions of the Río de la PlataThe British invasions of the Río de la Plata were a series of unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colonies located around the La Plata Basin in South America . The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of...
1807 - French blockade of the Río de la PlataFrench blockade of the Río de la PlataThe French blockade to the Río de la Plata was a two-year long naval blockade imposed by France on the Argentine Confederation ruled by Juan Manuel de Rosas. It closed Buenos Aires to naval commerce. It was imposed in 1838 to support the Peru–Bolivian Confederation in the War of the Confederation,...
1838 - Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la PlataAnglo-French blockade of the Río de la PlataThe Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata was a five-year long naval blockade imposed by France and Britain on the Argentine Confederation ruled by Juan Manuel de Rosas. It was imposed in 1845 to support the Colorado Party in the Uruguayan Civil War and closed Buenos Aires to naval commerce...
- Brazilian monitor Parnaíba (U17)Brazilian monitor Parnaíba (U17)Parnaíba is a river monitor of the Brazilian Navy.She was built by the Navy in Rio de Janeiro and commissioned on 9 March 1938. She participated in the Second World War and is currently the oldest ship in commission in the Brazilian Navy, as well as the oldest naval vessel in the world still in...
- Pará class monitorPará class monitorThe Pará class monitors were a group of six wooden-hulled ironclads named after Brazilian states and built in Brazil for the Brazilian Navy during the War of the Triple Alliance in the late 1860s. The first three ships finished, , and , participated in the Passagem de Humaitá in February 1868...