Paraguay: History

Before Spanish arrival, the region was inhabited primarily by the Guaraní people, whose language and culture left a lasting imprint on the territory; Guaraní remains a co-official language alongside Spanish today.

Spanish colonizers founded Asunción in 1537, and Jesuit missionaries later established influential reducciones among the Guaraní population. Paraguay declared independence from Spain in 1811, becoming one of the first South American nations to do so.

The devastating War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870) decimated Paraguay's population and territory. The twentieth century brought the long Stroessner dictatorship (1954-1989), followed by a transition to democracy that continues to shape the country's modern political era.