Battle of Cerro Corá
Cerro Corá, Amambay Department, Paraguay
What happened
Brazilian troops under General José Antônio Correia da Câmara fought the last Paraguayan forces with President Francisco Solano López. Paraguay had been at war for years with Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, known as the Triple Alliance. By 1870 López's last camp, deep in the north-east of Paraguay, held only a few hundred soldiers and civilians, many of them sick and hungry. Brazilian troops surrounded and overran the camp, and López fell nearby.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was the last major battle of the Paraguayan War, which ended here. Paraguay lost a large part of its people, and its economy was damaged for decades.
What came next
Today 1 March is Heroes' Day in Paraguay. Cerro Corá National Park, created in 1976, protects the battle site, a forest and ancient rock carvings.
Did you know?
Rock shelters in Cerro Corá National Park hold carvings that may be about 5,000 years old.
Timeline
- 1870López's last camp is set up at Cerro Corá.
- 1 March 1870The battle at Cerro Corá ends the war.
- 11 February 1976Cerro Corá National Park is created.