Francisco Solano López

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Francisco Solano López Carrillo (1827-1807) was President of Paraguay from 1862 to his death in 1870.

He was Juana Pabla Carrillo and Carlos Antonio López's eldest son. He served in the Paraguayan Army combating Juan Manuel de Rosas in the sporadic wars between Paraguay and Argentina during the Plague Wars at a young age.

He became Ambassador of Paraguay in several European countries from 1853-1855 following Rosas' demise.

At his return to Asunción, he was named Vice President of Carlos Antonio López's Supreme Government and then assumed Presidency when his father died. He is one of South America's most controversial figures, especially because of the Paraguayan War, nicknamed "Guerra de la Triple Alianza" in the Plate Basin. His ambitions were the primary catalyst for the outbreak of the war, according to some, but others argue he was a ardent promoter of South American nations' independence against foreign rule and interests.

He fought until the very end and was killed in combat during the Battle of Cerro Corá, which marked the end of the war.

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Life and career

Solano López was born in Manorá, a barrio of Asunción, in 1827. Carlos Antonio López, the country's long-serving tyrant, assassinated José Gaspar Rodray de Francia, his father rose to the Paraguayan Presidency in 1841. At the age of 18, López would commission his son as a brigadier general in the Paraguayan Army. Solano López, the commander-in-chief of Paraguayan forces stationed along the Argentine frontier, was appointed commander-in-chief during the Argentine Civil Wars. He continued his military service in Rio de Janeiro and Asunción, specializing in fortifications and artillery.

Solano López was sent to Europe in 1853 as minister plenipotentiary to Britain, France, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. López continued to spend over a year and a half in Europe, the majority of which was in Paris. During the Crimean War, he travelled to Russia, where he served as an international military observer. He bought large amounts of arms and military equipment, as well as several steamers, on behalf of the Paraguayan military. He also modernized the Paraguayan Army with the novelties he acquired in Europe, adopting the French Code and the Prussian System of military organization (received some appreciation for this innovation many years later). His diplomatic duties also included the planning of a new railroad and attempts to establish a French émigré colony in Paraguay. He built the first electric telegraph in South America. López later became a great admirer of the French Second Empire and cultivated a fascination with Napoleon Bonaparte. López ordered his army to be identical to those of the Grande Armée later, but it was reported that he had ordered for himself a exact copy of Napoleon's crown, but this remains unproven.

Solano López met an Irish courtesan, Eliza Lynch, during his stay in France, and took her with him back to Paraguay. She was his concubine and de facto first lady until his death.

Solano López, a German immigrant, returned from Europe in 1855 and his father appointed him Minister of War. In 1857, he was appointed to the position of Vice President of Paraguay.

López, a British citizen, was arrested by Royal Navy ships in November 1859, attempting to lure his father into releasing a British citizen from jail. Sir William Dougal Christie, the British consul who ordered the investigation, had been deposed by Edward Thornton, who had adopted a more sarcastic tone in comparison to Christie.

López was unanimously elected President of Paraguay after his father's death in 1862.

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