Western Hemisphere 159
Narrative: Argentina began fortifying the island of Martin Garcia, which was near
Brazil’s ally, Uruguay. Worried over the possible increasing tensions and the potential
that Argentina could block traffic on the Rio de la Plata, Brazil increased its presence
on the river withfive more ships. The ships were overmatched by local Argentine
forces, but the show of force signaled Brazil’s interests in the area. Brazil needed the
river for passage to its western provinces.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from September 29, 1873. End Date changed
from September 29, 1873. End Date changed from April 23, 1874.
MID#2044
Dispute Number: 2044
Date(s): June 19, 1875 to February 3, 1876
Participants: 160 Argentina/140 Brazil
Outcome (and Settlement): Compromise (Negotiated)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Sparring between Brazil and Argentina over Argentina’s claims to the
Chaco continued through 1874. Argentina determined that the hastily signed alliance
of 1865 acknowledged Argentina’s boundary to include the entirety of the Chaco.
Brazil, on the other hand, was steadfast in their opposition to Argentina revising any
part of the status quo and occupied Paraguay in order to deter any movements by
Argentina. Still, Brazilian occupation of Paraguay began to frustrate Paraguayans,
so Paraguay pursued its own path independent of Brazil. Jaime Sosa Escalada, a
Paraguayan friendly to Argentina, was given the task of negotiating with Argentina’s
Carlos Tejedor. His instructions were to insist on the Pilcomayo as the northern line of
Argentine territory, force a withdrawal of both Brazil and Argentina from Paraguayan
territory, try to force Brazilian evacuation of Cerrito Island and to retrieve Villa
Occidental without indemnity. Despite strong Brazilian objections, Sosa and Tejedor
signed a treaty on May 20, 1875, where Paraguay ceded Misiones, the Chaco north to
the Pilcomayo line, and Villa Occidental to Argentina. Brazil was not pleased. Para-
guay was not pleased either. President Juan Bautista Gill of Paraguay vowed to never
accept the terms of the treaty, and Sosa was stripped of his duties and Gill appointed
Dr. Facundo Machain as minister to Brazil for negotiations to undo Sosa’s “treach-
ery.” Amidst the furor, Argentina landed 300 reinforcements at Villa Occidental and
Corrientes. This led to suspicions that Argentina would instigate a revolution in Para-
guay to oust Gill if the Sosa-Tejedor Agreement was not ratified. None immediately
occurred. Negotiations among the three states lingered, complicated by further threats
of revolution against Gill. One came when German Serrano, a disgruntled general, led
a small-scale insurrection in December 1875. The revolt was quickly defeated, last-
ing only three days from December 8 to 11. While this incident was minor in scale, it
succeeded in getting Paraguay to believe that Brazil, not Argentina, had instigated this
event. All three sides were soon eager to settle the issue. The Sosa-Tejedor agreement
was a disaster, Asuncion was running out of money, and Brazil and Argentina had
domestic problems of their own. Two treaties were signed in February 1876 that ended
the controversy. This is generally known as the Machain-Irigoyen Treaty.
Coding changes: End Date changed from March 3, 1876.