Death of Francisco Solano López by the River Aquidabán, during the Battle of Cerro Corá

The Battle of Cerro Corá (or Aquidabanigui) was the last battle of the Paraguayan War, fought on 1 March 1870, in the vicinity of Cerro Corá, 454 kilometers northeast of Paraguay's capital Asunción. It is known for being the battle in which Francisco Solano López, Paraguayan president, was killed at the hands of the Imperial Brazilian Army.

The Paraguayan War was dragging on for more than five years and, after numerous battles, the Paraguayan army had been reduced to the elderly, the sick and children. The battle of Acosta Ñu was the last major combat of the war, which from then on was restricted to occasional skirmishes in the final months of 1869 and beginning of 1870. During this period, the Count of Eu, the allied commander-in-chief, organized expeditions in search of Solano López, following the path his column had taken. Along the way, López's and Eu's men made the civilian population suffer, either because of alleged conspiracies against López, or because of the looting and mistreatment inflicted by imperial troops. On 8 February 1870, López and his column reached Cerro Corá.

Conditions in the camp were deplorable, with the five hundred people who accompanied López in extreme hunger. In Cerro Corá, one head of cattle was slaughtered a day to feed everyone. The defensive positions organized by López were deficient, and to this was added the weak armament present. Brazilian troops, with about 2,600 men under the command of general José Antônio Correia da Câmara, approached and surrounded the camp, without López's knowledge. On 1 March they attacked on two sides: from the front and from the rear. The two defensive points, on the Tacuara and Aquidaban streams, quickly fell and the assault on the camp lasted a few minutes, with the resistance dispersing soon after.

López was surrounded by the Brazilians and, after refusing to surrender, was wounded with a spear by corporal Francisco Lacerda, fleeing into the forest soon after. General Câmara followed him and found him close to the Aquidaban stream, where he again refused to surrender, being shot by João Soares. The facts surrounding his death are shrouded in disagreements and inaccuracies. The battle ended soon after, with about 100 Paraguayans killed, 240 captured and seven Brazilians wounded. Time has given rise to interpretations of López's figure, portraying him both as a cruel tyrant and as a great Paraguayan leader. Over the years, the name Cerro Corá would become part of Paraguayan culture, baptizing streets, buildings, the park, in addition to being the title of a feature film from 1978, whose production became an outstanding work in the country.

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  • kom_pound [comrade/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Seems pretty unfortunate. I can understand wanting to delete your account after being yelled at on the Internet, especially if you're not plugged in to the JKR situation. Unfortunately, for many casual observers their main takeaway will just be "Insane political extremists bully innocent anime girl off the internet for wanting to play a game" and I'm sure that angle will be heavily pushed by the worst people.

    • Grownbravy [they/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      IMO it’s another case where the main message (hey JKR is a transphobe who will benefit from the success of this game and sees any additional growth in the HP franchise as support for her political beliefs) gets warped by people (if you play this game you’re a transphobe). Personally, if you play this game, you’re a disappointment, but the mob character of twitter seems unable to speak in nuance.

      • Cromalin [she/her]
        ·
        2 years ago

        i think that if it worked it would be worthwhile to bully streamers for playing the game. i don't like anyone playing it on their own time, but it's not like there's anything i can do about it. if a streamer is playing blood libel simulator 2023 for a large audience not only is that going to spread the whole nazi propaganda thing to a wide audience but it stands a decent chance of encouraging others to purchase it

        sadly many people are incapable of hearing "this game is blatant anti-semitic propaganda and all the money goes to a genocidal billionaire" and admitting that that's more important than their nostalgia, and bullying them will only make them dig in harder and make people who don't know anything more likely to take their side. idk what else to do here though

        also, i do genuinely think that if you hear trans people begging everyone not to play the game day in and day out for years and you play the game anyways you are transphobic

        • Grownbravy [they/them]
          ·
          2 years ago

          It’s worse that there are trans people being like “well I dont think your transphobic for playing the game”. I cant talk people through the logic that “yes, you are if you play” if they dont wanna listen and people are excusing them