When we talk about the use of chemical and biological weapons in military conflicts, we immediately think of a recent technology prepared for this type of situation. Among the most famous cases, we remember the accusation made by the United States against the government of the late dictator Saddam Hussein. Before invading the Iraqi nation, US authorities claimed that Saddam was developing such weapons, jeopardizing peace in the Middle East.
However, this type of weapon of mass destruction incites controversy about the Paraguay War. In a set of documents kept by the Miter Museum (ARG), there is an inconvenient letter from Duque de Caxias, one of the leaders of the Brazilian armies, addressed to Emperor Dom Pedro II. In this document, the Brazilian commander suggests that cholera-infected corpses had been purposely thrown into the Paraná River with the intention of infecting riverine enemies.
The possibility of this type of “low blow” generated a great stir among historians and the military. Historian José Chiavenato, who gives wide prominence to the atrocities committed in this conflict in his work, cites this document in his book “
The ones who were most indignant with this controversy were the Brazilian military, who do not admit this type of slanderous suspicion against the institution of which they belong. Colonel Cláudio Moreira Bento, author of the book “Caxias and national unity”, disdains this perspective when stating that this type of controversy is strictly pamphleteering.
However, Chiavenato refutes this idea defended by the general by justifying that Brazilians, especially the military, do not admit that Paraguay was the greatest victim of this war. To reject his perspective, the historian points out that more than two-thirds of those killed in the war were Paraguayans. Furthermore, he claims that the Count d’ Eu – another national military hero – used to release sick enemy soldiers to spread disease when they returned to his troops.
Finally, this controversy clashes with the idea that one has about the motivations and positions taken by Brazil during the conflict. Controversial theses such as those of Chiavenato destabilize the reconstruction of a heroic and morally incorruptible past of the Armed Forces of Brazil. Amidst so many disagreements, we see how the past of this historic war still manages to disturb contemporary man.
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16th to 19th century - wars - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "Biological Weapons in the Paraguay War"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/armas-biologicas-na-guerra-paraguai.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.