Hi all, I got back from a trip to Paraguay last fall and realized that fine country wasn't well represented in RTII! So I've created two maps, or really two versions of the same map:
Paraguay 1856 a restrictive scenario with events based on that country's early experience with railroad and the devastating War of the Triple Alliance.
Paraguay 1900, more of a free-for-all map without any special events.
These are my first maps, and they may well be my last, but I really enjoyed the process of putting them together. Feedback is graciously accepted.
I did a good bit of research to try to get the historic settlement patterns right. I've take a few liberties, but in general I think it's pretty close. Part of what's fascinating about Paraguay is that it was this fairly dense island of settlement in central-southern South America, with sparsely settled forests and plains in every direction except south well into the 20th Century. Since then there has been explosive growth, especially in Brazil east and north of Paraguay, as the Atlantic Rainforest was converted to farmland and Matto Grosso was settled. But for centuries Asuncion, Corrientes, and a few other towns were the only urban centers in this vast area, producing unique, vibrant, isolated cultures in Paraguay and northern Argentina.
Note: Export of logs and yerba mate (i.e. produce) via river ports was one of the key economic dynamics going back to the 16th Century, and is reflected in this map. I strongly recommend applying the port demand fix provided in this post and the handy dandy application instructions in this post.
Disfruta!
Paraguay 1856.zip Paraguay 1900.zip