Concepción: History

Pre-20th-Century History

Historically, Concepción was a refuge for indigenous hunter-gatherers - Amerindian tribes linked by the Guaraní language. Indeed, most of Paraguay's remaining indigenous groups still live in the vicinity.

The town's modern-day origins can be traced back to the 16th century, when settlements were being established across the country by Spanish explorers. As well as a new culture, they brought with them a parochial system of education which would influence society for years to come. Concepción was founded by one such man - Agustín Fernado de Pinedo, a Spanish Governor.

Modern History

In the early 20th century, Concepción became a prosperous center for the country's north thanks to its river port and location in the otherwise sparsely populated Gran Chaco (hunting land), which has been aptly coined 'the last South American frontier'.

In the 1930s, land was divided up and assigned to Mennonite communities in the middle Chaco. Closer to the Río Paraguay, campesinos (rural dwellers practising subsistence agriculture) built picturesque houses of palm logs while army bases and cattle estancias (extensive grazing establishments) inhabited the denser thorn forests of the high Chaco.

During 1947, Concepción was a center for the Paraguayan Civil War, a conflict which lasted from March to August. In a nutshell, President Higinio Morínigo suspended the Constitution and banned political parties in 1940. After many years of strikes and student riots, he legalized political activity in 1946 and formed a cabinet with the Febreristas and the Colorado Party. However, the Febreristas felt Morinigo was favoring the Colorados and resigned, forming an alliance with the Liberal Party and the Paraguayan Communist Party. Rafael Franco subsequently led the Febreristas in a rebellion which turned into a civil war. To make matters more complicated, the Paraguayan armed forces split and sections of the navy and army joined the rebels. Morínigo, however, fought back and, by August 1947, had won back control of most of the country.

Recent History

More recently, Brazilian settlers have been moving in to the Chaco and proceeding to deforest the countryside, planting coffee and cotton and squeezing out the existing population, including the few remaining Aché (indigenous people). Together with the northwest of the country, the area has also become renowned for trading in contraband goods.

Although the Chaco accounts for over 60% of Paraguayan territory, less than 3% of the population lives there today.

Controversy hit in 2000 when the Moonies (Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church) purchased 360,000 ha (889,579 acres) of the Chaco for an estimated 15 million US dollars.

Each September, Concepción attracts revheads aplenty to the Trans-Chaco Rally, a three-day world motor-sport competition said to be one of the toughest on the planet.

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