FEAR

History: cannon 16 - SIGA nº 015904

 

  This Spanish cannon was manufactured during the Iberian Union - a political alliance between the crowns of Portugal and Spain that lasted from 1580 to 1640. In 1581, following a crisis of succession, Philip II of Spain was crowned sovereign of the two kingdoms. The cannon participated in at least one combat, as evidenced by the impact mark in its mouth. It is believed that centuries later it may have been used in the Paraguayan War, having been brought from Paraguay, a former Spanish colony, by Brazilians as a spoil of war.

 

  The 19th century Paraguayan War was South America’s biggest armed conflict, in which Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil came together to wage war against Paraguay, a country notorious for having summoned children to the battlefront.
In 1869, the last year of the war, with almost half of the Paraguayan population exterminated, about 4,000 children made up the army in Acosta Ñu, Paraguay. According to Adriano Muñoz, agroecological engineer and activist, the mothers of these children accompanied their children and hid themselves in the bush to help them by delivering sticks and stones. Furthermore, contends Muñoz, the effects of the war still shake Paraguay today, as it is an impoverished, politically unstable country.

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  Like other countries in the Americas, Paraguay has suffered the social, economic and emotional impact caused by Covid-19. Though Brazil, the epicenter of the pandemic in South America, is recovering, Ecuador and Venezuela remain of great concern because they are also facing serious economic and political crises.

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