The English people in Paraguay mostly arrived during the colonial period as investors and industrialists. They were noted throughout the Southern cone region of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

as being skilled farmers, investors, and bankers and as having created many of the regions railways and settled vast tracts of land. Especially in the region of Sapucái, Paraguarí Department, where it was the first place in Paraguay to have electricity and railways. In the modern day however it is assumed most have become a part of the wider Paraguayan ethnicity, although there are still some in Paraguay who identify as "English". The English indirectly and probably inadvertently played a major part in Paraguay's continual existence, because the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

had invested heavily throughout

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, including

. The English had investments in the country through the

, which they did not want to see affected by the disastrous

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadlies ...

. Following the war, many politicians in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

proposed splitting the country between two of the victors, Brazil and Argentina. This would have seen Paraguay cease to exist as an independent state. The English investors and the

did not want to see their investments lost, and Brazil wanted to keep

as a sort of buffer state between it and Argentina, both of which had serious rivalries in the region. For those reasons,

was left in existence. Today the English influence in

is not so far-reaching as it once was, and the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

population in the country is a small minority, with many of the former English people of Paraguay becoming absorbed into the local population. Paraguay ranks relatively well at the

EF English Proficiency Index The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) attempts to rank countries by the equity of English language skills amongst those adults who took the EF test.

(Top 50).

References

Immigration to Paraguay English diaspora European Paraguayan Paraguay–United Kingdom relations {{SouthAm-ethno-group-stub

See also

References