It was March 1, 1814, and José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, was about to become "Supreme Dictator", a title he would hold until his death in 1840.
In 1814, Francia issued a decree forbidding marriages between "European men" (namely, Spaniards) and women "known as Spanish" (born in Spain or of Spanish descent). European men would only be allowed to marry indigenous, mixed-race or black Paraguayan women.
By preventing the white elite from reproducing, Francia's decree had the undeniable potential to allow the newly independent Paraguay to rise as a mixed-race nation."
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"Paraguayan exceptionalism
It was March 1, 1814, and José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, was about to become "Supreme Dictator", a title he would hold until his death in 1840.
In 1814, Francia issued a decree forbidding marriages between "European men" (namely, Spaniards) and women "known as Spanish" (born in Spain or of Spanish descent). European men would only be allowed to marry indigenous, mixed-race or black Paraguayan women.
By preventing the white elite from reproducing, Francia's decree had the undeniable potential to allow the newly independent Paraguay to rise as a mixed-race nation."