1861 Vandermaelen / du Graty Map of Paraguay

This richly detailed and scarce map of the Republic of Paraguay was executed by the Brussels firm of Philippe Vandermaelen in 1861. The map was built upon the groundbreaking 1809 work by Spanish military engineer Félix de Azara, but to it was added data from more contemporaneous sources: the reports of the riverine exploration of the United States Navy, and the travels of the Belgian noble and military adventurer Baron Alfred Louis Hubert Ghislain Marbais du Graty. The map is thus quite different from the maps produced by Vandermaelen for his 1825 atlas.

Surveys and Gunboat Diplomacy

One source credited in the map is the USN Water Witch. This U.S. Navy gunboat's 1855 cruise would not have shed much light on this region, because its progress was arrested at the mouth of the Paraná, having come under fire by Paraguayan forces at Fort Itaipu. The engagement resulted in the death of helmsman Samuel Chaney, the curtailment of the surveying mission on the Paraná, and an international falling-out between Paraguay and the United States which would not be resolved until the return in 1858 of Water Witch to Paraguay, this time in company with a full squadron successfully tasked to exact an apology and an indemnity from Paraguay over the 1855 incident.

The Belgian Military Adventurer

The map also credits the efforts of Baron Alfred Marbais du Graty, who had fought in the service of Argentinian General Justo José de Urquiza during the 1851 'Platine War' and would remain in Argentina as part of the Urquiza government until 1861 or early 1862. Du Graty's military service took him along the Paraná River, and his specialty as a naturalist - Paraguay's meliponiculture - developed further his familiarity with the Republic. Following the decline of the Argentine Urquiza presidency, du Graty would return to Belgium to serve as Paraguay's Charge d'Affaires. It was during his tenure as a diplomat on behalf of the Republic that he wrote the book for which this map was intended.

Conflicting Territorial Claims

The borders of Paraguay and her neighbors were subject to overlapping claims between that country, Bolivia, and the Argentine Confederation. These claims would be central both to treaties and to wars fought between the neighboring countries. A July 19, 1852, treaty between the Argentine Confederation and Paraguay (following the 1851-2 Platine War) was written to dispose of two areas: the Misiones region (southeast of the Paraná River), assigned to Argentina, and the area west of the Paraguay River, assigned to Paraguay. Both these areas are marked on the map. There is an explanation that the Misiones, despite belonging to Argentina by the treaty, was administered and claimed by Paraguay, Argentina having refused to ratify the treaty. Pencil notation between the Rio Vermejo and the Rio Pilcomayo, identifies that area - known as Formosa - as 'Argentine.' The claims to these territories would remain sticking points in the relations of the nations of the La Plata region, but not so much as did the rights for travel on the rivers - over which Paraguay jealously exercised control.

Publication History and Census

The map was printed by Vandermaelen for inclusion in du Graty's 1862La République du Paraguay. While the volume is well represented in institutional collections, the map is not always present. We find only one example of the separate map cataloged in the Bibliothèque National de France.