A The technological rush to control the Plata, on the Riachuelo path

Abstract

The Naval Battle of Riachuelo, a combat that helped to change the course of the Paraguayan War in the initial phase of the conflict, can be analyzed from the point of view of the race for naval technology. This race was undertaken by the two warring sides and has aimed, in the years immediately before the war, the introduction of ironclads before their potential enemy, as Brazil and Paraguay envisioned a naval combat in that theater of operations. However, the finish line of the race was anticipated by the facts that hastened the outbreak of the conflict and led to Riachuelo, a battle that had to be fought between unarmored ships. Brazil began the race with a good advantage, by keeping a significant Navy and seeking the acquisition, maintenance and construction of new types of steamships in the previous decades, while Paraguay, by ordering a number of ships in Europe, sought to override this advantage.