The Empress of South America
The secret at the heart of the bloody history of Paraguay is the weakness of one man – and the ruthless ambition of one woman…
Eliza Lynch is not a name that many recognise among history’s most notorious characters.
And yet behind every tyrant there is a powerful woman, and Eliza was the mistress of Fransisco Lopez, the self proclaimed El Supremo of Paraguay.
Exposing the casual brutality inflicted upon her subjects, to the veritable torture of the soldiers made to fight an unwinnable battle against the Brazilians, Nigel Cawthorne is unflinching in his coverage of Eliza’s brutal campaign against the people of Paraguay.
How did an Irish-born divorcee with a history of prostitution rise to become the Empress of South America?
And what made her the most terrifying and powerful woman in Paraguay during the 19th century?
‘The Empress of South America’ is the fascinating story of the woman who single-handedly monopolised then destroyed both the economy and a third of the population of a nation – but nonetheless managed to turn the history of Paraguay to her favour.