The Many Faces of El Supremo: Historians, History, and Dr. Francia

Dr. José Gaspar de Francia, the first great dictator of Paraguay (1814–1840), has been an object of interest since the early 1800s. In an effort to preserve the independence of his nation, he isolated Paraguay politically from the outside world. Internally, he crushed the power of the Spanish merchant class, brought the old colonial elite to obedience, and subordinated the Church to his will. The state directed both the internal economy and the limited external trade. The dictator allowed no political liberty, but during his long regime Dr. Francia created a nation out of a people.  Until the mid‐twentieth century historians relied on the few available contemporary accounts of Dr. Francia's Paraguay. Polemics too often replaced objective analysis of his dictatorship. At various times, he was portrayed as a bloodthirsty tyrant, the denier of liberal progress, the defender of national sovereignty, the personification of Rousseau's “Popular Will,” and the progenitor of dictatorships that have cursed Paraguayan history. Even after archival research brought El Supremo (as he became known) into greater focus, controversy surrounded historical interpretations of Francia and his Paraguay. In the latter part of the twentieth century, it was proposed that he was a “leveler” of the colonial class society, a popular revolutionary, and a defender of traditional Paraguayan values. This article analyzes the various historical interpretations of Dr. Francia over the past two centuries and their origins in the political environment of the times. It concludes with suggestions for future research upon El Supremo and his Paraguay.