Eliza Lynch: the Paramour of Paraguay

Eliza Lynch in her younger years

In the modern-day city of Asuncion, Paraguay two main avenues, Avenida Madame Eliza A. Lynch and Avenida Mariscal Lopez intersect each other in the Estanzuela neighborhood. The junction of these two avenues is symbolic of the interaction of the lives of the two individuals after whom these main streets are named. These two people, an Irish woman from Cork and a Paraguayan man, the son of a dictator, came together in the mid-1800's and impacted the history of Paraguay with long-lasting and devastating consequences.


Elizabeth Alice Lynch was born in Charleville, Co. Cork on the 3^rd of June 1835. Her parents were members of the Church of Ireland. Her father John Lynch was a medical doctor and her mother Jane Elizabeth the daughter of a Royal Navy captain. History records little about her early life, but by the time she was 16 the Lynch family was living in Paris and Elizabeth was already married to French army officer Xavier Quatrefages. Her husband's career took the couple to live for a time in Algiers but the marriage did not last. In 1853 she left her soldier-husband and returned to live with her mother in Paris.

Francisco Solano Lopez

Shortly thereafter in the city of love and lights “Eliza” met Francisco Solano Lopez, the playboy son of the then dictator of Paraguay, Carlos Antonio Solano. Francisco was in Europe on his father's behalf, visiting various capitals seeking support for his country and also buying up materiel, both industrial and military to advance and defend it. From the beginning Francisco and Eliza became smitten by love and from then on her life became the stuff of exotic fable. The fact that a number of novels, poems, short stories and a ballet were written and a film was made about her in later years make it difficult to separate fact from fiction about her life. In between Francisco's diplomatic and business forays, Eliza became pregnant. Solano returned home to Paraguay leaving Lynch with the means to follow him soon after. She arrived in Buenos Aires in October 1855 where she gave birth to their first son, Juan Francisco “Panchito” Lopez. From there she traveled on with her baby to Paraguay.

Lynch at about 20 years old

“La Lynch” as she became known in Paraguay, never married Solano but she went on to bear him six more children. For this, the elite of Asuncion, the capital, regarded her with disdain. In spite of their attitude, Lynch projected an aura of self-confidence and high culture. She had been schooled in the Parisian arts and now she was intent on bringing high style to Asuncion society. This created a tension between the bigotry of the already established high society ladies of Paraguay with their view of her as the mistress of the dictator's son and her own snobbish self-portrayal as an even higher society madame from Paris.


From her arrival in 1853 up to 1862, Eliza Lynch, the paramour of the dictator's son had significant influence on the nation's life. She imported teachers and lecturers, architects and musicians from Europe who popularized literature, theater, musical concerts and French cuisine. She promoted education for all, including for women, and advanced the field of medicine. And most of all she supported her man Solano Lopez.


In September 1862, upon his father's death, Francisco Solano Lopez became president of Paraguay. Now “Madame Lynch”, as she described herself, became unofficially the “First Lady” of the nation. Unfortunately, Solano let the power of his office go to his head or as some would say, he let his lady have undue influence over his decisions as head of state.


Because Paraguay is a landlocked country, its only access to the sea was down the Paraguay and Parana Rivers to the Rio de la Plata and into the Atlantic. Solano had expansionist dreams. His country would be landlocked no longer. He would extend his territory taking a swath through Brazil out to the Atlantic. To prepare for this he brought in foreign technicians to build railroad and telegraph lines and to expand his capacity to build armaments and warships for action on the nations rivers. In addition he sought to increase the number and strength of his army with mandatory military service and intensive training. Solano was preparing for war.


Some commentators on the history of the period attribute Solano's aggressive spirit to his partner Eliza Lynch. As devoted as she was to him, he also was to her. He transferred vast land holdings and other state teasures to her name at a time when he felt he could trust few people. They said that Lynch's self-confidence and unbending will inspired him to forge ahead with the plan to expand Paraguayan territory. Other commentators describe her as having a more humane spirit and that she remained loyal to her man as well as to her adopted country. Still others said that she was nothing more than the Irish consort of the dictator who pushed him to start a futile war with his neighbors. Ambition motivated them both to reach too far beyond their realistic capabilities. And it was becoming quite clear that Solano himself suffered paranoia to the point of having some of his friends and family members executed for even questioning his cause.


In November 1864 Solano declared war against Brazil which previously had taken over Uruguayan lands. So all at once he was at war with two countries. And when he crossed over into Argentinean territory in his attempt to carry the war further south, he found himself in a three way battle, the War of the Triple Alliance of Brazil, Uruguay and now Argentina. The war dragged on for five years decimating the Paraguayan population. Some commentators said that as many as 90% of Paraguayan males above the age of 7 died in the conflagration.


The end came for Solano himself at Cerro Cora on March 1, 1870. Both he and his 15 year old son were executed by Brazilian solders. As the story goes, Lynch buried their bodies with her bare hands in the sacred earth of that place. The country was left in complete ruins and Lynch was taken prisoner. Claiming British citizenship, she escaped the clutches of the cruel Brazilians by being deported to London with her surviving children.

Lynch's tomb in La Recoleta

After a five year absence Lynch returned to Paraguay in October 1875 to try to recuperate some of the properties and treasures that had been confiscated from her. This time she was regarded as persona non grata and failed in her attempt. Again she left her adopted country and returned to live out her life quietly in Paris where she died in July 1886 at the age of 51. She was buried in Pere Lachaise cemetery where her body remained for the next 75 years.


Ironically the lady who was in life the mistress to one Paraguayan dictator was rescued in death and had her reputation restored by another. In 1961, dictator General Alfredo Stroessner declared Eliza Lynch a Paraguayan national heroine and had her body exhumed from French soil and brought to repose in the national cemetery, La Recoleta, in Asuncion where she will lie in eternam.

In April 2013 a reception was held in Asuncion for a private screening of the new documentary film titled: Eliza Lynch – Queen of Paraguay. More than 1000 invited guests attended one of the city's largest social events of the year. Irish actress, Maria Doyle Kennedy, who played the part of Lynch, described her as “a courageous, controversial, contradictory, complicated woman … I was haunted by her. It was a remarkable life.” The film is based on the biographical account written by Michael Lillis and Ronan Fanning. In comments after the screenng, Lillis said that like Ireland, Paraguay “knows the problems of small countries having powerful neighbors”. The film will be premiering on October 11, 2013 at the BFI London film festival. Watch for it in your area.

Further reading:
The Lives of Eliza Lynch; Scandal and Courage by Michael Lillis and Ronan Fleming, 2009
The Shadows of Eliza Lynch: How a Nineteenth Century Courtesan Became the Most Powerful Woman In Paraguay by Sian Rees, 2003
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2003/05/04/the-eliza-lynch-story.html
http://www.irishargentine.org/0601_028to031.pdf
http://www.ucd.ie/news/2009/10OCT09/051009_eliza.html
http://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/from-the-files-of-the-dib-paraguays-irish-national-heroine/