History of Paraguay land to every Paraguayan family. He reopened the University, implemented monetary and municipal reforms, balanced the budget, financed the public debt, increased the capital of the Central Bank of Paraguay, and drew up plans to build highways and public works with the loan from the United States. Estigarribia faced sharp criticism from the conservative Catholic intellectuals and their newspaper "El Tiempo" as well as leftist "febrerista" student activists in the university. After anti-government demonstrations broke out in Asunción, the army suppressed them and arrested Catholic and "febrerista" leaders. This led to a withdrawal of Colorado support for Estigarribia, and an
History of Paraguay (to 1811) those of the Jesuits. Tensions between the natives and the Europeans grew steadily during the last years of the 18th century. Almost no archaeological research has been done in Paraguay, and the pre-Columbian history of the country is amazingly documented. What is certain is that the eastern part of the country was occupied by Guaraní Indians for at least 2 years before the Spanish conquest. Evidence indicates that those indigenous inhabitants developed a fairly sophisticated level of political autonomy, with quasi-sedentary, multivillage chiefdoms. The recorded history of Paraguay began indirectly in 1516 with the failed expedition of Juan Díaz de