Paraguay Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Paraguay appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 4 different states, among them Paraguay, Viceroyalty of Peru, Bolivia, Tekohá (Guarani).
ParaguayExplore the history of Paraguay in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Paraguay as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Paraguay, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1492 | Tekohá (Guarani) 81% |
| 1650 | Viceroyalty of Peru 83% |
| 1700 | Viceroyalty of Peru 83% |
| 1783 | Paraguay 71% · Viceroyalty of Peru 29% |
| 1800 | Paraguay 71% · Viceroyalty of Peru 29% |
| 1815 | Paraguay 71% · Viceroyalty of Peru 29% |
| 1880 | Bolivia 63% · Paraguay 38% |
| 1900 | Bolivia 63% · Paraguay 38% |
| 1914 | Paraguay 100% |
| 1920 | Paraguay 100% |
| 1930 | Paraguay 100% |
| 1938 | Paraguay 100% |
| 1945 | Paraguay 100% |
| 1960 | Paraguay 100% |
| 1994 | Paraguay 100% |
| 2010 | Paraguay 100% |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Paraguay?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Paraguay belonged to Paraguay, Viceroyalty of Peru, Bolivia, Tekohá (Guarani).
What was Paraguay part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Paraguay lay within Bolivia.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.