The Republic of Paraguay, a landlocked country in the heart of South America surrounded by Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil, has an area of 157,042 sq. mi. (406,752 sq. km.) and a population of 5.5 million. Capital: Asuncion. The country is predominately agrarian, with no important mineral deposits or oil reserves. Meat, timber, oilseeds, tobacco and cotton account for 70 percent of Paraguay?s export revenue. ,Paraguay was first visited by Alejo Garcia, a shipwrecked Spaniard, in 1520. The interior was explored by Sebastian Cabot in 1526 and 1529, when he sailed up the Panama and Paraguay Rivers. Asuncion, which would become the center of a province embracing much of southern South America, was established by the Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar on Aug. 15, 1537. For a century and a half the history of Paraguay was largely the history of agricultural colonies established by the Jesuits in the south and east to Christianize the Indians. In 1811, following the outbreak of the South American wars of independence, Paraguayan patriots overthrew the local Spanish authorizes and proclaimed their country?s independence.,, Monetary System:,,, ,1 Peso = 8 Reales to 1872,, ,1 Peso = 100 Centesimos to 1870,, ,1 Peso = 100 Centavos (Centesimos) to 1944,, ,1 Guarani = 100 Centimos, 1944-,,