The Triple Alliance War: Iconographic and Cartographic Images, XIX Century
The War of the Triple Alliance left indelible marks on the history of South America. It was one of the bloodiest armed conflicts of the 19th century and one of the longest in the Americas. It redefined the national borders around the RÃo de la Plata, and also marked the historical processes of the countries involved: Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. On the one hand, it brought the total destruction of Paraguay's economic organization, leaving it in an unprivileged position in regional geopolitics, while paradoxically, the victory did not bring prosperity to the other contenders.
The effects of the war are felt even today. There is a diversity of historical interpretations, at times defined by a strong nationalist orientation and also by the effect of revisionism of national historiographies sensitive to changes in the political scenario of each country. In addition to the records of human massacre, visual documents emerge that allow to know new territories, multiple visions of geographic space, houses, camps, fortifications, equipment, the works of men. Human types not considered by academic art are portrayed, such as the black slaves who, turned into soldiers, fought for their own freedom. These iconographic and cartographic representations show the trajectories of common men who built their own history.
The records on the War of the Triple Aliance were inscribed on the Memory of the World Regional Register for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2013 by the following brasilian institutions: Arquivo Histórico do Exército, Comando do Exército; Arquivo Histórico e Mapoteca Histórica do Itamaraty, CDO-ERERIO, Ministério das Relações Exteriores; Arquivo Nacional; Diretoria do Patrimônio Histórico e Documentação da Marinha, Comando da Marinha; Fundação Biblioteca Nacional; Museu Histórico Nacional: Museu Imperial; Museu Nacional de Belas Artes; Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro. At the same time, the whole records were inscribed on the MoW International Register in 2015, including additional collections from the National Library of Uruguay.
Risks encountered
Environmental issues
| Identified risks | Level of risk |
|---|---|
Moisture | Low |
Temperature | Low |
Light (visible light, ultraviolet radiation, etc.) | None |
Dust | None |
Pollution | None |
Pests (rodents, animals, insects, etc.) | None |
Microorganisms (bacteria, mould, etc.) | Low |
Management or organizational issues
| Identified risks | Level of risk |
|---|---|
Lack of maintenance, including cleaning | None |
Inadequate building | Low |
Building with structural damage | None |
Lack of an adequate warehouse | Low |
Lack of boxes and/or archive materials | Low |
Lack of human resources | Moderate |
Lack of security measures | None |
Insufficient budget to operate | Low |
More specific conservation actions are needed with respect to the documentation, such as increasing and improving the storage, associated with the intensification of the material investigation. As a public institution, it would be necessary to increase the number of employees (civil servants).
Natural disaster risks
| Identified risks | Level of risk |
|---|---|
Fires | None |
Rains | Low |
Mudslides or landslides | Low |
Floods | None |
Hurricanes, cyclones, storms | None |
Earthquakes | None |
Tsunamis | None |
Volcanic eruptions | None |
Temperature increase | None |
In 2022, the city of Petrópolis was affected by heavy rains, which compromised some spaces in the Imperial Museum complex, although not the historical archive building, where documents are held. therefore, staying alert is necessary.
Political and/or social risks
| Identified risks | Level of risk |
|---|---|
Armed conflicts | None |
Illegal trafficking of documents | None |
Thefts or robberies | None |
Vandalism | None |
Threatening socio-cultural environment | None |
Lack of support/public policies | None |
There are no political or social risks.
Environment (location) issues
| Identified risks | Level of risk |
|---|---|
Material/storage units | Low |
Furniture | Low |
Room or warehouse | Low |
Building | Low |
Site or neighbourhood | Low |
Area or region, beyond the neighbourhood | Low |
Indicators
| Identified risks | |
|---|---|
Management Plan | Yes |
The Imperial Museum [Museu Imperial] follows the guidelines of the Brazilian Institute of Museums [Instituto Brasileiro de Museus], set out in the Museological Plan. | |
Response Protocol | Yes |
The Imperial Museum [Museu Imperial] has a civil fire brigade and rescuers. An internal protocol was developed and is included in the Museological Plan. | |
Documentary heritage digitization | Yes, partially |
Since 2009 the Imperial Museum [Museu Imperial] has been developing the project DAMI – Programa de Digitalização do Acervo do Museu Imperial [Digitalization of the Collection of the Imperial Museum], which has as main objectives digitalizing and giving access to all the institution’s collection on its website. It is a long-term project that aims at the democratization of the access to cultural assets. | |
Documentary heritage availability on the internet | Yes, partially |
The majority of the documents are of paper and cloth, integral and well preserved, in spite of the acidity that affects great part of the documentation. The acidity can be seen principally in the newspapers, pamphlets, programmes, homages and invitations, for having been produced with low quality papers. Cuttings from periodicals are glued on white paper. Some of the papers present, in very restricted areas, some loss, either by mechanical means like tears and cuts, with or without the fragment, or by infestation by xylophage insects. They present also some corrosion caused by the ferrogallic ink. There is widespread yellowing and stains, presumably occasioned by migration of acid elements, such as adhesives used in the past, graphite and fungus. Some more compact and in a smaller scale stains are caused by bacteria.one of the risk factors, of climate nature, is the humidity that reaches 80%, due to the geographical location, the tropical climate, and the surrounding green area.