Now that I've two pages spare and only one night to type it up, it had better be in English and as I promised some time ago here are some extracts from the Encyclopaedia Britannica 9th edition [1875] and the 10th edition [1902], I hope you like what I find. Bolivia (9th.ed) Before the formation of the Republic, Bolivia, or the former province of Charcas, consisted of four great districts or "intendencias" which were under the rule of the viceroy of Rio de la Plata. These were; 1. Santa Cruz, formed of the districts of it's bishopric: Molos, Chiquitos, Santa Cruz, Valle Grande, Misque and the special jurisdiction of it's capital Cochabamba. La Paz, consisting of the dioceses of it's bishopric 3. Potosi, comprising Tarija, Chichas, Lipez, Atacama, Porco and Chayanta. 4. The province of La Plata, which embraced all remaining portions of the archbishopric. Bolivia [10th. ed] Defence: By the laws of 1875 and 1880, every Bolivian citizen fit for service "is" a soldier and is required to serve under the colours for two years, but the clergy are exempt, as are also certain others for special reasons. The military force consists of; [a] Troops of the Line, numbering in 1899, 2560, organized in two battalions of infantry, two regiments of cavalvy two regiments of artillery and garrison troops distributed among the departments. [b] The Reserve, composed of depot corps with 30,000 men from 20 to 25 years of age; the Ordinary and the Extraordinary Reserve with 40.000 men from 25 to 40 years of age and the Territorial Guard with 10.000 men from 40 to 50 years of age. The total combat force thus amounts to 82,560. That's all for Bolivia other than general history and the Pacific War, but that will have to wait. Brazil [9th. ed.] The effective strength of the army and navy is every year fixed by the General Legislative Assembly, upon the data furnished by the ministers of the two departments. The army was originally organized on the principles established by Marshal Beresford when in the service of Portugal. It is principally from the northern provinces that the infantry is recruited and the southern that the best cavalry is obtained. A board, presided over by H.R.H. the Comte d'Eu, marshal of the army, is charged with the reformation of military legislation and has been in session for some years. The actual army is thus composed, on a peace footing: a. Special corps, staff engineers and sanitary corps 427 b. Infantry, 21 Battalions 9,864 c. Cavalry, 5 Regiments and 22 Battalions 2,484 d. Artillery, 3 Regiments and 4 Batteries with 1 Battalion of Engineers 3,280 e. A Division stationed in Paraguay, of various arms 1,894 Total 17,949 On a war footing the army is raised to 32,000 men. Besides the Regular army there is a National Guard, which was organized in 1831 and comprised nearly 750,000 men in the latest returns, in Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry and Reserve. This force has been disbanded for the present, to be reorganized on the completion of the census begun in 1872. In 1875 the naval force was thus constituted: Vessal Number Guns Steam: Armour-plated ships 19 73 Steam: Frigate 1 12 Steam: Corvettes 8 61 Steam: Gun-boats 23 47 Steam: Transports 7 - Sailing: Corvette 1 22 Sailing: Sloops and smaller ships 2 15 Totals 61 230 These vessels were manned by 4,136 seamen, including gunners and marines. One Armoured vessel and four Corvettes were on the stocks in 1815. Brazil [10th. ed.] Defence: The army consisted in 1899 of 2,300 officers and 228,160 non - commissioned officers and men, organized in 40 Battalions of Infantry, 14 Regiments and 1 Corps of Cavalry, 6 Regiments of Field and 6 Regiments of Garrison Artillery and 2 Battalions of Engineers. Military service is nominally but not actually compulsory. The organization of an effective National Guard has been proposed. The rifle used is the Mannlicher for all the land forces. In addition to the Regular troops there are the armed police, numbering 20,000 men. These are used as soldiers when occasion demands and for all practical purposes form part of the military organization. Brazil is divided into 7 military districts. In the military schools there are 1400 students. The navy has been largely reinforced in recent years by the purchase of modern vessels and the re-arming and partial reconstruction of several of the older ships. The list of ships available for service now includes "I Armoured and 41 partly Armoured turret ships, 6 F 4 rst Class and 2 Second Class Cruisers, 1 Guard ship, 3 Monitors for river work, besides 2 building, 37 torpedo craft of various kinds. For service afloat there are 4,000 seamen, 1,000 firemen, 400 marines and 3,000 cadets and boys in the naval schools and training ships. Chile [10th.ed.] Defence: The army of Chile, according to the law of 24th Nov. 1897, must not exceed 9,000 men. The strength for 1900 was fixed at 5,885 with 913 officers. This force is organized in 1 Regiment [2 Battalions] of Coast Artillery, 5 Regiments of Field Artillery, 10 of Infantry, 8 of Cavalry, 1 Corps of Engineers [4 Companies], 2 Corps of pensioners and the whole is distributed among the four military zones into which Chile is divided. For the last ten years German drill instructors have been employed; Mauser and Mannlicher rifles are used and the batteries have Krupp guns of the newest type. The navy in 1899 consisted of 3 Battleships, launched respectively in 1890, 1874, and 1865, 2 Armoured Cruisers, 2 second class and 2 third class Cruisers, 11 gun vessels and gun boats, 4 Destroyers, launched at Birkenhead in 1896, and all of a speed of more than 30 knots, 15 first class and 4 second class torpedo boats. in 1898 the navy had 368 commissioned and staff officers and 3794 warrant officers and men. Back to Table of Contents -- El Dorado Vol V No. 3 Back to El Dorado List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by The South and Central American Military Historians Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history and related articles are available at http://www.magweb.com