Artillery

El Cristiano

The cannon cast from church bells.

El Cristiano
El Cristiano in a battery on the river. Reconstruction.
Year
1867
Weight
About 12 tons ‡
Caliber
10-inch spherical shot
Today
National Historical Museum, Rio de Janeiro

It was the largest cannon in Paraguay, cast from the bronze of bells donated by churches across the country. It was cast at Ybycuí and finished at the Asunción Arsenal, with the inscription “Arsenal Asunción 1867”. It stood first in the Curupayty battery, where it fired on the Brazilian fleet on 15 August 1867, and later at Humaitá. After the fall of the fortress it was taken to Rio de Janeiro as a trophy.

It was not at the battle of Curupayty in 1866: it did not exist yet.

‡ Disputed.How it fell into allied hands: abandoned below the bluff at Humaitá, according to one version, or in the Chaco, according to Burton. In 2026 Brazil announced its return, pending approval by the Brazilian Congress.

Sources: Última Hora, “La historia del cañón Cristiano”; La Nación, “De balas y campanas” (2019); Hoy, on the return (August 2026).

Open in the illustrated encyclopedia ›

Guerra Guasu Collection · by José Báez · Free for everyone · Home · Privacy