Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay, located along the eastern bank of the Paraguay River. The Spanish conquistador Juan de Ayolas visited the site during his navigation up the Paraguay River, and Juan de Salazar y Espinosa founded the fort of Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción while searching for the missing Ayolas on 15 August 1537. In 1542, following the natives' destruction of Buenos Aires, the Spanish colonists there fled to Asunción, which became the center of a large Spanish province. In 1731, Jose de Antequera y Castro led a failed uprising in Asunción. On 15 May 1811, Paraguayan Patriots seized power from Governor Bernardo de Velasco. After Paraguayan independence, Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia (1813-1840) built roads through Asunción and named its streets. Under Carlos Antonio Lopez (1844-1862), 400 schools, metallurgic facilities, and the railroad were built. Asunción was captured by Brazil on 1 January 1869 during the Paraguayan War, and Brazilian troops occupied the city until 1876. The war, which killed two-thirds of Paraguay's population, caused slowed growth and economic stagnation. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Asunción experienced a flow of immigrants from Europe and the Levant, spurring Asunción's modernization and return to prosperity. A tramway opened in 1871, followed by electric trams in 1913. During the 1930s, Asunción became a place of relief and help for the Paraguayan Army soldiers wounded during the Chaco War. Until the early 1980s, Asunción was the only city in Paraguay with more than 100,000 inhabitants, and a rural exodus led to the expansion of the Greater Asunción metro area. In 1993, Asunción became an autonomous municipality adminstered as a capital district. In 2004, a fire at a supermarket killed over 300 people, devastating Asunción. During the 21st century, Asunción's unbridled growth and the lack of urban planning and infrastructure led to intense traffic and insufficiency of services. By 2022, Asunción had a population of 462,241 people; its metro area had 2,346,168 residents.
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