Why had the East African government set its sights on a small country like Bolivia? There was method to it. Small countries were far easier to manipulate than large ones. In South America, only Brazil and Argentina could truly be called major powers, and thus they enjoyed far greater autonomy in foreign affairs than other Latin American countries. Whether Britain, the United States, or East Africa, all preferred to woo these two countries rather than suppress them.
Given their size, suppressing them too harshly could drive them straight into an enemy camp, which would be a loss outweighing the gain. Therefore, even East Africa's diplomatic strategy toward Argentina and Brazil prioritized keeping them steady. Conversely, Argentina and Brazil remained wary of East Africa and the United States, placing greater importance on their ties with European countries instead.
Since the twentieth century, the development of Argentina and Brazil could likewise be described as changing with each passing day. Both countries had possessed the potential to become great powers from the outset. Thus, it was not only world powers such as East Africa, the United States, and Britain that coveted hegemony over South America; Argentina and Brazil also believed that they ought to become South America's leaders.
Montevideo.
This was Uruguay's capital. Built along the Atlantic coast in the eighteenth century, the city later became the focal point of competition between Spain's Río de la Plata colony and Portugal's Brazilian colony, changing hands many times. Those historical grudges later carried over onto Argentina and Brazil. In the end, the Brazilian Empire emerged victorious and turned Uruguay into its territory.
By the nineteenth century, Uruguay's national consciousness had already awakened. In 1825, Uruguay once again drove out the Brazilian colonizers and formally declared independence, with Montevideo becoming its capital.
However, after gaining