The Gran Chapo is a geographical region in South America which overlaps the border between San Theodoros and Nuevo-Rico. It was thought that the area was a custodian of large oil reserves, resulting in R.W. Trickler, a business representative of the General American Oil company, to use subterfuge to spark a war between the two nations in order to secure the oil for the company.
The Chapo War was short and indecisive, resulting in a stalemate. It is eventually revealed that the notion of the presence of oil in the area was unfounded.
Notes[]
- The Gran Chapo is a fictionalisation of the Gran Chaco region, shared between Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. The war over supposed oil reserves parodies the 1932–35 Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay.
- The name "Gran Chapo" is a homophone of French grand chapeau, meaning "big hat"—a reference to the wide-brimmed straw hats associated with Latin America.