 Construction made by the Indians. (64 K) |
The
Missions in Paraguay were Utopia come true in the heart of South America,
one of the most important missions of the Catholic Church and a paradigm
of the American missionary work.
It was the fusion of European and Indian cultures: local customs, language
and Indian organisation were assimilated by noblemen from Castile.
 Indian Chieftains, Florian Pauke S. J. ca. 1776 (41 K) |
This development was accepted by the Indians - mainly
Guarani Indians- because it freed them from slavery and from being controlled
by the colonists. A group of Jesuits coming from Brazil arrive in Paraguay
in 1578, but only in 1604 the Jesuit Province of Paraguay is created and
separated from that of Peru. Its first provincial was Diego de Torres
(1551-1638). The first mission - San Ignacio Guazú - was founded in 1609.
At the beginning of the XVIII century there were
30 towns, 15 in what now is Argentina and the remaining ones in Paraguay
and Brazil. The missions were a synthesis between Spanish cities and the
Guarani villages. Big collective houses, of about 50 meters long, where
20 to 60 families lived.
 Houses of Indians. (55 K) |
The houses were separated by internal walls, forming individual
units for each family. They were separated by streets forming squares.
In the central square, the church was the luxury of the town, of Baroque-Hispanic-Guarani
style, they had three or five naves. The school , the padres' residence,
shops and the cemetery were at the sides of the main square.
Their production was self-sufficient. Only glass and paper were imported.
They formed a true multinational organisation with people coming from
different countries and applying the same principles in all their missions.
Near the settlements there were brick and lime ovens, dye works, mills,
foundries and vegetable gardens for the cultivation of corn, wheat, herbs,
cotton, vineyards, orange trees and grasslands for their cattle.
The property of the earth was divided among the abambaé - particular property
- and tupambaé - property of the community or God's which supported widows
and old men; the common property was cultivated during 4 days, for the
private property only 2 and on Sundays nobody worked.
 Indians gathering honey. Florian Pauke S. J. CA. 1776 (67 K) |
The cultivation of yerba mate required special attention,
the Paraguayan tea was drunk not only by the colonial society of Paraguay
or the River Plate but also in Chile and Perú. The Jesuits began with
the cultivation of yerba mate improving their quality and reducing its
cost.
The missions stood out for their crafts, especially those related with
construction and imagery.
The construction and use of the printing press was an achievement obtained
by a permission granted in 1634 although they only started towards 1700
with the first books. The license for the impression of catechisms, especially
those in Guaranty language was granted in Lima in 1703.
Although formally the governor of the region named a corregidor and a
town council integrated by indians, in fact the priests managed everything,
especially the administration of justice.
They were also independent of the Episcopal jurisdiction but, when the
bishops protested, they had to subject to them the election of those in
charge of the parishes.
They constantly suffered the attack of the bandeirantes, coming from San
Pablo, especially during the period between the years 1628 and 1641, it
was then that the Guarani Indians encouraged by the Jesuits rejected an
army of 500 bandeirantes and 2700 Indians near the Mbororé river.
 Spanish and Portuguese Jesuits with their students, Florian Pauke S. J. ca. 1776 (42 K) |
Córdoba where the Jesuits had arrived in 1585 was the
centre of the Province. In 1615 they already had a University and several
schools, besides numerous farms which produced everything they needed
(Santa Catalina (1622), Jesús María (1618) and Alta Gracia (1646).
The presence of the missions in the colonies always generated mistrust
due to its prosperity, the use of firearms for its defence, the presence
of foreigners, and the differentiated payment of tributes and tithes.
The colonial society and the secular Church always accused the Jesuits
of irregularities due to the power they exercised, their great influence
and privileges.
In 1750 Spain and Portugal signed a treaty to establish peace in their
American possessions. They exchanged Colonia del Sacramento (in Uruguay)
that had been taken by the Portuguese for seven towns on the frontier.
This exchange was resisted by the Indians.
 Spanish guard with the Indians. Florian Pauke S. J. ca. 1776 (55 K) |
