What were the Jesuit missions among the Guaraní in Paraguay?
The Jesuit missions among the Guaraní
Las misiones jesuíticas guaraníes
1609–1768. From 1609 the Jesuits gathered Guaraní families into reducciones, mission towns on the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, in today's Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.
Where: Río de la Plata, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil
What happened
From 1609 the Jesuits gathered Guaraní families into reducciones, mission towns on the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, in today's Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. San Ignacio Miní, founded in 1610, moved several times under attack from the bandeirantes, slave-raiders from São Paulo, before settling in 1696 with about 4,500 Guaraní; in 1641 Guaraní armed by the Jesuits defeated the raiders at Mbororé. Each town was laid out round a plaza with church, school, workshops and council; the Guaraní carved the stone and printed books in their own language. Thirty missions held perhaps 100,000 people at their height. When Charles III expelled the Jesuits from all his dominions in 1767, the towns passed to other orders and to officials, and most decayed; San Ignacio was destroyed in the frontier wars of 1817. The ruins are a World Heritage Site.
Say it
En las misiones, los guaraníes construían iglesias y imprimían libros.
In the missions, the Guaraní built churches and printed books.
Why it matters
The missions are why Guaraní is today an official language of Paraguay spoken by most of its people, and a source of the region's religious art.
There today
- See
- You can visit the ruins of the Jesuit mission of San Ignacio Miní in Misiones, Argentina, a World Heritage Site where the Guaraní carved the stone around a central plaza.
Read about it
Culture
Connected
- Buenos Aires is founded, twice (1536–11 June 1580)
- Charles III expels the Jesuits (1767)
- Charles III expels the Jesuits (1767)
Sources
- Ruinas Jesuíticas de San Ignacio Miní — Gobierno de Argentina, Secretaría de Cultura
- Historia - Provincia de Misiones — Gobierno de la Provincia de Misiones (Argentina)
- Las reformas borbónicas en la Nueva España I (ficha de clase) — Secretaría de Educación Pública (México), Nueva Escuela Mexicana