A Brief Account of the Relationship between the Jesuits and Guaraní Indians.

From Chapter XIV, pages 341 and 342, of John Campbell’s Spanish Settlements in America:


"Thefe Indians are divided into forty-two parifhes, all on the banks of the river Paraguay and Parana, and none above thirty miles diftance from another. In each parifh there is a Jefuit, who is fupreme in all caufes, as well civil as ecclefiaftical, from whofe decifion there lies no appeal. By him their caciques or chief officers are nominated, as alfo all inferior ones; and even their military commanders receive their orders from him. Nothing can be better contrived than the regulations under which they live. Every family hath its proportion of land and labour. Induftry is common to all, yet wealth is attained by none; the product of their harveft is carried into the fociety’s magazines, whence the fathers difpenfe whatever to them appears neceffary to every family according to its degree. The furplus, which is very confiderable, faid to amount about 800,000 pounds Sterling, is fent to Cordova or Santa Fee, there being at each place a procurator-general, who takes care of what belongs to the fociety, and as occafion offers, tranfports their wealth into Europe."

This brief excerpt from John Campbell’s Spanish Settlements in America, illustrates the rigid structure in the Jesuit Reductions between the Guaraní Indians and the Jesuit priests. For example, “the Jesuit is supreme in all causes, as well as civil as ecclesiastical”… “from whose decision there lies no appeal.” (341) “Wealth is attained by none”… “the fathers dispense whatever to them appears necessary to every family according to its degree.” (342) The Jesuits were clearly in charge of everything that took place in the Reductions, they were the government, they were the church, they proportioned out the land and labor, and they dispensed the food to each family according to their specific needs. The sistema de castas in the Jesuit Reduction is much more socialistic because there is only a distinction between the Jesuit priests and the Guaraní Indians; there is no wealthy, middle class, or poor sections of society. The Jesuit priests did not allow any of the Indians to achieve any wealth or any particular Indian to gain power, the Jesuits appointed each cacique and military officer themselves rather than let them come to power through a hereditary system.

The result of the Jesuit Reductions in Paraguay is that we get to see a system much different here than has been seen in other Spanish colonies. The Jesuits were undoubtedly in charge of everything that took place in the society and took measures to prevent the emergence of a class system that was evident in other colonial societies in the Spanish empire.


Campbell, John. An account of the Spanish settlements in America. In four parts. ... To which is annexed, a succinct account of the climate, produce, trade,manufactures, &c. of Old Spain. Illustrated with a map of America. Edinburgh, 1762. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale Group.http://galenet.galegroup.com.ezproxy.fau.edu/servlet/ECCO.

The Mission

The Mission. A 1986 British film about the experiences of a Jesuit missionary in 18th century South America. Here is the link to view it on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvWaD-NErlY

Jesuit Reductions: Typical Layout and Map.

McNaspy, C.J.. "The Archaeology of the Paraguay Reductions (1609-1767)." World Archaeology: Archaeology and the Christian Church 18, no. 3 (1987): 398-410.

The Colonial Government of Paraguay.

The main form of government in colonial Paraguay that controlled the native Guaraní population was the reducciones system that was formed and controlled by the Spanish Jesuits in the 17th century. Paraguay and the Rio de la Plata region was not a priority of the Spanish crown in the conquering of the Americas because the region that consisted of colonial Paraguay had no gold and a very sparse population. Spanish colonists numbered only a few thousand by the beginning of the 17th century and were centered mainly around the colony of Asuncion. In 1604 the Jesuit province of Paraguay was formed of a vast region that included Chile (until 1625), Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and about one-third of Bolivia and Brazil.

The Jesuits organized and ruled their reducciones on the basis of a Papal Bull issued by Pope Paul III in 1620 which empowered them to write and enforce any statute or order deemed necessary for the welfare and security of the missions. The Jesuit reducciones were also granted independence by the Spanish Crown from the Inquisition which gave the Jesuit priests total control of the religious education and maintenance of the natives. The Guaraní natives, as a result of being ushered into the reducciones system, were also able to avoid the encomienda system that was still taking place in Paraguay.

The Jesuit system consisted of several individual reducciones spread across the vast region of the province of Paraguay (click map to view) and each one was under strict rule of the Jesuit fathers who controlled the economic, religious, and social life of the Guaraní natives. Each reducciones was administered by two Jesuit fathers, sometimes assisted by a co-adjutor (assistant), under the general authority of a Superior. One of the fathers was also the parish priest and the chief of the community, making the important decisions concerning work and the economy, law enforcement, and the teaching and training of children and adults. The most interesting fact of these reducciones was that the number of Jesuit fathers who comprised the government of a population that reached 140,000, in a territory larger than England, never reached more than 100.

The Spanish Crown supported and encouraged the reducciones system because they provided protection from the Portuguese moving southward from Sao Paulo, Brazil into Paraguay territory looking for slaves and gold. As a result of being formed into the Jesuit reducciones the Guaraní natives found protection from the Portuguese looking for slaves, the colonists exploitation in the encomienda system, and against fierce nomadic tribes in the Paraguay province.

Bacigalupo, Mario F. "Bernardo Ibáñez de Echavarri and the Image of the Jesuit Missions of Paraguay." The Americas 35, no. 4 (1979): 475-494.

Livi-Bacci, Massimo, and Ernesto J. Maeder. "The Missions of Paraguay: The Demography of an Experiment," Journal of Interdisciplinary History 35, 2 (2004): 185-224.

The Religious Establishment in Paraguay.

The first missionary work in Paraguay began in 1580 by two Portuguese Jesuit priests, Thomas Fields and Manuel Ortega. Paraguay was a Spanish province that was scarcely settled in the beginning and the Portuguese were able to begin the first missionary work when the Spanish and Portuguese crowns were united under Phillip II. The two main centers for religious administration were Asuncion and Guayra. It was from these two centers in which Fields and Ortega combed the rivers and jungles of Paraguay to instruct groups of Guarani Indians.

At first, the Guarani were suspicious of the Jesuits and the emissaries they sent out ahead to seek out the caciques but, gradually, by means of small gifts and the "powerful force of the Truth," the Guarani were "moved to abandon their lairs and form towns." (pg 46) These towns were called aldeas which are the primitive precursors to the reducciones that were formed later in Paraguay. The main problem the two missionaries had to contend with was groups of Indians who returned to their primitive ways and habits in the the jungle. Because of the lack of manpower in Paraguay there were no priests able to keep constant contact with the aldeas already formed. By 1590, the crown sent more missionaries to Paraguay to combat this problem which allowed Fields and Ortega to form new aldeas and help return former aldeas to the Catholic doctrine.

In 1590 there was a smallpox epidemic throughout Paraguay which gave the Jesuit priests the oppurtunity to reinforce Catholic dogma concerning sin and retribution. They depicted "God as the Avenger, who punishes the sins by sending plagues upon the land." (pg 47) However, it was the selfless caring for the sick and dying that earned the Jesuit missionaries the affection of the Guarani.

In 1599, the Portuguese abandoned the territories of Paraguay because it was felt that they could not properly meet the needs of the various regions of Paraguay. In 1601, after a letter from Thomas Fields who wanted to salvage his work in Paraguay, Rome issued a decree formally establishing the territory of Paraguay giving jurisdiction to the Spanish Jesuits. By 1605 the Spanish had arrived to formally setup a new Jesuit province in Paraguay.

McGeagh, Robert. "Thomas Fields and the Precursors of the Guaraní Reducciones." Colonial Latin American Historical Review 2, no. 1 (1993): 35-55.

The Economy of Colonial Paraguay.

The Guaraní economy prior to colonization by the Spanish consisted of agriculture, fishing, and hunting. The foods typically grown by the Guaraní were sweet manioc (cassava root), maize (their staple food), sweet potatoes, beans, peanuts, and pumpkins. Meat was obtained for their diet by hunting deer and tapir (pig-like animals), and fishing also supplemented their protein intake, especially for tribes in close proximity to major rivers.

Following the establishment of the encomienda system and Jesuit reducciones across Paraguay the yerba mate, (A species of holly indigenous to the Paraguay region that is steeped in hot water to create a tea-like beverage and was used for medicinal purposes by the Guaraní. It appears to produce a narcotic-like effect when drank.) became the staple export for the Spanish to trade with neighboring colonies. Because there was no gold or silver to be found in Paraguay the Spanish relied on the bartering system and the selling of agriculture and cattle to neighboring colonies (The selling of items was necessary for the Guaraní in order to pay tribute to the Spanish crown which required silver coinage) in order to run the missions.

The social ramifications for the Spanish were minimal because the Guaraní were doing the same things economically that they had done before the Spanish arrived. The Spanish introduced cattle and the trade system in Paraguay which worked very well because the Spanish had the Guaraní Indians to work the land and cattle for trade with other colonies. The most interesting problem in the economy of Paraguay was in the seventeenth century the governor of Paraguay put an end to the production and consumption of yerba mate because the Spanish drank it continuously and “had become such a necessity among the settlers that many fell into debt or sold their arms, horses, and clothing to get it,” while many people “often skipped going to mass in order to have their yerba mate.” (Lopez 498)

Service, Elman R. "The Encomienda in Paraguay." The Hispanic American Historical Review 31, no. 2 (1951): 230-252.

Lopez, Adalberto. "The Economics of Yerba Mate in Seventeenth-Century South America." Agricultural History 48, no. 4 (1974): 493-509.

The Pre-Encomienda System of Paraguay.

The villages of the Guarani Indians in Paraguay were comprised of large thatched communal buildings that contained several families of one patrilineal lineage where each unit contained its own leader or chief. The chiefs power was limited compared to other colonial Latin American hierarchal systems because Guarani society was not class structured where a chief would have authority over several widespread villages. The Guarani society was important in determining what kind of control system the Spanish would later implement because they could not simply replace the Guarani chiefs in order to gain widespread control. The encomienda system was not immediately set up because the Spaniards initially did not establish the fort at Asuncion in order to conquer the Indians in the region. Rather than set up a permanent establishment, the Spaniards established a fort there because they hoped to find gold, silver, and groups of Indians with treasures.

Originally, the fort at Asuncion was repeatedly threatened by large numbers of war-driven indigenous tribes of the Chaco region and because the Guarani were under the same circumstances with the Chaco tribes they welcomed the Spaniards as allies to combat these war-driven tribes. The Spaniards formed an alliance with Guarani chiefs that allowed them to build their fort which became the headquarters for exploration and future conquest in the Paraguay region. Once the Spaniards were finally settled in the area they took great care not to "violate the customs or wound the sensibilities of the Guarani." (pg233) Because they were looking for riches rather than trying to establish a settlement the Spaniards acquired large numbers of Guarani women to serve as wives, concubines, servants, and food providers. The women also provided labor for the Spanish in the same fashion they provided for the Guarani chiefs. The men of the Guarani tribes carried out numerous military expeditions under Spanish leadership in order to combat against the constant threat of the war-driven Chaco tribes of the region. In 1556, after several years of searching for riches and treasures the Spanish set up the encomienda system in accordance with crown order which led to rapid establishments of settlements throughout Paraguay by the Spanish and Guarani people.

Service, Elman R.. "The Encomienda in Paraguay." The Hispanic American Historical Review 31, no. 2 (1951): 230-252

Evueví Indians

The conflict between the Spanish conquistadors and the Evueví Indians, a Chaco tribe located along the Paraguay River in eastern Paraguay, lasted for over a hundred years in the 15th and 16th centuries and eventually resulted in a significant decrease in the Evueví population that finally forced them to comply with Spanish settlement. The real reasons for this conflict are not known but from the evidence of Evueví culture one could see why they would pose such a resistance to the Spanish conquistadors.

The first evidence for the conflict between the Spanish and the Evueví would be religion. The Evueví practiced a form of religion called totemism which is the belief that a group of objects, plants or animals, share a common blood relationship. The Spanish practice of conversion of natives in the region they conquered would have been much tougher to do with a group like the Evueví because they didn't believe in any god or diety. The shaman was the most influential person in the tribe of Evueví who believed in nature and the relationship everything in nature has to one another. The Guaraní Indians west of the Paraguay River were much more susceptible to conversion because they believed in gods and diety and the transition would have been a much easier one to Catholicism and their belief in the holy trinity.

The second peice of evidence that shows why the Evueví would have been hostile is because they are located in the Chaco region east of the Paraguay River. The native tribes in this area are notorious for being war-like compared to the Guaraní in the west who were much more peaceful tribes. Once the conflict between the Spanish and the Evueví started, it didn't stop until a lack of population forced the Evueví into getting along with the Spanish. The elders of the Evueví tribe would pass down in oral tradition stories of the conflicts with the Spanish in order for the younger natives of the tribe to continue with the resistance against the Spanish. The Evueví would also raid Spanish settlements, steal their small children, and raise them as their own in order to supplement their population to continue the resistance. This explains why the conflict continued for nearly a hundred and fifty years.

Due to the fact that there was no written word from the Evueví explaining their perceptions of the Spanish conquest one can see from the evidence why they resisted the Spanish attempts to conquer and convert them for nearly a hundred and fifty years. In reverse, it is why the Spanish had a much easier time conquering and converting the Guaraní tribes on the western side of the Paraguay River who were much more peaceful tribes that already believed in gods and dieties.

Ganson, Barbara. "The Evueví of Paraguay: Adaptive Strategies and Responses to Colonialism, 1528-1811." The Americas 45, no. 4 (1989): 461-488.

Alejo Garcia Killed by Guarani after Invasion of Inca Empire. 1526.

Alejo Garcia, famous for his understanding of the Guarani language, was killed along with most of his crew, by the Guarani inhabitants on his return to the eastern side of the Paraguay River. The same inhabitants who accompanied him and his crew along their voyage to plunder the Inca Empire in the southern mountains of Peru.

Alejo Garcia was sent by Martim Affonso de Souza to the interior of Paraguay along the River Paraguay where he came across several villages of Guarani inhabitants. Him and his crew were well received by the Guarani and he persuaded them to accompany him on a westward voyage across the Paraguay River to the mountains of Southern Peru hoping to bring backs goods to be used for many purposes, including war.

Alejo Garcia and his crew of two thousand Guarani made their way through westward Paraguay, a heavily forested and mountainous land inhabited by several groups of cannibal indigenous natives known as the Chaco. Due to the Chaco's warlike lifestyle Garcia and his Guarani crew were forced to fight their way across the Chaco territory until they reached the southern mountains of Peru, the tip of the Inca Empire. It was there they found villages inhabitated by the Inca whom they plundered and killed until they were met by an overwhelming force and were forced to return to Paraguay and the plains of the Guarani inhabitants.

Upon their return to the plains of eastern Paraguay the Guarani natives killed Garcia and his entire crew minus Garcia's young son. Luckily, Garcia had dispatched two of his crew to Brazil to tell Martim Affonso de Souza of his discoveries. Unfortunate for us, we still know little about these inhabitants of on both sides of the Paraguay river. Luckily I received news of Garcia's exploits of considerable wealth and the untimely death of him and his crew. I plan on making a voyage to learn more as soon as possible.

Sebastian Cabot.


Nordenskiold, B. E. (1917). The Guarani Invasion of the Inca Empire in the Sixteenth Century: An Historical Indian Migration. Geographical Review, 4(2), 103-121.

Paraguay: A Country Study. Hanratty, Dannin M. and Meditz, Sandra W. (Ed.) Washington, D.C.: Washington GPO for the Library of Congress. 1988. http://countrystudies.us/paraguay/.