Video: Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis
A visit to the Jesuit missions, or reductions, of Argentina and Brazil.
In remote parts of Argentina and Brazil, the ruins of five Jesuit-Guarani outposts offer unique insights into the earliest colonial periods of South America. Founded in the 17th century by Jesuit missionaries, São Miguel Arcanjo, San Ignacio Miní, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto, and Santa María la Mayor were intended to convert indigenous peoples of the region to the Catholic faith. These five sites, part of around 30 total, are the best surviving examples of these missions.
The Jesuits may have had their own goals in coming to South America, and they met with initial resistance from indigenous people. They also brought deadly diseases among their new congregations. But their work sought to build communities more than exploit them, a key difference from most colonial policies. The missions, or Jesuit reductions, drew in many Guarani people, who sought shelter from the slavery and oppression common in other Spanish- and Portuguese-controlled areas. The missions thus grew into thriving, integrated communities. They even became a point of social resistance against raiding slavers. Small details in the architecture reveal combined elements of two cultures, such as depictions of maize and natural designs.
The Jesuit missions fell out of use in the mid-18th century, as the Jesuits fell out of favor in Europe. The ruins of their missions, however, are still a fascinating insight into a point of relative equality and harmony in early colonial South America.
Further Reading
“Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora De Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (Argentina), Ruins of Sao Miguel Das Missoes (Brazil).” UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UNESCO, whc.unesco.org/en/list/275/.
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