Establishment and Expansion of Jesuit Missions in Paraguay (1630s)

Timeline

1. 1631–1636Between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers · Río de la Plata basinBetween 1631 and 1636, Jesuit missionaries founded or reorganized several reducciones in Guaraní settlements, each with a uniformly planned plaza, church, workshops, and farmland. Missionaries used Guaraní as the missionary medium and allowed retention of some local customs, attracting thousands of Guaraní to move in and forming semi-autonomous theocratic communities.
2. 1636–1639Missions of Guairá (present-day Paraná state, Brazil) · Southern BrazilArmed Portuguese bandeirante bands from São Paulo repeatedly raided Jesuit missions in northern Paraná (the province of Guairá), seizing Guaraní as slaves. Between 1636 and 1638, many missions were destroyed; Father Montoya led some twelve thousand Guaraní in a large-scale southwestward withdrawal to safe areas in the upper Paraná, known as the 'Great Guaraní Migration.'
3. 1639–1641Caaró (Mbororé, present-day Misiones province, Argentina) · Misiones provinceThrough Montoya's diplomatic mediation and authorization from the Spanish colonial authorities, the Jesuits were permitted to arm the Guaraní for self-defense. In the 1641 Battle of Caaró (Mbororé), Guaraní militia successfully repelled a large bandeirante invasion; the missions thereafter developed steadily, evolving by the 18th century into a prototype 'Jesuit Republic' with 30 communities and over 100,000 inhabitants.