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The Guarani War ( es, link=no, Guerra Guaranítica, pt, Guerra Guaranítica) of 1756, also called the War of the Seven Reductions, took place between the
Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guaraní language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * ...
tribes of seven Jesuit Reductions and joint Spanish- Portuguese forces. It was a result of the 1750 Treaty of Madrid, which set a line of demarcation between Spanish and Portuguese colonial territory in South America. The boundary drawn up between the two nations was the
Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( es, Río Uruguay, ; pt, Rio Uruguai, ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La M ...
, with Portugal possessing the land east of the river. The seven Jesuit missions east of the Uruguay River, known as the Misiones Orientales, were to be dismantled and relocated on the Spanish western side of the river. The seven missions were called San Miguel, Santo Ángel, San Lorenzo Martir, San Nicolás, San Juan Bautista, San Luis Gonzaga, and
San Francisco de Borja San Francisco de Borja is a town and seat of the municipality of San Francisco de Borja, in the northern Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially n ...
. These missions were some of the most populous in South America with 26,362 inhabitants, according to a Jesuit census, and many more in the surrounding areas. In 1754 the Jesuits surrendered control of the missions, but the Guaraní led by
Sepé Tiaraju Sepé Tiaraju (unknown–1756) was an indigenous Guaraní leader in the Jesuit reduction mission of São Luiz Gonzaga and who died on February 7, 1756, in the municipality of São Gabriel, in the present-day state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil ...
, refused to comply with the order to relocate. Efforts by the Spanish army in 1754 to forcefully remove the Guarani from the missions failed. On 10 February 1756, a combined force of 3,000 Spanish and Portuguese soldiers fought the Guaraní at the battle of Caiboaté. It resulted in the death of 1,511 Guaraní, while the Europeans suffered only 4 deaths. In the aftermath of the battle, the joint Spanish-Portuguese army occupied the seven missions. Eventually Spain and Portugal annulled the 1750 treaty in the
Treaty of El Pardo (1761) The Treaty of El Pardo was signed on 12 February 1761 between representatives of the Spanish and Portuguese empires. Based on the terms of the treaty, all aspects of the Treaty of Madrid in 1750 were repealed. The reasons for this were the diffic ...
, with Spain regaining control over the seven missions and its surrounding territory.


Background

The Jesuit missions were established in the early 17th century by Spanish Jesuit
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
. For most of the history of the missions the Guaraní fought with
Portuguese-Brazilian Portuguese Brazilians ( pt, luso-brasileiros) are Brazilians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Portugal. Most of the Portuguese who arrived throughout the centuries in Brazil sought economic opportunities. Although present since th ...
slavers who sought to capture the Guaraní to sell them in Brazil. The Guaraní were levied to fight for Spain in several colonial conflicts with the Portuguese. The Treaty of Madrid was signed in 1750 to end an ongoing colonial border conflict between Spain and Portugal. The treaty ceded the outpost of
Colonia del Sacramento , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = Basilica del Sanctísimo Sacramento.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento , pushpin_map = Uruguay , subdivisio ...
to Spain and set the border between the two colonial empires as the Uruguay River. This new border ceded significant land to Portugal, including seven Jesuit Reductions. The Guaraní living in the seven mission settlements refused to move out of the lands that were ceded to Portugal, or to accept the rule of the Portuguese.


Conflict

The Guaraní refused to accept Portuguese rule and refused to leave the mission settlements. In 1754 Spanish and Portuguese military forces were dispatched to force the Guaraní to leave the area. There was inconclusive fighting throughout 1754 between Guaraní rebels under
Sepé Tiaraju Sepé Tiaraju (unknown–1756) was an indigenous Guaraní leader in the Jesuit reduction mission of São Luiz Gonzaga and who died on February 7, 1756, in the municipality of São Gabriel, in the present-day state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil ...
and the combined Portuguese and Spanish forces commanded by Freire de Andrade. By the end of 1754 an
armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
was signed between the Guaraní and the Spanish and Portuguese forces. Hostilities resumed in 1756 when an army of 3,000 Spanish, Portuguese, and native auxiliary soldiers under José de Andonaegui and Freire de Andrade was sent to subdue the Guaraní rebels. On 7 February 1756 the leader of the Guaraní rebels, Sepé Tiaraju, was killed in a skirmish with Spanish and Portuguese troops. Three days later the Guaraní were defeated at the battle of Caiboaté. 1,511 Guaraní were killed and 152 taken prisoner, while 4 Spanish and Portuguese were killed and about 30 were wounded. Following the defeat of the Guaraní the Jesuit reductions were occupied by Spanish and Portuguese forces.


Aftermath

After the defeat of the Guaraní rebels, the Spanish and Portuguese forced the Guaraní to abandon the seven reductions that had been ceded to Portugal in the Treaty of Madrid and to move to Spanish controlled lands. According to a
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
conducted in 1756 the population of the Guarani from the seven missions was 14,284, which was about 15,000 less than the population in 1750. The former Jesuit missions were occupied by the Portuguese-Brazilians until 1759 when Spain unilaterally ended the Treaty of Madrid and reclaimed the lands of the seven missions. The border of the
La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
colonial region was finalized by the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1777.


In popular culture

The 1759 novel ''
Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, Th ...
'' by Voltaire features the titular character's run-in with both the Portuguese and Jesuits during the Guaraní War The 1986 film '' The Mission'' is loosely based on these events.


Further reading

* Barbara Anne Ganso
From Resistance to Rebellion
- from The Guaraní Under Spanish Rule in the Río de la Plata.


References


External links



* James Schofield Saege

- review of the book by Barbara Anne Ganson
Jesuit Missions
* Harvard Review article o
the Guarani and the Jesuits
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guarani War Colonial Brazil Colonial Paraguay Wars involving Spain Wars involving Portugal Conflicts in 1756 Guaraní Gran Chaco Indigenous topics of the Gran Chaco Portuguese colonization of the Americas 1756 in Portugal 1756 in South America 18th century in Brazil 18th century in Argentina 18th century in the Viceroyalty of Peru 1756 in the Spanish Empire