Battle of Mbororé
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The Battle of Mbororé was a battle 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 * ...
living in the
Jesuit Missions The phrase Jesuit missions usually refers to a Jesuit missionary enterprise in a particular area, involving a large number of Jesuit priests and brothers, and lasting over a long period of time. List of some Jesuit missions * Circular Mission ...
and the bandeirantes, explorers and adventurers based in
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
. It occurred on 11 March 1641 near the Mbororé mountain, now the town of Panambí in the
Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes ...
,
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.


Historic Antecedents


Need for Slaves and the beginning of the 'bandeiras'

In the early 17th century, the Dutch landed on the Brazil coasts intending to settle there. They did this by using piracy to control navigation along the Atlantic coast, disrupting the Brazilian slave trade. This was a heavy blow to the Portuguese Empire, which needed slave labor to cultivate sugar and raise livestock, the industries which prevailed on the Atlantic coast of Brazil. As a result of this disruption, the Portuguese plantation owners began to make inroads into the local Indian population to make up for the shortfall in slave labor. Moreover, due to the small quantities of silver, gold and precious stones found in the region of Piratininga, the scouts began to move towards the unknown interior of Brazil. These exploration and slave hunting groups, called bandeiras, were organized and managed as a business for the leading sectors of São Paulo, and their ranks included Mamluks (Portuguese/Indian Mestizos), indigenous Tupi and Dutch who came to Brazil to try their luck. They had the support of Spanish and Paraguayan officials. In their advance toward the west, the frontiersmen never crossed the threshold specified by the
Treaty of Tordesillas The Treaty of Tordesillas, ; pt, Tratado de Tordesilhas . signed in Tordesillas, Spain on 7 June 1494, and authenticated in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Emp ...
. Indirectly, the Bandeirantes of São Paulo became the vanguard of the Portuguese territorial expansion, which was consolidated by recovering Portugal's independence from Spain.


First Attacks on the Jesuit Missions

By decree in 1608, the governor of Asuncion, Paraguay,
Hernando Arias de Saavedra Hernando Arias de Saavedra (September 10, 1561 – 1634), commonly known as Hernandarias, was a soldier and politician of criollo ancestry. He was the first person born in the Americas to become a governor of a European colony in the New World, ...
ordered the Jesuits to areas surrounding the Parana River, Guayrá and areas inhabited by guaycurúes to found towns and evangelize the natives who inhabited these regions. Later, he included the peoples of Itatin (north of Asuncion) and Tape (the current state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). The Jesuits had begun this evangelization when the frontiersmen began arriving in eastern Guayrá. At first, they respected the indigenous peoples so treated by the Jesuits. However, the Guarani, concentrated in towns and skilled in various trades, represented a highly skilled workforce, defenseless because they could not bear arms as a result of another of the governor's decrees. Beginning in 1620, bandeiras' raids became increasingly aggressive, forcing the abandonment or relocation of some villages. Between 1628 and 1631 the bandeirantes' leaders, Raposo Tavares and Manuel Antonio Pires Preto and their men periodically struck Guayrá, capturing thousands of Guarani who were then auctioned off at São Paulo. It is estimated that in the years 1628-1629, raids captured some 5,000 Indians, of which only 1,200 reached São Paulo. The vast majority of them died in transit as a result of the slave traders' treatment. By the year 1632, 12,000 Guarani had been forcibly moved south, leaving the Guayrá region virtually deserted, in addition to population reductions in the nearby regions of San Ignacio Mini and Loreto in the territory of the present Province of Misiones. The Bandeirantes continued westward, striking Itatin in 1632. Then followed the Tape, invaded during the years 1636, 1637 and 1638 by successive bandeiras Raposo Tavares led by André Fernandes and Fernando Dias Pais.


The Jesuits' Defence


Montoya's Mission to the Crown

In 1638, priests
Antonio Ruiz de Montoya Antonio Ruiz de Montoya (13 June 1585, in Lima, Peru – 11 April 1652, in Lima, Peru) was a Jesuit priest and missionary in the Paraguayan Reductions. Life Montoya entered the Society of Jesus on 1 November 1606. In the same year, he accompani ...
and Francisco Diaz Tano traveled to
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
in order to report to the King
Felipe IV Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...
recent events in the missions. They wanted the King to lift his restrictions on the use of firearms by the natives. The recommendations of Ruiz de Montoya were accepted by the
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
and
Council of the Indies The Council of the Indies ( es, Consejo de las Indias), officially the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias, link=no, ), was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire for the Amer ...
, and dispatched several royal charters to Paraguay. By Royal Decree of 12 May 1640, the Guaraní were allowed to take firearms for their defense, but if so directed by the prior
Viceroy of Peru The viceroys of Peru ruled the Viceroyalty of Peru from 1544 to 1824 in the name of the monarch of Spain. The territories under ''de jure'' rule by the viceroys included in the 16th and 17th century almost all of South America except eastern Braz ...
. The priests returned to
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
, with the intent of providing weapons to the natives, while Father Tano went to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
to inform the Pope of the slave-hunting missions in order to obtain a papal protection.


The Apostles of Caazapaguazú skirmish

Meanwhile, prior to the imminent danger of the frontiersmen crossing 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 ...
, the regional priest
Diego de Boroa Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. E ...
, with the consent of the Governor of Asuncion and
Real Audiencia of Charcas The Real Audiencia of Charcas ( es, Audiencia y Cancillería Real de La Plata de los Charcas) was a Spanish '' audiencia'' with its seat in what is today Bolivia. It was established in 1559 in Ciudad de la Plata de Nuevo Toledo (later Charcas, to ...
, decided that the mission troops should receive firearms and begin military training. Eleven Spanish men were sent from
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to organize the defense forces. In late 1638, Father
Diego de Alfaro Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. E ...
crossed the Uruguay River with a number of Guaraní, armed and trained, with the intention of recovering indigenous territory and eventually face the bandeirantes who roamed the region. After some sporadic encounters with the forces of São Paulo, the troops were joined by Father Alfaro and 1,500 Guarani led by Father Romero. He then formed an army of 4,000 missionaries who advanced to the ravaged reduction
Apostles Caazapaguazú An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
where bandeirantes were entrenched after several partial defeats. The armed clash was the first decisive victory of the Guarani over the Paulistas, who abruptly fled after surrendering. mbiguous


São Paulo's government prepares the counterattack

Torn apart, the Bandeirantes forces returned to São Paulo to tell authorities what happened. Coincidentally, at that same time, Father Tano came to
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
from
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and Rome. He had in his possession royal charters and Papal Bulls condemning the bandeiras' conducting human trafficking with the indigenous people. Both events produced a backlash in the government of São Paulo which, in agreement with the plantations, expelled the Jesuits from the city. The city organized a huge bandeira with 450 Dutch and Portuguese armed with rifles and muskets, 700 canoes and 2,700 Tupi archers, led by Manuel Pires. The aim of the expedition was to take and destroy everything that was along the Uruguay and Paraná Rivers, taking all potential slaves. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Mborore Mborore Colonial Brazil Mborore Jesuit history in South America Military history of Paraguay Spanish missions in South America Portuguese colonization of the Americas 1640s in Brazil 1641 in South America