Jesuits, Guarani and weapons. Guarani militias to fight against Indians of the Great Chaco
Abstract
In 1735, Jesuit Provincial Father Jaime Aguilar prepared a Report to the Hispanicmonarch which detailed the services done by the Guarani Indians of the Company reductions,including the interventions of the so called “Guarani militias”. These were erectedin an institution of great strategic military value in the area along the River Plate duringthe 17th and 18th centuries. During these centuries, province governors of Paraguay and Buenos Aires called these militias to carry out various indispensable tasks for the sustainabilityof some Hispanic cities. Among these tasks, the most frequent mobilizations werethose with the purpose of protecting those Hispanic cities adjacent to the territory of GreatChaco, such as Asunción, Corrientes, and Santa Fe, which suffered constant attacks by thelocal tribes of Indians. In the present work we intent to analyze the militia interventionsdeveloped in these border areas based on information of an unpublished document of the18th century. It enables us to understand the political and strategic value of this militaryinstitution during those years.
Key words: Militias, Jesuit Reductions, Great Chaco, Guaycuru.
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