The Guarani army in the jesuitical reductions of Paraguay
Abstract
It is known that the Guarani army that was created within the Jesuitical reductions gradually became the most important force at the service of the Spanish Crown in the whole region of the River Plate and in Paraguay. This aspect has been mentioned by many researchers, but has not been deeply analyzed until now. This article tries to understand the process of the creation and consolidation of this defensive force, which lent to the social organization of the reductions’ space a unique military character from the very beginning of the daily life of the missions. On the basis of the documentary sources and the military actions, the author discusses the military, political and social functions of the army. In this way she tries to understand the exceptional importance it got in the defense of the territory, in the social organization, in the acquired privileges and in the conflicts with the local Paraguayan society.
Key words: Guarani army, jesuitical reductions, conflicts.Downloads
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