Power and religious conflicts over the control of reductions in colonial Paraguay

Abstract

The study is about the impact the system of Jesuits settlements -reducciones- had upon hispanic-guaraní interethnic relations during the first half of the nineteenth century. An analysis of Franciscan bishop Bernardino de Cárdenas and the Jesuits fathers for the control of the guaraní settlments during the 1640' decade is done. Also opposing political and economic interests which divided Asuncion society into two groups are untangled. In other words, a general social conflict arose in defense of maintaining privileges already granted. This controversial issue with strong political repercussions allows us to visualize the problem of indigenous labor and the jesuit-guaraní alliance. This in turn lead us to understand the impact of the spiritual conquest in the new social order.