Misiones () is a
department located in the southern region of
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
. Its capital is
San Juan Bautista. The eighth of Paraguay's 17 departments, it was created in 1906, then known as the ''San Ignacio Department'', and was not given its present name until 1945. Its current name reflects its status as home to several
Jesuit Reductions, or missions.
Misiones borders the departments of
ParaguarÃ
Paraguarà (; ) is a city, '' distrito'' and capital of Paraguarà Department in Paraguay, located 66 km from the country's capital, Asunción. At the 2002 census it had a population of 22,154. and
Caazapá
Caazapá () is a city in Paraguay, founded in 1607, by Friar Luis de Bolaños. It is located in the Caazapá District and is the capital of the Caazapá Department. There are five neighbourhoods called "Barrios" in the city: Then main one is the ...
to the north,
Itapúa
Itapúa () is a department in the southern region of Paraguay. The capital is the city of Encarnación. It is divided into 30 districts, more than any other department in the country.
History
This department was created after the breakup of the ...
to the east,
Ñeembucú
Ñeembucú (; Paraguayan GuaranÃ, GuaranÃ: ''Ñe'ẽmbuku'') is a Departments of Paraguay, department located in the south of the Eastern Region of Paraguay. The capital is Pilar, Paraguay, Pilar. The department is almost entirely rural, and ...
to the west, and the
Corrientes Province
Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; ), officially the Province of Corrientes (; ) is a Provinces of Argentina, province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (from the north, cl ...
of
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
to the south.
History
The modern settling of Misiones began with the arrival of Jesuit missionaries to the region in the 17th century and the subsequent establishment of several
reductions
Reductions (, also called ; ) were settlements established by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such reductions were also ...
whose purpose was to both civilize and
catechize the indigenous
Guaranà peoples. While several of these reductions would ultimately be in Argentinian and
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
ian territory, 8 of the reductions would remain in Paraguay, concentrated in what would become the Misiones and Itapúa departments. Some of these reductions, namely
San Ignacio Guazú,
Santa Maria de Fe and
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
would become the foundation for subsequent towns in Misiones.
The town of
Yabebyry was established in 1790, and later, during the presidency of
Carlos Antonio López
Carlos Antonio López Ynsfrán (November 4, 1792 – September 10, 1862) was leader of Paraguay from 1841 to 1862. Under his presidency, he undertook a process of economic and political modernization for Paraguay, and ended the isolationist poli ...
, the towns of San Miguel and San Juan Bautista were founded. When the Misiones department was created in 1906 as the San Ignacio department, these towns were made several of the department's first 8 districts, along with
Santa Rosa,
Ayolas and
Villa Florida. When the department was renamed in 1945, its capital was moved from San Ignacio to San Juan Bautista.
Geography
Misiones department is relatively flat and crossed by a number of rivers and streams. The northern and southern borders of the department are formed by, respectively, the
Tebicuary and the
Paraná rivers, the latter of which is an important waterway in the region. A number of other streams cross the department, including the Yabebyry, Atingui, San Roque, Sauce, Uruguay, Ca'a Po'i, Tororo, San Tadeo, San Antonio and Itay.
Districts
The department is divided into ten
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
:
Economy
The main economic activities are livestock raising and agriculture. Cattle are the most common livestock, and pigs, sheep, horses, and goats are common as well. Agriculture is widely practiced, with fields mainly in the north and center of the department. The main crops are rice, soya, corn, sweet oranges, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and cotton.
Transportation
Roads
Misiones is connected to
Asunción
Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...
and
Encarnación via national route
PY01 which passes through 6 of the 10 districts: Villa Florida, San Miguel, San Juan Bautista, San Ignacio, Santa Rosa and San Patricio, it even passes through the district of Santiago, but not by its urban area.
The national routes
PY04 and
PY20 connects Misiones with neighbor
Ñeembucú department.
All ten districts urban areas are accessible by paved road.
Airports
Small airports are located in San Juan Bautista and Ayolas (
Juan de Ayolas Airport) to the south.
Water transport
The southern part of the department is accessible to the
Paraná River
The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...
, which is navigable by large cargo ships downstream of the
Yacyretá Dam near Ayolas.
Education
There are numerous institutions which provide Pre-school Education, Elementary and Highschool . with Technical and Scientific emphasis.
Tourism
Its main attractions are the beaches formed by the rivers Paraná and Tebicuary. Villa Florida is a city which offers landscapes to its visitors.
This department is known by the work of evangelizing by the Jesuits priests who founded the place with many reductions. A few towns still have the remains of that era such as the colonial churches.
Part of the historical remains is exposed in Museums with many samples of wooden carvings made by the Indians at the reductions period.
Bibliography
* GeografÃa del Paraguay - Editorial Hispana Paraguay S.R.L.- 1a. Edición 1999 - Asunción Paraguay
* GeografÃa Ilustrada del Paraguay - - Distribuidora Arami S.R.L.
* La Magia de nuestra tierra. Fundación en Alianza. Asunción. 2007.
References
External links
SENATUR Mission Tours
{{Authority control
States and territories established in 1906
1906 establishments in Paraguay