The Misiones Orientales () (or Siete Pueblos de las Misiones (, Sete Povos das Missões (, ) was a region in South America where a group of seven indigenous villages were founded by Spanish Jesuits in present-day
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
, the southernmost State of Brazil.
The seven "missions" were:
*
San Miguel
*
Santos Ángeles
*San Lorenzo Mártir
*San Nicolás
*San Juan Bautista
*San Luis Gonzaga
*
San Francisco de Borja
Jesuit Reductions
Between 1609 and 1756, Misiones Orientales formed part of the Jesuit
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 ...
, together with present-day
Misiones Province
Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the Provinces of Argentina, 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil ...
in Argentina and the former Misiones Department in Paraguay (later subdivided into
Misiones and
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 ...
). This was a territory almost fully independent from Spanish and Portuguese rule, created and ruled by
Jesuit missionaries to the local Guaraní people.
It was famous for its resistance to enslavement and egalitarian laws based on the Bible.
The King of Spain was the nominal ruler of these lands and in the
Treaty of Madrid (1750) he gave the eastern part of the Jesuit Reductions to Portugal. The seven Jesuit missions here were to be dismantled and relocated on the Spanish western side of the
Uruguay River
The Uruguay River ( ; ) 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 Mesopotamia from the other two countr ...
.
The
Guarani people living there refused, which led to the
Guarani War, won by Portugal and Spain.
Return to national control
The territory returned to Spain in 1777 in the
First Treaty of San Ildefonso
The First Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed on 1 October 1777 between Spain and Portugal. It settled long-running territorial disputes between the two kingdoms' possessions in South America, primarily in the Río de la Plata region.
Background
...
, but was definitively ceded to Portugal in the
Treaty of Badajoz (1801)
The Treaty of Badajoz is a peace treaty of the XIX-th century signed by Spain and Portugal on 6 June 1801. Portugal ceded the border town of Olivenza to Spain and closed its ports to British military and commercial shipping.
On the same day, Po ...
.
It became part of Brazil when Brazil gained independence from Portugal in 1822.
See also
*
*
*
List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have be ...
*
Sculpture of the Misiones Orientales
References
Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis
Colonial Argentina
Colonial Brazil
Jesuit history in South America
Spanish missions in Argentina
Spanish missions in Brazil
Geography of Misiones Province
Geography of Rio Grande do Sul
Misiones Department
Former subdivisions of Brazil
17th century in Brazil
18th century in Brazil
17th century in the Viceroyalty of Peru
18th century in the Viceroyalty of Peru
{{Brazil-hist-stub
Former Spanish colonies