Imagining Guaranis and Jesuits. Yesterday s History, Today s Perspective

Abstract

Throughout the last three hundred years, historical literature and fiction have found a frequent theme in the missions. The Jesuits spread news about this distant corner of the American colonies through the European continent and provided valuable information about the natives with whom they had had contact.<span style=""> </span>Reacting to this information, the European public soon developed highly polarized opinions. While apologetic stances defended the missions as a noble experiment of civilizing the indigenous people who resided in the forest, the anti-Jesuit position perceived the religious order as exploiters of the natives who sought to create a kingdom independent from the Spanish and Portuguese crowns. This paper briefly explores Jesuit missions historiography and sumarizes recent approaches to the issue.