In class Tiffany and I presented you all with information about the Jesuit wars, and the controversy over whether they actually helped the native Guarani tribes there or not. I am interested to see what everyone thinks about this debate and "pick a side." I feel that this may be useful for our Humanities am on Tuesday because we have to know historical information about this event and others for a debate. So, without further ado, I will present my own side.
I feel that the native tribes were benefitted by the Jesuits only slightly, with more negative effects present than positive ones. For example, while the Jesuit missionaries provided the Guarani with a stable food supply, they also made profit off of their labor, an act that goes against their religious ideals.
Let me know what you all think!
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4 comments:
Personally, I think both of the parties involved definitely benefitted from the Reducciones. While the Jesuits aren't known for being the most charitable group in the world, I think that the Reducciones must have really meant something to them if they were willing to fight for the Guarani Tribespeople. While they might have just been fighting for economic incentives, it takes some major guts for a small order of priests to go up against a nation's military.
I personally think that the reason the Jesuits got involved was for their own selfish purposes, but that in the end the natives also benefited from the arrangement. After all, the Guarani did fight to stay in the Spanish territory. Then again, that could just be because they viewed the Spanish as the lesser of two evils because they at least wouldn't enslave them.
I agree with Alex that perhaps the Jesuits really did mean something to the Guarani tribespeople, considering they were willing to fight to stay on the Reductions. However, the Guarani tribespeople fought because they saw the way the enemies treated their slaves, and it frightened them. They may have viewed the Reducciones as the best place to be, considering they got minor benefits and support. They may have chosen the best of the situation as being with the Jesuits, no matter how little benefits they received.
I think that ultimately the Jesuits had their own personal interests as a priority in setting up the Reducciones. However, I do think that the Guarani did benefit from some of the advancements that they were taught, and that the Guarni were not deprived of food and basic needs. I think that the Jesuits were smart in their conversions and their appearance of aiding the Guarani people, but I do not think they did this solely to improve their way of life; instead, they knew that they had to treat the natives relatively well in order to ensure that they would continue holding onto to their power and dominance in that area.
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