The Following Was Posted Monday, December 20, 2004
Jesuits in Colonial South America
From the early 1600’s to the mid-1700’s, the Jesuits maintained a relatively benevolent patriarchy through their South American missions. While the relationship was a component of Spain’s colonialism serving ultimately to extract mineral wealth from South America, there were some notably progressive features of the Jesuit system of missions. Typically, the Jesuits administered their affairs with a balance of religious and secular aims. Preaching the Gospel and converting natives to Christianity were, naturally, high priorities of the priests. But so was the preservation of native culture, arts, and languages. The Jesuits were successful at teaching agriculture to the native hunter-gatherers, partly because they combined native music and customs with the practices of planting and harvesting. The Jesuits taught birth control, advocated against capital punishment, and established shorter work days than did other Catholic missionaries. Jesuit negotiations with the Spanish crown protected natives from the Spanish system of encomiendos, which was essentially a form of enslavement in mines and other labor-intensive enterprises throughout colonial South America.
Naturally, Jesuits’ willingness to run against the grain of all-out exploitation was not met with great approval by Spanish or Portuguese governments who competed with each other for territory and economic gain and did not welcome additional competition from the Jesuits. Nevertheless, for a century and a half, the Jesuits gained power and control in remote jungle areas away from the Spanish and Portuguese footholds. The Jesuits were also falling out of favor with the Catholic Church which did not take kindly to their relative independence from papal authority.
Meanwhile, slave traders grew more aggressive in hunting for prey in Jesuit territory, despite previous agreements. But the natives, armed by Jesuits, formed militias and fought back. In 1756, Spanish and Portuguese armies attacked and destroyed many of the Jesuit missions, and in 1767 the Jesuits were run out of colonial South America.
The expulsion of the Jesuits was part of a larger worldwide suppression spearheaded by Pope Clement XIV and European governments. But in 1814, Pope Pius VII restored the Society, and over the years Jesuits have reestablished their missionary presence throughout the world.
¶
From the early 1600’s to the mid-1700’s, the Jesuits maintained a relatively benevolent patriarchy through their South American missions. While the relationship was a component of Spain’s colonialism serving ultimately to extract mineral wealth from South America, there were some notably progressive features of the Jesuit system of missions. Typically, the Jesuits administered their affairs with a balance of religious and secular aims. Preaching the Gospel and converting natives to Christianity were, naturally, high priorities of the priests. But so was the preservation of native culture, arts, and languages. The Jesuits were successful at teaching agriculture to the native hunter-gatherers, partly because they combined native music and customs with the practices of planting and harvesting. The Jesuits taught birth control, advocated against capital punishment, and established shorter work days than did other Catholic missionaries. Jesuit negotiations with the Spanish crown protected natives from the Spanish system of encomiendos, which was essentially a form of enslavement in mines and other labor-intensive enterprises throughout colonial South America.
Naturally, Jesuits’ willingness to run against the grain of all-out exploitation was not met with great approval by Spanish or Portuguese governments who competed with each other for territory and economic gain and did not welcome additional competition from the Jesuits. Nevertheless, for a century and a half, the Jesuits gained power and control in remote jungle areas away from the Spanish and Portuguese footholds. The Jesuits were also falling out of favor with the Catholic Church which did not take kindly to their relative independence from papal authority.
Meanwhile, slave traders grew more aggressive in hunting for prey in Jesuit territory, despite previous agreements. But the natives, armed by Jesuits, formed militias and fought back. In 1756, Spanish and Portuguese armies attacked and destroyed many of the Jesuit missions, and in 1767 the Jesuits were run out of colonial South America.
The expulsion of the Jesuits was part of a larger worldwide suppression spearheaded by Pope Clement XIV and European governments. But in 1814, Pope Pius VII restored the Society, and over the years Jesuits have reestablished their missionary presence throughout the world.
¶
