Robert H. Jackson

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Population of the Jesuit Missions of Paraguay

• Robert H. Jackson

2
Beginning in 1607, Jesuit missionaries
established and managed a chain of what
eventually totaled 30 mission communities in
southeast Paraguay and adjoining parts of
Argentina and Brazil. The Jesuits settled
thousands of Guarani on the missions.
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The Jesuit Mission region.
4
A contemporary map of the missions located east
of the Uruguay River.
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The demographic history of the Guarani
populations constitutes an important aspect of
the development of the Paraguay missions.
Epidemics swept through the mission communities
periodically, but the Guarani populations also
recovered or rebounded following the epidemics.
The mission populations, particularly in the 18th
century, were high fertility and high mortality
populations that experienced slow to moderate
population growth. The most severe mortality
crisis in the missions occurred in the 1730s,
when several epidemics culled the mission
populations.
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Total Population of the Jesuit Missions of
Paraguay.
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Crude Birth and Death Rates and Mean Life
Expectancy in the Missions.
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Total baptisms and burials recorded in selected
years in the missions.
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Burials Recorded in the Guarani Missions in 1733,
1736, 1739, and 1740.
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Net Change in the Population of the Guarani
Missions in 1733, 1736, 1739, and 1740
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Females as a percentage of total population in
three missions. Women and girls constituted
slightly more than half of the mission
populations, and the ratio of males to females
was fairly stable. This was important, because it
meant that there was always a large pool of
potential mothers.
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In contrast, missions in California and Baja
California evidenced a gender imbalance once the
resettlement of new neophytes ended. Extreme
examples of the gender imbalance were seen in
Santa Cruz and Soledad missions in California,
where females constituted a third or less of the
total population in the late 1820s and early
1830s. The populations of both missions dropped
significantly, and birth rates dropped in
relation to total death rates.
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Females as a percentage of total population at
Santa Cruz mission, California.
14
Births and deaths at Santa Cruz mission,
California.
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Population of Santa Cruz Mission, 1791-1842.
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Females as a percentage of total population at
Soledad mission, California.
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Births and deaths at Soledad mission, California.
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Population of Soledad mission, 1791-1834.
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Population of the Missions Located in Modern
Paraguay.
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San Ignacio Guazu, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years
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Population of La Fe Mission, 1643-1802..
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of San Cosme y Damian, 1643-1802.
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population in selected years.
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Structure of the population of San Cosme in 1735.
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Population of Santiago Mission, 1702-1802.
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of Trinidad Mission, 1707-1802..
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Structure of the population of Trinidad in 1735.
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Population of Jesus de Tavarangue Mission,
1702-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of Santa Rosa Mission, 1702-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Only several short fragments from baptismal and
burial registers survive for the missions. This
table summarizes a short run of baptisms recorded
at Santa Rosa mission.
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Baptisms recorded at Santa Rosa, 1806-1828.
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Net change /- in the Population of Santa Rosa,
in selected years.
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Population of Encarnacion de Itapua, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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The largest number of Guarani missions were
located in what today are the Argentine provinces
of Misiones and Corrientes.
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Population of San Ignacio Mini Mission, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of Santa Ana Mission, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Structure of the population of Santa Ana in 1759.
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Population of Loreto Mission, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of Santa Maria la Mayor Mission,
1643-1802
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Net change /- in the population of Santa Maria
la Mayor mission, in selected years.
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of Corpus Christi Mission, 1643-1802
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Net Change in the Population of Corpus Christi
Mission
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Structure of the Population of Corpus Christi in
1759.
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Age and Gender structure of Corpus Christi in
1759.
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Population of Los Santos Martires de Japon
Mission, 1643-1802
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Net change /- in the population of Martires
mission in selected years.
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of Aposteles Mission, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of San Francisco Xavier Mission,
1643-1802
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Net Change /- in the population of San Francisco
Xavier mission, in selected years.
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Vital Rates of San Francisco Xavier mission, in
selected years.
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Population of Concepcion Mission, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of San Jose Mission, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of San Carlos Mission, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of Candelaria Mission, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of La Cruz Mission, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of Santo Tome Mission, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of Yapeyu Mission, 1643-1802
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Vital rates in selected years.
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The Jesuits established seven missions east of
the Uruguay River in what today is Rio Grande do
Sul, Brazil. The population of these missions
shifted not only as a consequence of epidemics,
but also from dispersion resulting from an
uprising in the mid-1750s.
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Population of San Nicolas Mission, 1643-1827
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Net change /- in the population of San Nicolas
mission, in selected years.
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of San Miguel Mission, 1643-1827
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Net change /- in the population of San Miguel
mission, in selected years.
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of San Francisco de Borja Mission,
1690-1827
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Net change /- in the population of San Francisco
de Borja mission, in selected years.
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Baptisms and burials recorded at San Francisco de
Borja, 1798-1811.
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Burials recorded by month in 1809 and 1810,
showing mortality caused by an epidemic.
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Population of San Luis Gonzaga Mission, 1687-1827
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Net change /- in the population of San Luis
Gonzaga mission, in selected years.
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of San Lorenzo Martir Mission,
1690-1827
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Net change /- in the population of San Lorenzo
Martir mission, in selected years.
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of San Juan Bautista Mission, 1698-1827
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Net change /- in the population of San Juan
Bautista mission in selected years.
100
Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of Santo Angel Custodio Mission,
1707-1827
102
Net change /- in the population of Santo Angel
Custodio mission, in selected years.
103
Vital rates in selected years.
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Population of Jesus Maria de Guenonas, a short
lived mission community located near San
Francisco de Borja, 1690-1705. The population of
Jesus Maria was later relocated to Loreto mission.
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Vital rates in selected years.
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Unlike many native groups brought into missions
in Spanish America, the Guarani survive today.