La Santisima de Trinidad de Parana Mission Encarnación, Paraguay

Jesuit Missions

Two priests were assigned to each reducción to bring the Roman Catholic religion to the indigenous Guaraní tribes, give them a basic education and teach them other skills in carpentry and art. As the missions grew, the Spanish and Portuguese began to fear that the Jesuits were becoming too powerful and independent. In 1756 they attacked the missions and left them in ruins.