Jesuit utopia
This officially never existed the state extended from the Atlantic coast to the Anda Ridge and occupied a huge territory in the jungle, now divided between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Peru. The legendary state inhabited Indians, and manage the monks-Jesuit. His Latin name RES Publica Paraquariae (in Spanish Republica de Paraquaria) occurred from the word "Aqua", that is, "water". In Russian, it would be possible to translate as "the republic what the sea" or simply "Floor".
Members of the order of Ignacio Loyola arrived in the new world in 1599, obsessed with the idea to build a perfect state here, adopting the Dikares of Indians in the Lono of Mother Church. At the end of the XVI – the beginning of the XVII century in the eyes of the Spanish and Portuguese colonial authorities, the Indians of South America were no more than a living commodity. The authorities not only did not interfere with the slave trade, but also encouraged her. The Indians were not accustomed to free life were not good workers and from unbearable conditions quickly died. This led to a permanent demand for new slaves, and the "Badeyaraz" detachments, a variety of, but well-armed withdrawal from all over Europe, periodically arranged raids in the jungle in search of mining. However, not everything in the Spanish Empire was considered such a state of affairs.
In 1610, the King of Spain Philip III blessed the new plan for Indians represented by the Church. To implement this plan was instructed by Jesuit Diego de Torres. From now on, the Indians were considered free citizens of the Spanish colony and could work for the blessing of the crown in the missions open by Jesuit, called reductions.
For the Indians, these missions were the only salvation from the raids of the workers. Very quickly the sizes surrounding the mission of Indian villages rose to impressive sizes – thousands of aborigines rushed to protect the holy fathers. Missions fully provided themselves. Monks taught the Indians grow wheat and rice, sugar cane and tobacco, cotton and fruit. On the missions belonging to the lands, bulls, horses and sheep. Indians also began to cultivate herbal tea Terrera (or Mate), quickly gained popularity in the eastern part of South America and retaining it until now. Contrary to the orders established on the continent, the products of their labor were not selected in the Indians, but fairly allocated between all members of the commune, allocating some of the old men, orphans, widows and other people, who for any reason could not work on a par with all. In essence, these were collective farms, and very effective.
While in Europe, the working day lasted 12-14 hours, the Indians under the missions worked only for 6 hours. Free time was devoted to education, arts and musitization. Jesuits encouraged the craft and any creativity. In the colonies there were their builders, carpenters, blacksmiths, wood cutters, sculptors, artists, gunsmiths, loafers of bells, jewelers, penteners, bakers, shoemakers, calligraphes and even the manufacturers of church organs!
Indians have studied the texts of the Holy Scriptures and played on homemade organs and harpses of church and classical music. In the missions of the Bolivian province of Chikitos still preserved violins made from bamboo. And packs of yellowed tetra notebooks.
Rights were built between the missions, and the exchange of goods was carried out. Also, rivers were actively used to move. Only on the River Parana, about 2 thousand owned by the mission of boats. Part of the Jesuit’s goods sent imperial officials as a tax, sold another part, and the necessary colonies were purchased for revengeted money: needles, knives, salt, soap, fishing hooks, glass dishes. All this was also distributed among the Indians.
In 30 missions of South America scattered on the jungle, about 100 thousand inhabitants lived. The missions had its own administration, their hospitals, schools and even universities. There were also courts, but from the death penalty of Jesuit refused – unheard of innovation for those times. Unaccustomed to settling and discipline Indians readily accepted strict rules of missions, counting on a higher standard of living and safety. The life of reductions resembled the idyll of the times of early Christianity.
Economic success of Jesuit missions caused extreme irritation by European colonists, whose well-being was built on the forced labor of Indian slaves. Today, the fields of white latifundists were empty, and potential workers somewhere in the jungle were quietly played on the harp. The predatory "Bandadearaz", especially from the Portuguese side, began to attack Christian missions, ignoring the view on this account of the Spanish King and even the Pope itself. Local Spanish authorities did not too obstructed raids: they also needed slaves.
The attackers inspected healthy people and cattle, and the wounded, old people and children were just killed – they were not needed. Missions burned one after another, it was almost impossible to resist without weapons, it remained to leave further in the jungle. Only in 1639 after a long fluctuations in Vice-king Peru gave Jesuits permission to arm the Indians for self-defense. Holy Fathers began to urgently form military detachments from their wards. Now in Parakvania has its own infantry and even the cavalry, armed with firearms and onions. From that moment on, the raids on Jesuit missions ceased to be a win-win business, and for some time they stopped at all.
Until the middle of the XVIII century, the mission flourished. Only the livestock belonging to them was calculated by hundreds of thousands. With the growth of wealth and independence of Jesuitis grew and envy of white colonists. Rumors walked as if the source of the well-being of the saints was located in the territories of missions. Also, they were talking about the threat of the Spanish crown by the Jesuits and their desire to make a parakharia politically independent. In 1750, Spain handed over Portugal part of its overseas possessions, which were at once 7 Jesuit missions south of the Uruguay River. This led to a long-term bloody war. Under the leadership of monks, the Indians desperately resisted exile from oblivioned lands. Concerned about what is happening and under pressure from advisers, the Spanish King Charles III in 1767 issued the infamous decree on the complete elimination of Jesuit missions. It didn’t care what to command the "FAS" of the dogs of dogs. Over a few decades, everything was looted and destroyed that for 160 years with such luck created Jesuits. Missions were burned or destroyed. The remaining Indians fused on the jungle. The notorious gold mines were never discovered, as well as reasonable treasures, cluttered by Jesuits. Apparently, the holy fathers did not Lukvali, claiming that material wealth prefers simple happiness. With the crash of South American utopia, one of the most interesting social experiments in the history of mankind ended. So, not an independent state of Paraconia decreased to a tiny paragument.
The latter survived were the most remote reductions in Bolivia. The temples of these missions have been preserved to this day. Mural on the walls of the Cathedral of San Javier depict the holy virgin and angels with dark Indian faces. And carved from the tree of Saint Francis Javier gently hugs the ant.
Today, Jesuit missions of South America are trying to restore. Many of them are listed in the list of protected monuments of UNESCO. And since 1996, the Bolivian Mission Concepcion regularly passes the festivals of chamber music, which are coming out musicians from all over the world, including Indian.
