While some of the ideologies of self-government espoused by the comuneros seem to prefigure later democratic uprisings against Spanish colonial rule, especially among the rural branch of the revolt, historians Adalberto López and James Schofield Saeger caution that giving this apparent resemblance too much weight would be a mistake. According to Saegar, the revolt was much closer to traditions of the 16th and 17th centuries and "was principally a local uprising led by local vested interest groups and unrelated to the important changes in the Spanish empire beginning in the 18th century." It had little in common with the Revolt of the Comuneros of New Granada or the Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II that occurred in the 1780s. López agrees that the Revolt of the Comuneros was not a "true revolution" that aimed at fundamental change in Paraguay; most of the Paraguayans saw themselves as loyal servants of the Crown and were not attempting to fundamentally change the political or economic structure of the province. Rather, they were attempting to assert control over the Jesuits, who were seen as undermining the province and exacerbating its poverty.