Diario las Américas., 1958-06-24
Know thv
Neighbor
By ANTONIO RUIZ

PARAGUAY - The Spanish
Conquistadores chose, for the
founding of Asuncion, capital OF
Paraguay a picturesque and beau
tiful site on the wooded eastern
bank of the Paraguay River, just
perth of its junction with the Pill
comayo, at a point where it widens
to form a beautiful bay, The
Guarani Indians inhabiting that
fertile country OF forests and pas
ture-land distinguished themselves
from other tribes in that they had
developed agriculture to a certain
degree, although they were, as
mos Indians, great hunters and
fishermen.
The methods they used were
crude, but they enabled them to
lead a somewhat settled life, Across
the river, in the distant and less
productive flat and marShy region
known as Ell Chaco, the Agaces,
Guacurues and the Payaguaes led
the completely nomadic life OF
hunters, as their descendants do
to this day.
The conquerors, wisely deciding
to ally themselves with the more
advanced Guarsnis, Immediately
strengthened the pact by taking
as wives the women whom In
dian chieftains presented to them,
These women, besides becom-
ing the prolific mothers of a hardy
race, occupied themselves and
their relatives in cultivating the
LANDS on the outskirts of Asun-
cion.
Each family of Importance main
tanned, along with its unpreten-
riouS town residence, land. and
buildings close oy in the country.
Here the children grew up and
their Spanish fathers spent what
leisure time circumstances allow
ed them Relaxation was then a
rarity, however, for not only were
new colonies having to be settled
along the Paraguay River, but the
alliance with the Guaranis carried
with 1t the necessity of constant
ly renewed skirmishes with other
tribes. From the peculiar eircum-
stances oil early settlement, the in
habitants acquired both a father
and mo her tongue, and at pre-
sent most of the natives of Asun-
cion can understand and speak the
Guarani language, besides Spanish.
In the 18th. century, while Her
nando ArIas de Saavedra was Gov
ernor, the first Creole in Latin
America to hold that position, the
Spanish Crown, at his suggestion,
separated the administration of
Paraguay from that of Rio de la
Plata, by a decree of December
Is, 1917 Hernandarias, as he was
called, seeing the futility of the
perpetual conflict with the Indians
conceived the idea of their spirit
ual conquest. To this end, at his
request, the King sent out the
first Jesuit missionaries. Besides
erecting religious houses in Asun-
cion, they developed in the richest
part Of the colony a good number
of mission-Settlements called "<e-
auctions whose prosperity pro-
yeked the Jealousy of conlempora-
ry Paraguayans elsewhere and.
according to their prepossesion in
regard to the Jesuits, has been a
theme for anger or admiration of
later Paraguayan historians.
Bitterness against the Jesuits en-
tered as the secondary factor into
a series of rebellions by the in
habirants of Asuncion that lasted
from 1921 to 1875. A Governor
sent out from Spain, disliking the
prospect of holding office, had
with royal approval sold his post
to a citizen of Asuncion named
Reyes, who proved unacceptable
to the inhabitants. During the long
struggle to obtain his removal, Re-
yes allied himself with the JesuitS.
The party of the people became
known as the "Comuneros' on ac-
count of the doctrine of their
leader, Antequera, expressed in
the slogan: "The will of the pso-
pie is sovereign over all others,
even of the King himself" The
Jesuits, after having been forcibly
elected from their houses several
times by angry people, were fin
ally reinstated in 1875, when the
Governor OF Buenos Aires, with an
army of 5000 succeeded in impos-
ing order BY their revolt, how
ever PaIaguayans lost the right
they had cherished so much, that
OF electing then own Governor.
CNAnnL v- ~