Jesuit Reductions
Together with present-day Misiones Province in Argentina and the old Misiones Department in Paraguay (later subdivided into Misiones and Itapúa) it formed the "Jesuit Reductions" between 1609 and 1756, an almost fully independent territory created and ruled by the Spanish Catholic order of the Jesuits. It was famous for its resistance to enslavement and its egalitarian laws based on the Bible. The seven missions were called San Miguel, Santos Ángeles, San Lorenzo Mártir, San Nicolás, San Juan Bautista, San Luis Gonzaga, and San Francisco de Borja.