A House Divided against Itself Cannot Stand: Guaraní Leaders and Their Missions in the Eighteenth Century

Concurrent with the expulsion of the Jesuit missionaries in 1768, Crown reformers instituted measures to strengthen the Indian leaders of the Guaraní missions in the Río de la Plata region of South America. Such reforms were meant to give the Indians a greater role in managing their missions and reinforce the ties between Guaraní cabildo (municipal council) members and caciques (chieftains). This essay uses mission account records, Guaraní letters, and census data to explore the degree to which Crown reformers achieved their goal in strengthening the roles of both the cabildo members and caciques in the missions. While account records show that cabildo members became significantly more involved in mission management, Guaraní letters reveal a high degree of conflict both between cabildo members and caciques and among caciques. Furthermore, census data shows that many Guaraní caciques fled the missions. These findings suggest that in the late eighteenth century, some Guaraní leaders (primarily caciques) felt sidelined and many abandoned the missions, thereby undermining the institution.