1. Road is Home:

St Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of the Jesuit Order, indicates that, for the Jesuits, road also should be a home. They should be ready to go anywhere even if the land is not known to them in order to serve the people. Jesuits, right from the inception of the Jesuit Order (1540) have been much on the road all over the world.

The Jesuits announced the existence of Mangolia and drew its map. They also discovered the silky-way, an international route, leading to China. They drew the map of China (Matteo Ricci) and of the moon (Niel Armstrong had this map when he landed on the moon). The origin of the Blue Nile was located by the Jesuits and in the Americas the exploration of the rivers Mississippi (Jacques Marquette)[i] and Amazon (Cristobal de Acuña) was achieved by them.[ii]

1.1 Journey with a Purpose:

Every journey, for the Jesuits, would be for a purpose and the focus was on the liberation and empowerment of the people. The difference between the Jesuit missionaries and others was enlightening. Other missionaries tried to impose the western cultures and practices on to the people they encountered. But Jesuits, in general, were open to other cultures and they took time out to observe, learn, and understand the people and their culture; and then they tried to bring in what was needed for the people. As Harper Lee points out in her novel, ‘To kill a Mockingbird’, the Jesuits were aware that “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” This is what they have learned from their Founder, namely ‘entering through their door and bringing them out through your door’.[iii] And they were aware, as Harper Lee says again: “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority is a person’s conscience”. The Jesuits set out where there was greater need and the strategy they followed was what needed to be done for the holistic liberation and freedom of people – The Ignatian spirit of magis (ever to excel) was the dynamic propelling force and the compass and their conviction was the anchor in their journey towards the unknown.

2. Jesuit Reductions:

The colonization of the South America (by Spain and Portugal) began towards the end of the 16^th century. With the naval and military power, the Portuguese and the Spaniards subjugated the natives. Further, people from Africa were brought in as slaves and they were forced to work in colonies along with the natives.

Treating them as commodities, such as selling and buying and punishing inhumanly, made the Jesuits to stand up for the rights and liberty of the suppressed. They stood for the local (native) Indians (called Indios at that time) but then included the slaves as well. Understanding the concept of humanism according to the Native Americans and of the African slaves on the one hand; and critical analysis of the western humanism on the other hand made the Jesuits ad experimentum to empower them. The ‘reduction’ of the exploited to bring on par with the exploiters by the Jesuits came to be known as Jesuit Reductions. But it was actually Jesuit Republics who brought in ‘slaves’ from Africa to work on the plantation but gave them freedom and the work was accomplished on a cooperative manner.

2.1 Commitment to the Cause of Slavery:

The Jesuits reflected on the words of the Bible, that all are created in the image and likeness of one God (Gen 1:27) and understood that all human beings are equal. They were caught in the multi-faceted currents, namely Christianizing the new world by the Catholic Church; the ambition of the colonists to wealth and expansion of power; and the struggle of the enslaved for liberty, equality, and fraternity. The Jesuits cast their lot in favour of the slaves.

The starting point was education: Not only formal education (of reading, writing, and arithmetic); and non-formal education of skill formation in music, embroidery, architecture, sculpture etc; but also informal education of leadership and social responsibility. The Jesuits were fighting against the common concept that the slaves were ‘sub-humans’ and succeeded in proving to the world, especially to Europe, that, given an opportunity and training, the ‘slaves’ could outsmart even the colonizers.

Michael Sparks asks a question in his novel, The Choice: ‘How far should a person go in the name of true love?’ In the new world of South America the Jesuits answered the question that one should go in so far as to make the other one as your equal. Their conviction could be understood in the words of John F Kennedy, in his Presidential inaugural address on Jan 20^th 1961: “We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty“. The commitment of the Jesuits to the cause of liberation and empowerment of slaves was welcome (by the powerless) but condemned and criticized (by those in power). And the Jesuits had to pay a price for it, namely the Jesuits were expelled from their Reductions and the Jesuit Order was suppressed for four decades (1773 – 1814) – but then it was restored.

2.2 Discovery of the New World:[iv]

The various Papal Bulls (1452 to 1493) encouraged colonization of Africa and the Americas. In 1492 Christopher Columbus discovered South America and realized that about 30 million natives lived there. The Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal resulted in Portugal colonizing Brazil and Spain most of South America (leaving a little bit for France, the Netherlands, and the UK). With Columbus landing in Venezuela (in his third voyage) Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade picked up momentum.

The purpose of colonization was three-pronged:

1. Spiritually, it would be conversion of the natives to Catholicism (conquistadors);
2. Politically, it would be expansion of Kingdoms (Spain and Portugal); and
3. Financially, it would be to amass wealth from the plantations (sugar cane, tobacco, coffee) and mines (gold and copper) in the newfound continent. While Portugal concentrated on Brazil, Spain spread the wings to Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Mexico etc.

The byproduct of colonization was the creeping in of European diseases through the occupying forces, which led to mass death of the natives and slaves, as they lacked immunity.

3. Slave Trade:

If the Turks started Trans-Saharan Slave Trade (in the 9^th Century), the Christian Settlers started Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (in the 15^th Century). The slave trade of the colonizers began in 1460. Slaves from Africa were sold at the island of Verde, off the coast of the UK. About 12 million African slaves were bought in for the Americas and were shipped liked sardines to the plantations. Nearly 1.5 million slaves died en route.

3.1 Life as a Slave:

Life as a slave was inhuman. They had to work in the plantation from Sunup to Sundown and six days a week. Their meal was suitable for animals to eat and they lived in shacks with mud floor with no furniture. The cruel overseers in the plantation extracted maximum work and meted out inhuman and brutal treatment (mainly corporal punishment) even for minor mistakes or negligence.

The slaves were defined as ‘Chattel’ (property of the owner) and they did not have any slave code of rights. They were not living entities but just properties of the buyer. They were given and taken as prizes in raffles, wagered in gambling, given as security for loans, transferred as gifts to another person etc. They had no right to education, neither could they assemble by themselves without a white person present. And there was no court for legal aid and no slave could be a witness against a white person. Marriages between slaves were not legally binding (So they could be split by sale) and anyone found guilty of arson, conspiracy etc would be put to death. Rape of slave woman by a white person is just a trespass on the property.[v]

3.2 Reaction by the Jesuits: Jesuit Colonies

The Jesuit Order was founded in 1540. But already by 1549 the Jesuits landed in Brazil and in 1587 they reached Buenos Aires in Argentina. Soon they began their missions in Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru etc. They were shocked to see the appalling status of the slaves and they could not accept the views of some of the leaders and theologians that the slaves are ‘sub-humans’. The Jesuits decided to disprove this notion and they started working on their own colonies but with a difference. These colonies were also called as Jesuit Republics but officially as Jesuit Reductions. They founded altogether 21 Reductions.[vi] And they delicately managed the slaves from Africa along with the natives (for example, the Guaranis).

3.3 Status of the Natives:

The natives, also known as aborigines, were already there before the era of colonization. They were part of the land conquered (encomienda) and they, in contrast to the African slaves, were not enslaved but were Christianized and attempts were made to Europeanize them. If they become Christians they would work only for nine months a year in the plantation. At the same time, the natives, for examples the Guarani Indians, were ruled by the so called Caciques and vassals. They could ‘sow and reap their crops’ and could build their houses. But if they rebel, they would be treated as prisoners of war. They were practically treated like slaves. Under the regime of Columbus they suffered a lot: They had to pay a tribute of certain amount of gold every 90 days – Otherwise, they could face death penalty.

There was no permanent marriage among them. They used to count years by number of winters. In their language there were words to count only up to four. For five they showed one hand and for 10 both hands and for 20 both hands and feet. Beyond 20 they had one word meaning ‘much’. When a child is born the father has to observe strict fast for 15 days. If a deer enters the settlement, it should be killed. Otherwise, someone in the settlement closer to escape route of the deer would be put to death.

3.4 Jesuit Approach:

The Jesuits took to forming the Natives as civilized human beings and in this process they needed super human patience and supreme organization. The Jesuits toiled without ceasing and they combined building cities with saving souls. In the process of protecting them from the oppression of the colonists, they were engaged in building paradise for the downtrodden. And in this challenging process the Jesuits fought with the settlers till the bitter end.[vii]

With regard to the slaves they handled them delicately. The slaves were granted freedom and each Jesuit Reduction was autonomous with regard to administration. Cooperative process was introduced in the plantation with regard to the quantum of work and sharing of goods. While the grown ups worked in the plantation, the children attended the school. Saturdays they were given training in fine-arts such as embroidery, sculpture, architecture, music etc. Sunday was a day for religion: After the Mass, there was review of the week in common. In the evening there would be cultural celebration (music, singing, dancing etc).

4. Life in the Reduction:

In contrast to the slaves in the plantations of the settlers, life in the Jesuit Reductions was different. In the morning, children sang, all attended the Mass, and had breakfast. Then all left for the fields accompanied with music. In the noon there was Angelus (noon-day prayer) followed by dinner. Then all had time for siesta (afternoon nap). After supper there was prayer (Rosary) before they retired for the day. On rainy days, they worked indoors: European trades and arts, such as weaving, carpentry, silver-smithy, hat-making, painting, music, building boats, calligraphy and constructing musical instruments etc. On festival days there were fireworks, concerts, dances and sports competition.[viii]

The Jesuits inherited the philosophy of their Founder, namely education as the key to empowerment and to freedom. The embroidery of the plantation people had demand in European market. Music played a major role in the formation of the people as they were naturally skilled in music. The Jesuits promoted Baroque opera music and they introduced violin, harp, flute, and organ. The trained singers took part in European concerts (but behind the curtain without revealing the identity that the singers were ‘slaves’). The architecture and sculpture done by the people, trained by the Jesuits, were as good as the European artists.

4.1 Architecture:

Cities were well planned in areas with plenty of woods and sufficient water for construction but at the same time the location should be free from flooding. They chose fertile soil for agriculture.

The settlement would be rectangular in size with the Church on one side and the other three sides would be houses for the people. There was a plaza in the middle for civil and religious functions. The houses were with large rooms (6 x 4 sqmts) with wall thickness of about 60 cms. The roof, at the height of 5 meters, was made of reed and wood with entrance to the house was a double-door for protection from inclement weather and wild animals.[ix] The inmates were not good at originality nor at invention but they had the ability to imitate and copy things. Their calligraphy was as good as printing.

4.2 Education:

For St Ignatius and Dr Ambedkar the starting point of social reform is: Education, since education trains the human mind to think and to take the right decision. While an uneducated person is shut off from the rest of the world, the educated person gets enlightened and lives in a room with all its windows open towards outside world, as knowledge is power. This power is imparted in and through education. The second step, namely agitation, does not necessarily mean physical and violent agitation but it is more a mental revolution. The agitation of thoughts in mind brings in the next step of organization, as the educated and agitated minds would easily organize for a common mission, starting with the liberation and equality of the marginalized. Further, the agitated minds would unite for the common mission of struggle for the common goal. For the success of the Jesuit Reductions education was a major factor.

There were schools in all Reductions. Children had school where they learnt 3 R’s: reading, writing, and arithmetic. And the best was given to them. Initially the children were taught by the Europeans. Later as they move on in academic formation, they were taught by native Indians who were masters in the subjects. For intelligent students Latin and Spanish were optional subjects. The Jesuits discovered the hidden talents of children and nurtured them.

4.3 Economy:

All worked in the common plantation Monday through Friday. In addition, each family was allotted a piece of land. After the official working hours and during the weekends, the family could work in pieces of land allotted to them. The piece of land apportioned to each family could be utilized to cultivate and the produce could be enjoyed by the individual families.[x]

Communism was the economic basis and cooperative was the method. The communist principle, namely each one works according to his/her ability and each one gets according to his/her needs, was in practice. The rest goes into common fund to make the Reduction economically sustainable. The common fund was utilized for building up houses, training militia for defense of the Reductions, etc. Land and properties belonged to the Community. Instruments and cattle were supplied from the common and the products were kept in common. Preference was given to the poor, sick, orphans, and widows. The uniqueness of the Reductions was economic growth as the surplus of the plantation was reinvested into the Reductions, in contrast to the commercial settlers who were taking the money back to Europe.

4.4 Administration:

Administration was by delegation. The Jesuits were assisted in administration by the Caciques (Tribal elders). There was the Cabildo (Town Council) with about 15 members: Corregidor (Burgomaster – Mayor) and his Deputy (Teniente), three Supervisors (Alcaldes – two for the town and one for the surrounding rural area), four councilors (Regidores), Prefect of Police, Steward, Scribe, and several assistants. There was court to deal with property and pasture as well as to look into domestic disputes. There was patrol system: There would be three rounds by the guards between 9 pm to 6 am. All these officials were elected annually and were approved by the Governor. The annual Visitation of the Jesuit Provincial included his review as well as his suggestions for improvement in each Reduction.[xi]

4.5 Social Responsibility:

Social Responsibility was very much practiced in the Jesuit Reductions. The people in the Reductions should work two days a week (in the evenings) for common (communal) undertaking such as putting up buildings for the common purpose etc. On Sundays, after the Mass and Catechism (religious instruction) all should get involved in environmental cleanliness, road-making (or repair after heavy rains etc). There was no dowry system for marriage. There was social harmony and unity among the people.

4.6 Outcome of the Reductions:

Life and administration in the Jesuit Reductions cultivated a sense of belonging to the Reduction as well as a sense of freedom and cooperation. On the one hand, there was liberation from the exploitation and suppression; and on the other hand a holistic formation (skill training in fine arts, education etc) was given to the people. There was high degree of administrative autonomy and self-sufficiency with regard to economic status. This was enhanced by the fact that the Jesuits were tax-exempt as they belonged to the religious order.

There was Indian militia to fight against the other invading colonists. The slaves in other colonies wanted the freedom of the Jesuit Reductions. Eventually rebellion broke out in the neighbouring colonies, which was also a cause of the Jesuits’ expulsion from the Americas leading eventually to the suppression of the Jesuit Order.

5. Demand for Reform:

Simultaneously there were people who resonated with the Jesuits. Two priests, Antonio de Montesinos and Bartolome de Las Casas, demanded reformation: Their cry was for rights for those who worked in the plantations. This move was sabotaged by settlers and they accelerated more slave trade (in 1517) as more and more slaves began to die of European diseases.[xii]

5.1 Rebellion of Slaves:

The slaves in the colonies of South America were mostly from (West and Central) Africa and they happened to belong to same ‘tribe’. This identity/solidarity gave them the impulse to recreate their culture and forge unity and they began rebelling against oppression and enslavement. The greediness of the settlers resulting in inhuman exploitation of the slaves accelerated the rebellion.

The first rebellion was against Diego Colon, son of Columbus in 1512. In 1548 there was a rebellion in the gold mines of Colombia. The movement for freedom spread to other parts as well as rebellion in Peru (1578), Chile (1647), and Brazil (Bahia – 1695). And there was revolt of Comuneros of Paraguay (1721-1735).

This resulted in conflict of interest between the Jesuits and the Colonizers. The Colonizers complained about the Jesuits to the Crowns in Spain and Portugal. The liberative concept of Jesuit Reductions was seen as possible cause for political instability. The Jesuits were ordered out from the Portuguese Empire in 1759; from France in 1764; and from the Spanish Empire in 1767.[xiii]  The Kings put pressure on the Pope (Clement XIV) who suppressed the Jesuit Order in 1773. After 4 decades Pope Pius VII restored the Society of Jesus in 1814.

The revolution by the slaves continued. The Haitian Revolution (1791) ignited a chain reaction. The slaves started to burn the sugar cane plantations and thousands of Whites were killed. They even gained control, though partly, in Saint Dominque (a French Colony). And these events sparked off the French Revolution (1789-1799).[xiv]

5.2 Abolition of Slavery:

The growing demand for liberation and equality from the Jesuits and others and the ever increasing rebellion from the slaves, led to revisit the concept of ‘slaves’. The paradigm shift was evolving from monarchy to democracy (of freedom and equality). The Papal Bull Sublimus Dei issued in 1537 abolished slavery at least in paper. The ripple and repercussion were felt all over the globe. During the American Revolution (1765 – 1783) first thirteen American colonies rejected the authority of Great Britain and consequently the United States of America was founded. The French Revolution (1789 – 1799) paved the way to liberty, equality, and fraternity. In 1804 the slaves in Saint-Dominque established independence, thereby founding the Republic of Haiti. In 1808 President Thomas Jefferson banned import of slaves into the United States of America. The King of Spain promised in 1814 to abolish slavery. In 1843 the slave trade was abolished all over the world. Abraham Lincoln became the US President in 1860 and he signed the Confiscation Acts and Emancipation Proclamation, during the Civil War, in 1861 with the intention of freeing the slaves still held by the Confederate forces in the South.[xv]

5.3 Paradise Lost:

The Jesuits have been working for over 200 years bringing in liberation and civilization through the Jesuit Reductions. They established planned and administered communities which became self-sufficient. They brought in cooperative model of economy, social responsibility to build up unity and solidarity with one another, decentralized administration, and collective ownership of the Jesuit Republics/Reductions.

They trained the people to have planned cities with City-Plaza, Church, and living quarters; and trained people in agriculture to tend kitchen gardens and to cultivate their plots of lands assigned to them to bring in produce. They developed the linguistic skills of the people through creation of dictionaries to preserve their languages (such as Guarani language); they promoted European arts, architecture, painting sculpture, music etc. For the slaves-turned-citizens the Jesuit Reductions were paradise. But this paradise was lost with the decree of the Spanish King Carlos III issued in 1767 (expelling the Jesuits).[xvi]

The Jesuit Reductions were the forerunner of, so to say, the interconnectedness concept of Ubuntu (Nguni Bantu term, an idea from the Southern African Region), which is based on the philosophy of ‘everyone is part of the whole’ and social awareness that ‘I am (what I am) because of who we all are’.[xvii] This would especially inspire the youth that they are part of something larger and more powerful. This concept could kindle one’s social responsibility of caring, sharing, and being in harmony and at the same time the collective concept of being empowered for their rights and powers in the society.

6. Lessons to learn:

One could decipher that the Jesuits have been taking their stand with the enslaved and the marginalized. Starting from their Founder, Ignatius of Loyola, who founded a school (1551) to offer free education, everywhere the Jesuits preferred to toil for the liberation of the suppressed. Even when the Jesuits first landed in Puducherry, while other missionaries took care of the French, the Jesuits opted to take care of the Tamil population. From the 32^nd General Congregation (the highest legislative gathering of the Jesuits) preferential option for the poor has become the guiding force for all Jesuit missions. This preferential option for the poor was understood as economically poor and socially marginalized. This became concretely in Tamilnadu (Jesuit Madurai Province), as the preferential option for the rural poor and the socially marginalized Dalits.

Globally, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) was founded in 1980. And today this service is extended to about 50 countries with 1,400 workers (including 80 Jesuits), taking care of education, emergency service, and nutrition of the refugees. ‘Jesuit Common: Higher Education at the Margins’[xviii] started looking into their education. And now this service is enhanced through Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL) with the focus on distance education for the refugees, the poor, and the marginalized. The forthcoming 36^th General Congregation (Oct-Nov 2016) has the focus on refugees, immigrants, and internally displaced. Thus, the focus as well as propelling dynamic spirit of the Jesuits is the downtrodden and the suppressed. The vision of the Jesuits is freedom from poverty and oppression and holistic formation of the people to have liberty and freedom and prosperity of life. They often find themselves in conflict with the commercial world. There is always clash between the service plan of the Jesuits to form people and the business plan of the money making commercial and political agents.

6.1 At LICET:

Taking stand with the needy is spelt out at LICET (Loyola-ICAM College of Engineering and Technology): 30% of the admissions are foreseen for the disadvantaged, namely rural poor, first generation graduates, and socially marginalized Dalits. This affirmative action does not have any compromise with academic excellence. The Jesuits assume that each one is a potential leader and a milieu is created for realization of self-respect, dignity, and leadership with social responsibility.

Jesuit education is not mere transfer of information – It is a holistic formation, leading to social transformation. LICET strives to form engineers who would engineer a just society. As in the time of Jesuit Reductions, Jesuit education, parallel to intellectual depth, promotes affective (ie. value-based) formation. Further, it brings in team work aspect of collaborative education with industrial needs and demands. Jesuit education is aware that not all would excel in academic studies; and takes into account that some may be good in sports and some others may be good in fine arts. The talents of the students are discovered and nurtured so that the education institution becomes a temple of learning – learning not only for oneself but for the society at large. The students are encouraged to learn by doing and are introduced to research based learning. The students are filled with the Jesuit spirit of magis – to do ever more and to do ever better.

7. Conclusion:

The Jesuits follow their Biblical model, Yahweh who opted for the Israelites. Though they were slaves in the land of the Pharaohs, Yahweh liberated them, with Moses as their leader, and made them a great nation. The Jesuits try to live out the conviction of Jesus who took his stand with the poor and the marginalized – the crucified people.

The Jesuits first feel for the other, especially those in suffering, and then they become the other. They get into the thinking and feeling of the suppressed so that they could understand them first. And finally they resonate with the marginalized and fight along with the powerless in order to empower them. They give the best to the least in the society. And they are convinced that education is the starting point and the key to liberation and leadership. This is what Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013) said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. The Jesuits are ever on the move to educate and empower the people. As pathfinders in relevant and people-centered education, the Jesuits make use of education as an instrument of social change for the better. The Jesuit Reductions are the best model of such effective education of holistic formation. The journey to liberation should continue.

[i] http://faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/sjmissio.htm

[ii] http://www.projectamazonas.org/brief-history-amazon-exploration

[iii] http://catechistsjourney.loyolapress.com/2013/08/the-ignatian-key-to-opening-doors-of-faith-or-going-contagious-with-ignatius/

[iv] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_America

[v] http://tdl.org/txlor-dspace/bitstream/handle/2249.3/663/05_slavery_colonies.htm

[vi] A. Ruiz de Montoya (1639), The Spiritual Conquest, Inst of Jesuit Sources, St Louis, 1993.

[vii] Sac Heart Review, 49 (16) 5 Apr 1913, p.7.

[viii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit_reduction

[ix] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit_Missions_of_Chiquitos

[x] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12688b.htm

[xi] P. Caraman, The Lost Paradise, Sidgwick and Jackson, London, 1975

[xii] http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406400630.html

[xiii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppression_of_the_Society_of_Jesus

[xiv] slaverebellion.org/index.php?page=slave-resistance-in-latin-america-2

[xv] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confiscation_Acts

[xvi] www.as-coa.org/exhibitions/paradise-lost-jesuit-and-guarani-south-america-missions-1606-1767

[xvii] http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/ubuntu_a_south_african_philosophy_that_can_inspire_youth

18 http://www.educationinnovations.org/program/jesuit-commons-higher-education-margins-jchem

References:

1975. Caraman, The Lost Paradise, Sidgwick and Jackson, London, 1975.

R.H. Jackson, Demographic Change and Ethnic Survival among the Sedentary Populations on the Jesuit Mission

Frontiers of Spanish South America, 1609-1803, Brill, Leiden, 2015.

1993. Ruiz de Montoya (1639), The Spiritual Conquest, Inst of Jesuit Sources, St Louis, 1993.
1994. Leuchars, To the bitter End, Greenwood Press, Westport, 2002.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_America

http://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/Story?Feature=A-Journey-to-the-Jesuit-Reductions&TN=PROJECT-20140521090638

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12688b.htm

http://www.colonialvoyage.com/jesuit-missions-south-america/#

http://catholicism.org/the-jesuit-missions-in-south-america.html

http://www.vqronline.org/essay/jesuit-republic-south-america

https://www.manresa-sj.org/stamps/2_Paraguay.htm

http://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=20519

http://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=20519&memberid=1101434&source=whatsapp

http://www.as-coa.org/exhibitions/paradise-lost-jesuit-and-guarani-south-america-missions-1606-1767