Reductions ( Spanish : reducciones , also called congregaciones ; Portuguese : reduções ) were settlements established by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines ). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America , such reductions were also called aldeias . The Spanish and Portuguese relocated, forcibly in many cases, indigenous inhabitants ( Indians or Indios ) of their colonies into urban settlements modeled on those in Spain and Portugal. The Royal Academy of Spain defines reducción (reduction) as "a grouping into settlement of indigenous people for the purpose of evangelization and assimilation." In colonial Mexico , reductions were called "congregations" ( congregaciones ). Forced resettlements aimed to concentrate indigenous people into communities, facilitating civil and religious control over populations. The concentration of the indigenous peoples into towns facilitated the organization and exploitation of their labor. The practice began during Spanish colonization in the Caribbean, relocating populations to be closer to Spanish settlements, often at a distance from their home territories, and likely facilitated the spread of disease. Reductions could be either religious, established and administered by an order of the Roman Catholic church (especially the Jesuits ), or secular, under the control of Spanish or Portuguese governmental authorities. The best known, and most successful, of the religious reductions were those developed by the Jesuits in Paraguay and neighboring areas in the 17th century. The largest and most enduring secular reductions were those imposed on the highland people of the former Inca Empire of Peru during the rule of Viceroy Francisco de Toledo (1569–1581).
48-406: Bandeirantes ( Portuguese: [bɐ̃dejˈɾɐ̃tʃis] ; lit. ' flag-carriers ' ; singular: bandeirante ) were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate indigenous Brazilians during the early modern period . They played a major role in expanding the colony to the modern-day borders of independent Brazil , beyond
96-472: A bandeira, composed of 2,000 allied Indians, 900 mamelucos , and 69 white Paulistas , to find precious metals and stones and to capture Indians for slavery. This expedition alone was responsible for the destruction of most of the Jesuit missions of Spanish Guayrá and the enslavement of over 60,000 indigenous people. Between 1648 and 1652, Tavares also led one of the longest known expeditions from São Paulo to
144-512: A conflict was sure to come between the two groups and it all came to head when Jerónimo Pedroso de Barros and Manuel Pires attacked a Jesuit camp. The Jesuits led by father Pedro Romero had a force of around 4,200 against the Bandeirantes force of about 3,500. Romero would repel the assault and win the day. With the Treaty of Madrid (13 January 1750) Spain and Portugal would agree to dismantle
192-525: A few years, he had resettled about 1.4 million Indians into 840 communities, many of which were the nuclei of present-day cities, towns, and villages. Probably the most famous of the reductions were in the areas of present-day Paraguay and neighboring Argentina , Brazil , and Bolivia in the 17th and 18th centuries. These were created and governed by the Jesuit order of the Catholic Church. In
240-720: A foreign land, personal financial hardship, social, cultural, ethnic, or religious persecution (e.g., the Pilgrims and Mormons ), penal deportation (e.g. of convicted criminals from England to Australia), political oppression, and government incentive policies aimed at encouraging foreign settlement. Jesuit reduction During the early stages of Christianisation of the Americas, Spanish Catholic authorities might establish ecclesiastical missionary proto- parish subdivisions - Spanish : doctrinas ; singular: Spanish : doctrina , lit. 'doctrine' – for
288-605: A relentless increase in action and achievement. So while the Spaniards in Paraguay stayed where Irala had placed them, mostly treating with indifference the discoveries which the first Conquistadores had made, the Brazilians continued for two centuries to explore the country. These determined adventurers would spend months and months in the wild hunting slaves and looking for gold and silver, guided by what they had learnt from
336-529: A statue of Borba Gato in São Paulo. The call for statue removal is not limited to Brazil—other countries in South America have also called for the removal of statues that depict slavery in a positive light. Another list of well-known bandeirantes includes Settler A settler is, in the broadest sense, a person who migrates to a new region to establish a permanent presence there. A settler
384-478: Is a normal phenomenon by itself, it has not been uncommon throughout human history for settlers to have arrived in already-inhabited lands without the intention of living alongside the native population . In these cases, the conflict that arises between the settlers and the natives (or Indigenous peoples ) may result in the dispossession of the latter within the contested territory, usually violently. While settlers can act independently, they may receive support from
432-441: Is also called a pioneer if the land that they migrated to was previously uninhabited or sparsely populated. Settlers come from a sedentary society , which has developed in a generally fixed geographical location, in contrast to a nomadic society , which does not have a fixed habitat and moves around seasonally with various settlements. The process of settling land can be, and has often been, controversial: while human migration
480-464: Is an ongoing phenomenon. The usage is controversial to some. In the Middle East and North Africa , there are a number of references to various squatter and specific policies that are referred to as settler-oriented in nature. Among those: The reasons for the emigration of settlers vary, but often they include the following factors and incentives: the desire to start a new and better life in
528-595: The American English use of "pioneer" to refer to a settler – a person who has migrated to a less occupied area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area; as first recorded in English in 1605. In United States history , it refers to the Europeans who were part of the process of settling new lands on Indigenous territories . In this usage, pioneers are usually among
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#1732790162828576-615: The Americas in the 15th century), the terms "East Indian" and "Asian Indian" are also used to differentiate Indians from the Indigenous peoples of the United States. The process by which Indigenous territories are settled by foreign peoples is usually called settler colonialism . It relies upon a process of often violent dispossession. In the figurative usage, a "person who goes first or does something first" also applies to
624-652: The Indigenous peoples of the Americas and Indigenous Australians , such as Aborigines , First Nations , or Native Americans . In the United States , the terms "Indian" and "American Indian" are still common, but controversial. In order to avoid confusion with actual Indians or Indian Americans (as the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus mistakenly believed that he had arrived in India when he discovered
672-637: The Spanish Philippines , the Spanish colonial government founded hundreds of towns and villages across the archipelago modeled on towns and villages in Spain . The authorities often adopted a policy of reductions for the resettlement of inhabitants from far-flung scattered barrios or barangays to move into a centralized cabecera (town/district capital), where a newly built church and an ayuntamiento (town hall) were situated. This allowed
720-584: The bandeirantes expanded the effective borders of the colony. Bandeirantes spoke a mixture of Portuguese and the Paulista General Language , which was the main source of toponyms in the Brazilian interior. The term comes from Portuguese bandeira or flag, and by extension, a group of soldiers, a detached military unit or a raiding party. In medieval Portugal a bandeira was a military unit of 36 soldiers. The words were not used by
768-632: The bandeirantes themselves. They used words like entry (entrada), journey, voyage, company, discovery and rarely, fleet or war. One writer dates bandeira from 1635 and bandeirante from 1740. With the treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 the South American continent was divided between Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Empire along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands. Many Bandeirantes were Mulattos and came from
816-598: The 1520s. They were begun in Baja California in the 17th century and California in the late 18th century. Reductions in Mexico were more commonly known as congregaciones . Indian reductions in the Andes , mostly in present-day Peru and Bolivia , began on a large scale in 1570 during the rule of Viceroy Francisco de Toledo . Toledo worked to remake the society of the former Inca empire , with some success. In
864-405: The 17th century, Jesuit missions had become a favorite target of the expeditions. A bandeira that took place in 1628 and was organized by Antônio Raposo Tavares raided 21 Jesuit villages in the upper Paraná Valley, ultimately capturing about 2,500 natives. A bandeira tactic was to set native tribes against each other in order to weaken them, and then to enslave both sides. In 1636, Tavares led
912-590: The 18th century. As a result of the bandeiras , the Captaincy of São Vicente became the basis of the Viceroyalty of Brazil , which would go on to encompass the current states of Santa Catarina , Paraná , São Paulo , Minas Gerais , Goiás , part of Tocantins , and both Northern and Southern Mato Grosso . The bandeirantes were also responsible for unsteady relations between the Spanish Empire and
960-579: The Indian population, facilitated the Spaniards' access to Indian labor, the promulgation of Christianity , and the collection of taxes and tribute. Moreover, the reduction of the Indians was intended to break down ethnic and kinship ties and detribalize the residents to create a generic, pan-Indian population, disregarding their numerous tribes and different cultures. The Spanish began creating reductions in Mexico shortly after Hernan Cortés 's conquest in
1008-741: The Jesuit mission camps. The battle ended the war and with Portugal expelling the Jesuits from the country in 1759, it ended the relations between the Jesuits and the Bandeirantes. The bandeirante Fernão Dias was born in São Paulo in 1608 to a well-off family and spent much of his early life as a farmer in Pinheiros before becoming an income inspector in 1626. However, it was 1638 when the one who would go on to be called "The Emerald Hunter" would get his first taste of expedition when he would join Antônio Raposo Tavares on his expedition to
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#17327901628281056-589: The Jesuit missions called the Misiones Orientales . The Jesuits would fight back against this order and would lead to the Guaraní War which saw the Spanish and Portuguese fight against the native Guarani population. Despite early failures due to guerrilla tactics the Spanish and Portuguese would attack and José Joaquín de Viana would defeat Guarani leader Sepé Tiaraju and would go on to destroy
1104-421: The Jesuits did not agree on the treatment of the native people. The Jesuits wanted to convert the native population to Christianity while the Bandeirantes wanted to sell the native population into slavery. Jesuit leader father Antonio Ruiz de Montoya would attempt to lead 12,000 natives to safety into Argentina in an attempt to save them from Bandeirantes. With the death of Diego Alfaro by the hands of Bandeirantes
1152-521: The Jesuits in 1759 , further reducing the ability of the Jesuits to fight back. In spite of their ignorance of geography, a science unknown to the Paulistas of olden times, and with only the help of the sun, they penetrated the interior of the Americas, conquering tribes. Some went to the hinterland of Goias , as far as the Amazon river; others went all the way to the coast from the river Patos until
1200-432: The Paulistas used Indian slaves or workers and many were part-Indian themselves. The main focus of the bandeirantes' missions was to capture and enslave native populations. They carried this out by a number of tactics. The bandeirantes usually relied on surprise attacks, simply raiding villages or collections of natives, killing any who resisted, and kidnapping the survivors. Trickery could also be used; one common tactic
1248-660: The Portuguese Empire, as they essentially conducted an undeclared war on indigenous residents allied with Spain or the Jesuits. With only a few outlying Spanish settlements surviving and the majority of Jesuit missions overrun, the de facto control by Portugal over most of what is now the Southeast , Southern , and Central West territory of Brazil was recognized by the Treaties of Madrid in 1750 and San Ildefonso in 1777. Additionally, Portugal officially expelled
1296-507: The Portuguese settlement in São Paulo who were sent out to chart and explore the interior of the country. By exploring the interior of the country, Portugal was able to claim land that exceeded the line drawn by the treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 and began to encompass what is today the country of Brazil. Bandeirantes usually numbered anywhere from 50 to several thousand and were sponsored by the wealthy elites. Many of these expeditions into
1344-482: The boundaries demarcated by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas . Bandeirantes also enslaved thousands of indigenous people , which ultimately played a major role in the genocide of Indigenous peoples in Brazil . Most bandeirantes were based in the region of São Paulo , which was part of the Captaincy of São Vicente from 1534 to 1709 and the Captaincy of São Paulo from 1709 to 1821. The city of São Paulo served as
1392-469: The depths of Brazil not only to enslave natives, but also to find mines and receive government rewards. As the number of natives diminished, the bandeirantes began to focus more intensely on finding minerals. These exploration by the Bandeirantes set in motion what would be called the Brazilian Gold Rush of the 1690s. The gold rush would be one of the largest in the world and would produce
1440-652: The first to an area, whereas settlers can arrive after first settlement and join others in the process of human settlement . This correlates with the work of military pioneers , who were tasked with construction of camps before the main body of troops would arrive at the designated campsite. The Russian Empire regularly invited Russian subjects and foreign nationals to settle in sparsely populated lands, mostly in North Asia , but also in Central Asia . These settlers were called colonists. These projects resulted in
1488-448: The former they had to battle against wrath and hate. The lack of supplies could have driven them to despair had it not been that they were used to eating the fruits of the hinterland: wild honey, wild nuts, sweet and bitter palmitos, and the roots of edible plants. (Pedro Taques de Almeida Paes Leme) However, a new breed of men was growing, wild, yes, and ungovernable, but one in whom the infusion of native American blood would soon result in
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1536-463: The government of their country or empire or from a non-governmental organization as part of a larger campaign. The lifestyle of a native population is often disturbed or destroyed if they come into contact with a settler population that seeks to replace them. Many times throughout history, settlers occupied land that was previously inhabited by long-established peoples, who are designated as native or Indigenous . Additional terms may be used to describe
1584-411: The government to defend, control and Christianize the indigenous population in scattered independent settlements, to conduct population counts , and to collect tributes . This enforced resettlement led to several revolts in the 17th century, often led by community shamans ( babaylan ). In some cases, entire villages would move deeper into island interiors to escape the reductions. A similar policy
1632-604: The home base for the most famous bandeirantes . Some bandeirantes were descended from Portuguese colonists who settled in São Paulo, but most were of mameluco descent with both Portuguese and indigenous ancestry. This was due to miscegenation being the norm in colonial Brazilian society, as well as polygamy . Though they originally aimed to subjugate and enslave indigenous peoples, the bandeirantes later began to focus their expeditions on finding gold , silver and diamond deposits and establishing mines. As they ventured into unmapped regions in search of profit and adventure,
1680-691: The inception of Slavo-Serbia , Volga Germans , Volhynia , and Russians in Kazakhstan , among other phenomena. Although settlers in the early modern era frequently made use of sea routes—significant waves of settlement could also use long overland routes, such as the Great Trek by the Boer - Afrikaners in South Africa , or the Oregon Trail in the United States. Anthropologists record
1728-475: The indoctrination of the faith. The policy of reductions was begun in 1503 by Spanish colonists on Caribbean islands. In the words of the Spanish rulers, "It is necessary that the Indians be assigned to towns in which they will live together and that they not remain or wander separated from each other in the backcountry." The Spanish ordered Indian villages to be destroyed and selected sites where new villages should be built. The concentration, or reducción of
1776-518: The interior of Brazil set up trading posts and built roads that connected the settlements together. Before there were bandeirantes there were Paulistas . Brazil was originally a coastal strip between mountains and sea dominated by slave-worked sugar plantations. When the Portuguese crossed the mountains to the São Paulo plateau they were cut off from the sea and faced a great wilderness to the north and west where they might find their fortunes or die trying. The coastal Portuguese used African slaves while
1824-435: The largest gold mines in South America. With the discovery of gold by Bandeirantes in the mountains of Minas Gerais . This caused many people from the north of Brazil to go down south in hopes of finding gold. The bandeirantes were responsible for the discovery of mineral wealth, and, along with the missionaries, for the territorial enlargement of central and southern Brazil. This mineral wealth made Portugal wealthy during
1872-588: The mouth of the Amazon river, investigating many of its tributaries, including the Rio Negro , ultimately covering a distance of more than 10,000 kilometers. The expedition traveled to Andean Quito , part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru , and remained there for a short time in 1651. Of the 1,200 men who left São Paulo, only 60 reached their final destination in Belém . The Bandeirantes and
1920-455: The native Americans. Eventually they managed to secure for themselves and the House of Braganza the richest mines and the largest territory in South America. This acquisition was of all the inhabited earth the most beautiful part. ( Robert Southey , 1819) Bandeirantes were an important part of the 1920s independence movement as they became a symbol of Brazilian pride. A large part of this movement
1968-433: The open. At a time when imported African slaves were comparatively expensive, the bandeirantes were able to sell large numbers of native slaves at a huge profit due to their relatively inexpensive price. Bandeirantes also teamed up with a local tribe, convincing them that they were on their side against another tribe, and when both sides were weakened the Bandeirantes would capture both tribes and sell them into slavery. By
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2016-435: The power of Portugal by expanding its control over the Brazilian interior. Along with the exploration and settlement of this territory the bandeiras also discovered mineral wealth for the Portuguese, which they had been previously unable to profit from. In the 1660s, the Portuguese government offered rewards to those who discovered gold and silver deposits in inner Brazil. So the bandeirantes , driven by profit, ventured into
2064-794: The present states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. Dias however left on his own expedition in 1644. In an expedition in 1661, in an attempt to find more natives to enslave, Dias explored south of the Anumarana mountain range into the Kingdom of Guaianás. Dias would return in 1665 with 4000 slaves from three different tribes. It was during Dias's 1671 expedition that he would receive his nickname, as he would find emeralds in Sabarabuçu. In 1681, Dias died of disease while on an expedition in which he found Tourmaline . In addition to capturing natives as slaves, bandeiras also helped to extend
2112-510: The river Plate and as far as the rivers Uruguay and Tibagi ; and going upstream along the Paraguay river as far as the Paraná [...] some crossed the vast hinterland beyond the Paraguay river all the way to the high mountains of the kingdom of Peru. The Paulistas had to fight against their enemies and against nature: in respect of the latter they had to battle against the weather and in respect of
2160-517: The statues of Bandeirantes from vandalism. The statues have been criticized for celebrating the Bandeirantes for their practice of enslaving the native population. This new wave is trying to confront Brazil's controversial past and their practice of glorifying slave traders. Calls to take down statues were again intensified with Britain's removal of a statue of Edward Colston on June 7, 2020. On July 24, 2021, protesters, in response to Brazilians president Jair Bolsonaro 's nationalist rhetoric, set fire to
2208-720: The tribal displacement of native settlers who drive another tribe from the lands it held, such as the settlement of lands in the area now called Carmel-by-the-Sea, California , where the Ohlone people settled in areas that were previously inhabited by the Esselen people . In Canada , the term "settler" is currently used to describe "the non-Indigenous peoples living in Canada who form the European-descended sociopolitical majority" and thereby asserting that settler colonialism
2256-415: Was disguising themselves as Jesuits, often singing Mass to lure the natives out of their settlements. At the time, the Jesuits had a deserved reputation as the only colonial force that treated the natives somewhat fairly in the Jesuit reductions of the region. If luring the natives with promises did not work, the bandeirantes would surround the settlements and set them alight, forcing inhabitants out into
2304-415: Was to show the Bandeirantes as pure Brazilian and that they represented bravery and their sense of achievement. At this time many poems, paintings, movies, and books were made about Bandeirantes. Many statues were raised at this time, including the São Paulo's Monumento às Bandeiras. In the 21st century, there have been calls to stop celebrating the Bandeirantes. Guards have been deployed in Brazil to protect
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