Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 12.djvu/773

 REDUCTIONS

693

REDUCTIONS

animals were slaughtered three times a week; in Yapeyu, with about 7000 inhabitants, about forty beeves were killed each day. In order to prevent the Indians, whose voracity was well known, from con- suming their entire rations of meat in one day, they were induced to make charqui (meat dried in the sun

621 sq.; Monner-Sans, loc. cit., 90 sq.; Cardiel, loc. cit., "Lettres edifiantes et curieuses", Lyona, 1819, V, 371 sq.; Cunninghame Graham, op. cit., 193 etc.). The myth concerning their vast trade transactions must be classed with that of the gold mines in the Reductions, which never existed, not-

and pulverized) of a portion of it. The sick were withstanding the fact that hatred and envy have so

given special food prepared in the parsonage; the persistently clung to this assertion, that the Govern-

children received their morning and evening meal ment was forced more than once to institute investiga-

in common in the courtyard of the parsonage also, tions. Thus an investigation was conducted in 10-10

On high feast-days public banquets were held in by Don Andre de Le6n Gacavita, and another, still

common. The common store-houses also furnished more searching, in 1657 by Don J. Blasquez Valverde.

additional provisions of a special nature for wedding In both cases the inquiries led to a clear demonstra-

feasts etc. Strong spirituous liquors were almost tion of the untruth of the accusations, and to the

entirely replaced by mate in the Guarani Reductions, severe punishment of the accusers (see Charlevoix,

Twice a year each family received the necessary "Hist, du Parag.", Paris, 1757, III, 381; Cardiel,

woven woollen and cotton goods, of which the women op. cit., 163; Lettres edifiantes, loc. cit.). The

made clothing. In addition, each family could gold mines have never been found, even after the

bring its private cotton crop to the parish mills, expulsion of the Jesuits. The estimates that have

Only a coarse, plain cloth was woven. Goods of been made of the alleged vast income and trade

better quality, for the altar linens vestments, and profit are founded upon purely arbitrary or false

garments of state suppositions. The

had to be imported. I T | vast herds of cattle,

breeches, a cotton ■'.MKH^M SK'n^SS. ■{■ ""^-''—^^t v^^ma^mnmgmui^ in which the land

shirt, and two wool- 9 H'H 9 IS ^ Lb BBBB^b^bBB9^1 abounded, the price

len ponc/io.s, one for ||P fl| H B pp £,^ {^ HiflHH9H9llH of a healthy steer in

every-day wear, the ia. iKi. jisl jiU in. i u' ^ r- ..^ ^VwrtlfV9^9'^ JW cun.sequence being

otheV foi- holidays; OJ »« IK M HI ^ ■■■■■■■ ji^th a peso in Do-

the women wore M-nWH-si^niliJi ^^H^^HHH9 bi'izhotli'r s time,

long, loo.se, shirt- Hj^HHl9fflilHdHI + il _^ HH^^BHBto while later the price

like gowns, with iM>iy^y^ylill>||y^y "[^ ^ CJJ-r-I^ BP^y ^^iy BPWy^' msr to one and two

narily all went bare- 4IIMIM dMMk^Mlik #MllB nMiM MAA ■MM' IMMM of the reckless de- foot. The official ™™ MmiPaWiP - .lPIBI» - 'mm mBb ^^^ 'WfraWi stmctlon of these

formr*for''"festive" fflWBiliili'iPBI lUll^MIIQnfe Ulii .s^lni^'ards^ The

occasions, neat and p^^^ „^ ^„^ Reduction Candelahia single carvei high

made of fine, col- altar ui the Church

oured materials, were kept in separate chests in the of San Borja was valued at the price of 30,000 steers,

"college", as also the banners, theatrical costumes, In addition, the expense of keeping up such a vast

insignia etc. community should be borne in mind (cf . the cost of keep-

C. Commerce and Wealth of the Jesuits. — The ac- ing up the Indian Reservations in the United States,

cusation that the Jesuits acquired immense wealth in the Reductions is a fable, spread broadcast by their enemies and those jealous of their success, but long since disproved. "I dare to maintain", the Bishop of Buenos Aires, Dom Pedro Taxardo, wrote

which necessitated an e^^5ense of about $10,000,000 in 1882, and from 1867-1882 no less than $92,213,731); the high prices of the new products and iron gooda that had to be imported (a Spanish hundredweight, about 102 lb., of iron from Buenos Aires cost 16

to Philip V of Spain in 1721, "that if the Jesuits aurei, 1 ell of linen cloth 4 old rix-doUars, and even were less virtuous, they would have fewer enemies, more, a fine lace alb about 120 rix-doUars) ; the trib- I have visited their missions frequently, and I can ute to the crown, which according to Bauke (ed. assure Your Majesty, that I have nowhere found Kobler, p. 490), amounted to 24,000 pesos; the build- greater order and more perfect unselfishness than ing and decorating of the numerous churches far in among these religious, who take nothing that belongs the interior; the equipment of Indian auxiliary troops to their converts, whether it be for their own attire in the service of the king (see below) ; all of which, or for their sustenance" (Charlevoix, loc. cit., II, taken together, alone required the expenditure of 94). The fact is that the Fathers bore the expense almost the entire income. As a matter of fact, the of their own sustenance, as far as possible out of the entire commerce was confined to the exchange, salary appropriated by the king for them (about 250 justified by canon law, of such products as cotton, pesos), although it was smaller than the salary of tobacco, hides, various kinds of timber, horse-hair, the other priests, both secular and religious (600 honey, and in particular of the highly-prized mission pesos). In compensation for the provisions taken herha, for goods which the Reductions them.selves by the Fathers from the common stores, such as fish, either could not produce or at least not in sufficient milk, eggs, vegetables, the procurator sent each mis- quantities, such as fine cloths, silks, linen for vest- sionary a supply of salt, soap, knives, shears, glass ments and altar use, instruments, iron and glassware, beads, fish-hooks, pins, medals, and the like for dis- books, paper, salt, wine, vinegar, dyes, and the like, tribution among the Indians, who were verv fond The trade by barter netted an average annual income of these things (Cardiel, loc. cit., 264 sq.). Southcy, of 100,000 pesos, according to the report of the royal himself a Protestant, published as the result of his investigating commission (see Charlevoix, op. cit., investigation covering this question, that nothing 361), or 7 reals per ropito of the population. One in- can be more certain, than that the .lesuits have not stance may illustrate how arbitrarily the calumniators amas.sed any treasures in Paraguay (Hist, of Brazil, of the Jesuits juggle with figures. De Pauw ("R6- III, 508; Duhr, "Jesuitenfabein", Freiburg, 1904, cherches philos. sur les Americains", Berlin, 1768-