WGuayrá was a historical region of the Spanish Empire, located in the Governorate of Paraguay, within the colonial Viceroyalty of Peru. The region is located in present-day Paraguay and Paraná.
WGuarani are a group of culturally related indigenous peoples of South America. They are distinguished from the related Tupi by their use of the Guarani language. The traditional range of the Guarani people is in present-day Paraguay between the Uruguay River and lower Paraguay River, the Misiones Province of Argentina, southern Brazil once as far north as Rio de Janeiro, and parts of Uruguay and Bolivia. Although their demographic dominance of the region has been reduced by European colonisation and the commensurate rise of mestizos, there are contemporary Guarani populations in these areas. Most notably, the Guarani language, still widely spoken across traditional Guarani homelands, is one of the two official languages in Paraguay, the other one being Spanish. The language was once looked down upon by the upper and middle classes, but it is now often regarded with pride and serves as a symbol of national distinctiveness. The Paraguayan population learns Guarani both informally from social interaction and formally in public schools. In modern Spanish, Guarani also refers to any Paraguayan national in the same way that the French are sometimes called Gauls.
WThe Jesuit reductions were a type of settlement for indigenous people specifically in the Rio Grande do Sul area of Brazil, Paraguay and neighbouring Argentina in South America, established by the Jesuit Order early in the 17th century and wound up in the 18th century with the banning of the Jesuit order in several European countries. Subsequently it has been called an experiment in "socialist theocracy" or a rare example of "benign colonialism".
WThe Misiones Orientales (Spanish) or Sete Povos das Missões/Siete Pueblos de las Misiones (Portuguese) are a historic region in South America, in present-day Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost State of Brazil.
WReducción de Nuestra Señora de Loreto, founded in 1610, was the first reductions established by the Jesuits in the Province of Paraguay in the Americas during the Spanish colonial period. The site is located in the Candelaria Department of Misiones Province, Argentina.
WReducción de Nuestra Señora de Santa Ana was one of the many colonial missions for Indian Reductions founded in the 17th century by the Jesuits in South America during the Spanish colonial period.
WSan Ignacio Miní was one of the many missions founded in 1610 but wasn't executed until 1632, in Argentina, by the Jesuits in what the colonial Spaniards called the Province of Paraguay of the Americas during the Spanish colonial period. It is located near present-day San Ignacio valley, some 60 km north of Posadas, Misiones Province, Argentina. In 1984 it was one of four reducciones in Argentina to be designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.
WReducción de Santa María la Mayor, located in the Santa María Department of the Misiones Province, Argentina, at approximate coordinates 27°33′S 55°20′W, was one of the missions or reductions founded in the 17th century by the Jesuits in the Americas during the Spanish colonial period. In 1984 it was one of four reduction sites in Argentina designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
WSão Miguel das Missões is a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil. Important 17th century Spanish Jesuit mission ruins are located in the municipality. San Miguel Mission is within Santo Ângelo Microregion, and the Riograndense Northwest Mesoregion. The city covers 1,246 square kilometres (481 sq mi) and had a population of 7,682 resident.