The Island Mission
THE ISLAND MISSION:
The focus of another chapter in my forthcoming novel, The Red Masks of Montevideo, called The Island Mission, takes place when the Franciscan order first arrived in the territory of what is now Uruguay in the early 17th century. Having great influence in Central America (Mexico) and the northern part of South America at the time, they also spread further south into the regions where the Jesuits had more of a presence, namely into modern-day Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Here, in the Viceroyalty of Peru, the Jesuit Reductions dominated religious life as the order established by ÍñInigo Lopez de Loyola, later Saint Ignatius of Loyola, converted many of the heathen Charrua and Guaranií Indians to the True Faith. The Island Mission tells the story of Franciscan missionary Father Francisco de Salazar (a fictional character) as he and his priests move into the territory served by the Jesuits. Unhappy at their arrival, the Jesuits order them to leave. They finally settle some years later in an area not too far away from Vizcaíno Island where the Jesuits had founded the mission of Santo Domingo de Soriano, Villa Soriano, in 1624.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the warrior saint, founder of the Jesuit religious order in 1540 photo source: Wikicommons
As this is only a story, historical facts are given creative and poetic license, though this does not suggest what I have written is solely putting history as it happened to bed. Once established, Salazar makes friends with the local Charrua people and spreads the Franciscan form of Catholicism further along the Rio de la Plata basin.
A short chapter of about 1000 words, it nonetheless gives substance and a foundation for the Christianization of the native people who were to play a big part in Uruguay’s history up until 1831, when the Slaughter of Salsipuedes took place. On that fateful day, the Republic of Uruguay’s first president Fructuoso Rivera and his small army massacred scores of unarmed Charrua men, women and children. Those left alive were either taken prisoner as slaves or ran away across the border into Brazil. Bereft of cultural leaders, the Charruas' traditional way of life soon disappeared. This event is covered again with the creative freedom of a writer in the chapter, entitled The Massacre, where the president sends his brother, Colonel Bernabe Rivera, to do his dirty work.
Like most native indigenous peoples around the world, this is a tale of white man’s lies and greed. The geographical location, be it on the North American plains or the Belgian Congo, tells us how much European 'civilization' destroyed the ancient cultures that came many centuries, and sometimes millennia, before them.
Fructuoso Rivera, first president of Uruguay but also the man responsible for the massacre of innocent Charrua men, women and children in 1831. Or should we really say it was his brother, Colonel Bernabeé Rivera, who was sent to do his dirty work. Photo source: Wikicommons