ABSTRACT
The three major conquests in Latin America—that of the Caribbean islands, the Aztec Empire, and the Inca Empire—resulted in an important process of consolidation for Spanish imperial ambitions. After 1532, new Spanish incursions would center on northern South America, focusing primarily on the Muisca civilization in what is Colombia. Pedro de Valdivia left, from Cuzco, with orders to settle the southern extreme of what would become the massive Spanish overseas empire. The Jesuits, during the seventeenth century, would come to have a profound impact on the Guarani, establishing some 30 missions that thrived for many years—until the Jesuits were expelled from the Americas in 1767. The Jesuits did learn and record the Guarani language and helped ensure its survival as a written Native American language in South America. The Guarani were immediately transformed into agricultural laborers, providing food, clothing, and other forms of tribute to the Spaniards.
