Paraguay's Conquest: analysis of the hispanic-guarani relationship in the early years of Asuncion (1537-1556)

Abstract

This research project seeks to study how the Spanish-Guarani relationship occurred in the early years of Asunción, starting from its foundation (1537) until the end of the second government of Domingo Martínez de Irala (1556). The main objective is to question the idea that there was an effective Spanish "conquest" over the region and the Guarani, analyzing the alliances established between Spaniards and this indigenous population, which would have been essential for the establishment of Europeans on the spot. It seeks to emphasize the indigenous agency and its importance in the foundation and consolidation of Asunción, taking into account the asymmetry of this relationship and its consequences, in order to recognize Guarani as a historical and political agent of its time. This project is based on Ethno-history, Indigenous History, and the New Conquest History, it also seeks to dialogue with Ethnography, Anthropology, and other areas of social and historical knowledge, in addition to bringing criticism to the historiography of an exclusive nature, which addresses the Guarani indigenous as a victim of the "Conquest" or a faithful ally of the Spanish, gradually erasing it from history and making its importance invisible during this period. (AU)