At the time of the conquest Argentina did not possess a large indigenous population. Wandering tribes dwelt in all parts of the country from Tierra del Fuego to Brazil, but the proportion of these Indians was very small when compared with the extent of territory occupied. On the slopes of the Andes were found tribes that were very closely allied with and subject to the Incas, who ruled all along the Pacific coast from Ecuador to Chile, and there was continuous intercourse between them. No ruins of temples dedicated to the sun have been found in Argentina, although some reminders of the Inca civilization have been uncovered in the northwestern part of the republic. The principal strongholds of the native tribes were in the northeastern sections of the country, on the rich plains and low hills which border on the great rivers of the country. Indians who[288] were related to the Tupi-Guarani tribes who inhabited Brazil, had established themselves there in considerable numbers. These Indians were not so bloodthirsty as those in the extreme south, although some of them were given to cannibalism. Their slaying of human beings, however, was for the purpose of food and not as a part of their religious worship. They were not especially hostile to the incoming Spaniards, until the members of the tribes began to be impressed into slavery, and they then resisted the advance of that race in a feeble way. Their religion was simple and consisted of a few good deities and a number of evil ones. The former they tried to honour in their simple way, but a great deal more attention was given to appeasing the latter, in order to avoid physical suffering, for which they believed these malevolent deities were responsible. Theirs was an ignorant belief and a simple faith, and they rather welcomed the teachings of the priests who first came among them. The new doctrines were accompanied by ceremonies which appealed to their childlike natures. The chanting in an unknown but sonorous tongue, the visible emblems and the incense cast a spell over these simple people,[289] who did not attempt to grasp the abstract idea of a trinity or the sacrifice of a Saviour.
 
CHURCH IN CORRIENTES, BUILT IN 1588
 
By far the most persistent and determined attempt to convert these aborigines was made by the Jesuit priesthood. As a result of its tireless and systematic efforts this order succeeded in establishing in Paraguay, and the country adjacent to it on the east and south, about the beginning of the sixteenth century, a seat of power which lasted for two centuries, and which has been referred to elsewhere in a general way. It developed into an ecclesiastical autocracy, with the heads of the Jesuit body as the actual as well as nominal rulers. This remarkable order subdued the Indians living between the Uruguay and Paraguay rivers, and brought all of them under its domination. This was done without resort to the sword. Although these pristine people were reduced to a condition of peonage, or serfdom, they remained loyal to the Jesuits and assisted them in repelling all invaders. So secure did the clerical rulers feel in their position, that all other white persons were forbidden to settle within the territory over which they claimed jurisdiction. It was perhaps well for the natives that they did take this position, for the[290] Spanish adventurers would have enslaved the Indians, just as did the Portuguese “Paulistas” in Brazil.
When the Jesuits were expelled from Brazil they crossed over the Paraná River into Paraguay and Northern Argentina. Then was founded Misiones, a series of missions along the eastern shores of that river. Although these religious settlements have long since crumbled into ruins, the name still clings to one of the territories of Argentina. The Jesuit effort did not extend all over Argentina, but it was felt even to the foothills of the Andes. The Jesuit emissaries encountered the Spanish advance guard who had crossed the Cordilleras from Peru and met with a repulse. The lack of gold in the section occupied by the Jesuits was also in itself a protection, because it did not excite the cupidity of the gold-seekers. These settlements were engaged solely in agricultural pursuits. Their increasing wealth and prosperity, however, did finally excite this cupidity, and the arrogance of the order aroused an intense jealousy in the rulers of the province. As a result of these two influences this order was forcibly expelled in 1768, and their property was confiscated. Some of[291] it was bestowed on other religious orders, but the most of it was devoted to secular uses. The power and prestige of the Jesuits among the natives were not at once destroyed by the blow. For a long time their influence was paramount, because of the blind obedience of their followers who had been gathered together in little settlements and had been taught useful pursuits.
In other parts of the country the subjugation was not so peaceful. Those Spanish troops who crossed the Andes and entered Argentina from that direction pursued different tactics. Gold was sought and everything was sacrificed to that one ambition. The conquerors were determined to acquire wealth, or at least to secure a means of livelihood without the necessity of manual labour. The natives were maltreated if they resisted, and enslaved when once subdued. Where agriculture was attempted these Indians were compelled to do the work, with no compensation except the right to live. The priests were always ready to accompany the soldiers on the most arduous campaigns. Without raising a hand against indiscriminate slaughter they held up the crucifix to the survivors, and then turned about and risked their[292] own lives to spread the Christian faith into hitherto untrodden regions. Even the desolate interior of Patagonia was not too distant or too inaccessible for these indefatigable missionaries. Sword in one hand and the cross in the other these teachers of religion spread the doctrines of their church over the whole of the La Plata basin and the rest of South America, and gave Roman Catholicism such a grasp on the continent that it will probably never be broken. The one difficult thing to understand is how the Church of Rome could countenance the harsh and bloody methods of subjugation pursued under the very eyes of its commissioned representatives, and the violation of all the ethics of humanity as well as Christianity, unless it was simpl............