Paraquariae provinciae: the origins of a jesuit carthographic model in 18th century Paraguay

• Grant number: 23/06405-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: August 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of America
• Principal Investigator: Denise Aparecida Soares de Moura
• Grantee: Lucas Alexandre Albino
• Supervisor: Sonia Tell
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Argentina
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/12625-4 - PARAQUARIAE PROVINCIAE: THE ORIGINS OF A JESUIT CARTOGRAPHIC MODEL IN 18TH CENTURY PARAGUAY, BP.IC

Abstract

This project is part of an ongoing scientific research on the emergence of a Jesuit cartographic model in the Paraguayan Province in the 18th century, specifically in understanding the production context of the Paraquariae Provinciae by Juan Francisco Dávila (1662 - 1733), completed in 1722. Two months ago, I began collecting data and conducted a thorough search for more information about the map's commissioners, with the primary objective of scrutinizing the production context and the objectives of the Society of Jesus in the Province. In this research, information was found about an enterprise by José de Aguirre (1661 - 1727), one of the commissioners of Dávila's map, which aimed to connect the reductions of the provinces of Paraguay and Chiquitos through the Pilcomayo River. Therefore, by comparing this information with the map itself, it was deduced that the Paraquariae Provinciae could be a product of this enterprise, and to confirm this hypothesis and gather more information about this mapping process, it is necessary to analyze official documents of the Society in the Biblioteca Mayor of the University of Cordoba, where Aguirre was rector, and in three large Buenos Aires archives, whose collections have extensive documentation on Jesuit activity in Paraguay. (AU)