Guarani War
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The Guarani War (Guerra Guaranítica) of 1756 was between the Guarani tribes of seven Jesuit missions and joint Spanish-Portuguese forces. It was a result of the Treaty of Madrid (1750), which set a line of demarcation between Spanish and Portuguese colonial territory in South America. The boundary drawn up between the two nations was the Uruguay River, with Portugal possessing the land east of the river. The seven Jesuit missions were to be relocated from east of the Uruguay River to the Spanish western side of the river. The seven missions were called San Miguel, Santos Angeles, San Lorenzo Martir, San Nicolas, San Juan Bautista, San Luis Gonzaga, and San Francisco de Borja.
In 1754, the Jesuits surrendered control of the missions, but the Guarani refused to comply with the order to relocate. Efforts by the Spanish army in 1754 to forcefully remove the Guarani from the missions failed. In February 1756, a combined force of 3,000 Spanish and Portuguese soldiers attacked the settlements. It resulted in the death of 1,511 Guarani, while the Europeans suffered only 3 deaths. In the aftermath of the battle, the joint Spanish-Portuguese army occupied the seven missions.
Eventually, Spain and Portugal annulled the 1750 treaty, with Spain regaining control over the seven missions and its surrounding territory.
